Hush, Little Ones

From Publishers Weekly
As he did in While You Were Sleeping, John Butler deftly portrays animals in their natural setting in Hush, Little Ones. Soft light and lilting rhyme ("Hush, little rabbits,/ don't make a sound./ Sleep tight in your burrow, deep underground") are certain to soothe. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Butler focuses on animal mothers and their babies in their special nighttime places. His acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations are realistic, gentle portrayals of animal life, infused and backlit with the yellow warmth of a waning sun. The "oooh-ahhh" factor is high here, with cute-as-they-come fluffy penguins and bunnies, contented kangaroo joeys, and cuddled-up birds and mice. While the lullaby-style text holds no surprises, with predictable rhyme pairs such as "time to rest/cozy nest" and "bedtime is here/Mother is near," the verse reads smoothly and comfortably. A visually appealing book that is perfectly suited for bedtime reading.Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, CanadaCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
PreS. There's an ever-growing number of goodnight stories, most of which are written in the same calming tone. What sets this one apart is not the text, but the very handsome, close-up artwork that will easily elicit "aah" from the audience. All the "sleepyheads" are in their beds--the birds are in their nests, the bunnies are burrowing underground, a tiny penguin is asleep between its father's feet. Each glowing color spread shows a baby (or babies) drifting off as a parent cuddles, looks on, or stands guard nearby. The words usually state the obvious: "Hush, little monkey, / rest your head / As mother climbs up / to your treetop bed. There's nothing really unexpected in the meticulous art either, but the love that's portrayed there is palpable, and little ones will enjoy linking that love with the emotion they feel coming from their own parents. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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Never has the power of suggestion been more irresistible, as Butler (Whose Baby Am I?, 2001, etc.) offers a series of drowsy animal parents and their young nestling down together for the night. Paired to one large-type couplet each�"Hush, little penguin, go to sleep, / nestled between your fathers feet"�the snoozers are rendered in astonishingly lifelike close-ups, on oversized, double-paged full-bleed spreads, every downy feather or tuft of fur, every bright eye carefully limned. Butler intensifies the coziness of it all even further by giving every joey, colt, chick, cub, and pup a subtle smile; children will be smiling too as they drift off to dreamland on the wings of this sonorous beddy-bye rhyme. (Picture book. 3-5)


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