The Babysitter Sings - Hardcover

PHILLIS GERSHATOR is the author of Bread Is for Eating (a Reading Rainbow Selection) and When It Starts to Snow, which was praised as being written "with a simple, lilting eloquence" in a Publishers Weekly starred review. She lives on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
MÉLISANDE POTTER is the illustrator of Girl, You're Amazing! as well as several other books for children. A professional performer of piano, mime, and theater, she divides her time between New York City and Jamaica.

PreS–A tearful baby who longs for his parents is comforted by his caregiver's singsong lullabies. She adds a soothing note by repeatedly comparing the youngster's cries to those of a cheeping bird: "Hush, little bird./I'll sing you a song./Do you want to know/where Mama's gone?" The babysitter's songs suggest places that the child's parents are visiting, and Potter depicts these locations in her distinctive, fanciful style, as colorful spreads show Mama at the market and Papa fishing by the shore. When the baby continues to cry, the babysitter sings until he is lulled into a peaceful slumber amid visions of a sleeping lion, mooing cow, and flying doves. An author's note states that the "slumber-song images" have been collected from the traditional lullabies of Africa, the Caribbean, and Spain. Done in ink and gouache, the brightly hued paintings give the book an appealing tropical island setting. The text's reassuring tone and the dazzling artwork make this offering a gem to share with little ones experiencing separation anxiety.–Ajoke' T. I. Kokodoko, Oakland Public Library, CA
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