Rock-a-bye Baby

Toddler-PreS—Cabrera updates the nursery rhyme with a cast of animal characters putting their own babies to sleep in various places throughout a tree. While the first page starts with the familiar refrain of "Rock-a-bye Baby/on the treetop,/when the wind blows the cradle will rock," the illustration is of a full-branched knotty tree, complete with all of the animals and insects that will appear on future page spreads. An orange-hued squirrel cradles her baby in her arms as a watchful robin checks on its chick that is tucked in the nest. Anthropomorphized creatures such as smiling butterflies, spiders, and snakes are located in different parts of the tree with their slumbering tots. Acrylic painted pictures stretch corner to corner across spreads of warm yellows, tawny tans, and mossy greens with plenty of textured brush strokes and strong black outlines. The book ends with a slumbering newborn baby with brown skin being cradled by dad: "Rock-a-bye Baby,/WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TREE!/Sleep now, my darling,/HAPPY as can be."