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                                                               Review of Songs From Dreamland Book & CD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: From School Library Journal A delicately illustrated collection of 14 original lullabies and a sweetly sung cassette recording of the songs, each of which can stand alone well but which complement each other nicely. Duncan's lullabies represent many of the aspects of lullaby tradition and have some of the qualities of Malvina Reynolds' songs for children. The poems are rhythmic delights, full of the repeated sounds that make lullabies so appealing to small children. They cover a range of moods from gently loving to sprightly. Duncan's choice of words is perfect, using the common subjects of lullabies, but with creative twists. Kay Chorao's pastel pencil drawings are reminiscent of her illustrations for The Baby's Bedtime Book (Dutton, 1984) and are filled with clever transitions from the dreaming to the waking state. Fish sewn on the baby's quilt in "The Sleepy Sun" are featured alive and active in her dreams, and the boats on a small child's pajamas float gently in his memories of the day's play. While mothers dominate these lullabies, a number of the songs do not reflect the gender of the singer, and Chorao has included several fathers in her pictures, as well as multi-ethnic children. On the cassette, Arquette uses a variety of music to accentuate the rhythms and moods of the lullabies; she uses her fine voice for dramatic effect to reproduce the sliding, ironic, and loving moods of the lyrics. A gentle commentary, accompanied by wind and wind-chime sounds, ties the songs together. These lullabies would work well in home and nursery-school settings, with the tape used to induce naps and bedtimes and the book to let children see and enjoy the words and images of their favorite songs. --Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie

 

 
 

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