LULLABY & GOOD NIGHT

A board-book collection of familiar, classic lullabies and children’s rhymes.

Garland’s illustrations of a darling bunny family accompany this set of childhood favorites, from “Rock-a-Bye Baby” to “Hush, Little Baby.” Two original rhymes that share the book’s title are included as bookends to the others, both to the tune of “Hush Little Baby.” These two are, frankly, unnecessary additions, with awkward lines that pale in comparison with the others. Because the lullabies are well-known, the watercolor-and-ink illustrations really take center stage. Each spread shows the bunny mother and her two little bunnies progressing closer and closer to bedtime, reading (and acting out) the rhymes as they go. There is excellent use of repeated, echoing images, including the tree and its famous rock-a-bye branches and the moon that the cow jumped over. The animals of “Hey, Diddle, Diddle” are adorable and make for a painting that readers might wish they could hang on the wall. The collection could nicely be used as a bedtime book for young readers or simply as a one-poem-at-a-time resource—just be sure to skip the first and last.

This one’s all about the charming illustrations; readers will enjoy the familiar lullabies, but it’s not a seminal collection