Mushroom Lullaby

“This is a mushroom.” opens the book — the phrase on the left-hand page and a pretty yellow mushroom with a couple of ladybugs filling the right-hand page. Pages that follow have mushrooms in different places or with different qualities — in the park, glows in the dark, on a tree, hard to see, etc. until readers get to, “And here is a mushroom made just for you.” This spread shows a whimsical mushroom house. Little creatures such as a snail and butterflies come to play and stay all day. As the sun sets, the friends leave, and you (the listener) read a book in a mushroom chair before climbing into your mushroom bed and turning out the light.

Author Kenneth Kraegel has written an enchanting story that will have little ones quieting down and drifting into sleepiness. The story is told in very spare lyrical rhyme, and the rhythm of that will help youngsters on their journey to bedtime. It is the illustrations, though, that will really draw in and keep the interest of young listeners. They are gorgeous. The colors are soft and each page is filled with lots of lovely details to keep youngsters engaged. Don’t miss this one.