Customer Reviews

Hush! A Thai Lullaby

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I don't think you can truly understand the undercurrent of panic that runs beneath, "Hush: A Thai Lullaby" unless you've taken care of a sleeping baby sometime in your past. There comes a time when that sweet moment of pure uninterrupted silence is so golden, so impermanent and yet perfect, that you would gladly have conversations with any number of mosquitoes, mice, or monkeys just to sustain it. Such is the slightly panicked and oh-so-slightly fevered current of feeling running beneath Minfong Ho's 1997 Caldecott Honor winner. We've all read our share of lullaby books. Now let's read one that brings a share of interesting animals, rhythmic lyrics, and beautiful illustrations as well as a cultural background based in Thailand. Sound lovely? It is.

A Thai mother has just placed her sleeping child in a comfy hammock when she hears a mosquito crying in the wind. Softly, the mother whispers, "Mosquito, mosquito, don't come weeping. Can't you see that Baby's sleeping? Mosquito, mosquito, don't you cry, my baby's sleeping right nearby". Apparently this method of skeeter removal works, since we never hear from that bug again. But as soon as one critter quiets, another starts up a new racket. With the mosquito silent, a lizard pipes up. Then a cat, then a mouse, then a frog, then a pig, then a ... you get the picture. Each time someone new gives a cry, the mama sings her baby tune, unaware that her child has used her distraction to explore some parts of the house. By the end everyone is quiet and the mama is dozing as well. "Only Baby's wide awake, his eyes bright and round".

There are a couple nice little details in this work. First of all, I loved the new interpretations of animal sounds. Schoolchildren are usually taught that pigs say, "oink oink". How much more interesting (and accurate), therefore, to have them say, "uut-uut, uut-uut". There's also the sense that the animals featured in this book are just your average everyday backyard creatures. This may be true in Thailand, where water buffalos and elephants aren't strangers, but for Western children such thoughts are intoxicating. Certainly there aren't that many Thai picture books out there, so it's nice to see such a rhythmic beauty as this gain a little spotlight. The words are actually the biggest draw to this tale. This isn't to say that artist Holly Meade has done a poor job. Her rambling toddler provides much of the fun in this book. It's just that if you're looking for cut-paper picture books you may be better off with the talents of David Wisniewski or Ed Young if you're hoping to be bowled over.

Obviously if you're a fan of "Hush!" then you should probably find Minfong Ho's follow up picture book, "Peek!: A Thai Hide and Seek". For those amongst you willing to make this a regular bedtime tale, the story is a wonderful sleepyheaded affair. Definitely consider pairing it with fellow tiptoe picture book, "Bear Snores On", by Karma Wilson.

Whenever we sit down in the nursery rocker, my daughter points emphatically at the bookshelf and says, "Huss! Huss!" This is her favorite book, at bedtime and during the day, and it has been for many months.

The highly original artwork is colorful (in a warm restricted palette sort of way) and captivating, showing scenes from varying angles and, despite it's simplicity, captures the expressions on the mother's face perfectly. The rhythm of the text is almost hypnotic. The animal sounds and pictures are very educational for a toddler, and my little one laughs at the baby in the story as he climbs out of bed and does his antics in the background, the mother unawares. My girl loves to find all the animals in the picture near the end of the book after the mother has convinced them all to, "Hush!" And she kisses the pages with her favorite animals, like the cat and the mouse, and even the pig!

The pictures convey the feel of the hot Thai evening and transport us to a world quite foreign to most, and are a whole lot of fun. The text is lulling or exciting, depending on how we read it. I absolutely recommend this book and so does my 16-month-old daughter.

A small children's book about a Thai mother who goes around asking all of the animals to be quiet since her baby is sleeping. The book was illustrated by Holly Meade and it was a 1997 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children. Children will enjoy the book because of the antics of the baby, at how familiar mothers are from culture to culture, and seeing the world of a remote village in Thailand.

"Hush! Elephant, elephant, don't come shrieking, can't you see that baby's sleeping? Elephant, elephant, don't you cry, my baby's sleeping right near by." And so the Thai mom refrains through an elephant, monkey, cat, mouse, lizard, water buffalo, duck, etc. Wonderful illustrations in earth tones. We enjoy having other cultures as primary characters in our books, so the combination of characters, simple story and beautiful illustrations makes this one of our favorites and a common gift to our friends' toddlers.

This picture book has a vivid collage pictures which accents the wonderful story. It has a great story line that almost any child can relate to. Pre-school - 2nd grade could greatly benefit from this book, discussing everything from animals to Thai. The multiculture ideas run wild in this book and leave doors open for children to explore and discover.

My kindergartener, who can read, loved this book. She loved the rhyme for each animal: "Hush! who's that peeping? can't you see that baby's sleeping? ... don't you cry, baby's sleeping right nearby" because she could join in. It was also easy enough for her to read. I heard her repeating it in the car for several days afterward. I enjoyed it too. Great for diverse classrooms and parents of children adopted from Asia.

"Hush! A Thai Lullaby" is a collaboration between writer Minfong Ho and illustrator Holly Meade. In this book, a mother tells various animals (a mosquito, a lizard, a monkey, etc.) to be quiet so that her baby can sleep. The book has a funny surprise ending.

This book is absolutely delightful. Meade's illustrations are created from cut paper and ink; these pictures are charming and colorful, and complement the text perfectly.

My seven month old loves this story. It is beautifully illustrated, rhythmic, and thoroughly enjoyable. A nice addition to baby's library.

This is a terrific little book. My son loves the repetition, and he searches for the baby on each page, and for all the animals on the final page. We have to read it to him at least once or twice a night, and he has also started turning the pages and "reading" it to us.

I recently purchased this book for my 2 1/2 year old son. The repetition is wonderful for their absorbent memories. He reads along with me and even uses her ideas for animal sounds (ie..elephant says, 'hmmm-praaa'). I've heard him copying her animal sounds while playing. We begin this book in a very quite tone and by the time the mother has reached the elephant... she and we are shouting in exasperation for the elephant to be quiet. My son laughing the entire time that the baby ISN'T sleeping. We love this book... I wish I had found it sooner. I recommend this with no reservations.