Animal Lullabies

by Pam Conrad

Mama Owl awakens her young as Mother Swan glides around the pond to put her babies to sleep, in a charming brightly illustrated collection of lullabies for young children.

Genres: Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Pam Conrad (1947-1996) was an author for children. Her book Our House: Stories of Levittown was a Newbery Medal finalist.

Ms. Conrad was born in New York City and graduated from the New School for Social Research.

Reviews

[Victoria Leininger-halpern · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, serene collection of lyrical poems designed for any bedtime story telling for young kids. Complete with wonderful drawings, this book is perfect for adults to read with their kids to make them not only feel closer, but show that animals have families too.

One of my favorite parts of this book is that it shows that you don't have to have mother-father-child relationships to be a close family, many of the animals in this book involve aunts, uncles, cousins, even close family friends all trying to put their children to sleep. I think it is a good thing for kids to learn that just because they may have an unconventional family dynamic, love is the most important thing. I recommend this book for children of all ages.

[KathKin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to rate the text and the illustrations separately! I love the beautiful and striking illustrations, but I would never read this book to a child, especially at bedtime. Maybe it will seem that I don't have a sense of humor about the poems, but if they are supposed to be humorous, then don't call them lullabies. I imagine reading this to my sensitive daughter, where the mother alligator threatens to "eat alive" anyone who threatens her baby. while I do applaud the mother's protectiveness, i don't want the words "eat alive" in a bedtime book. I did like the variety of animals, from oysters to owls, and beavers to seahorses. The beautiful painting an each page earned this book an extra star.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think children that love animals will really like this book. I liked how each lullaby was tailored for the individual animal. Especially, how all the "parent" animal is trying to get their baby to sleep, while the owl is waking their baby up!

[Sonya Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice, easy bedtime read of just the right length for a young child. The art is attractive and Conrad has a humorous style.