Hush! a Thai Lullaby

by Minfong Ho

Book Overview

In an endearing lullaby, a mother asks a lizard, a monkey, and a water buffalo to be quiet and not disturb her sleeping baby.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0531071669
• ISBN13: 9780531071663
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.2" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 2

Customer Reviews

Baby won’t let us put it down

This book arrived a day ago and we have read it It probably 10 times. She loves it!

Much better than Goodnight Moon

This will forever be a night time staple in our house. We wanted to trade in our Goodnight Moon as were trying to decolonize our bookshelf and this one couldn't have been a better replacement!

Really cute

The Thai way of making the animal noises is so fun and new. I will read this to my baby a lot for sure! I was disappointed to receive a paperback copy when I ordered a hardback though. I will be checking my order details more closely from now on. I received a refund but in order to get the book I have to make additional purchases AGAIN for free shipping.

Fun and educational

My almost 2 and a half year old loves this book. We read several books before bed every night and he always requests this one. It's fun for parents to read because you can exaggerate the funny animal sounds and play up the repetitive questions. It's very interactive, asking something like, "What's that shrieking in the forest?" From an educational standpoint, it causes the child to make predictions (an important reading skill) and use clues in the story. Also, it's a great bedtime story because it is somewhat repetitive but then at the end of the story, everyone calms down and there is a beautiful picture of the peaceful night scene and then calming verse of the exhausted mother dozing. It really helps my child wind down for the night.

Great simple story with Thai background

"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.

My 16-month-old daughter's favorite!

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 delightful book that evokes Thai culture

"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.

Is the baby sleeping?

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.

Multicultural rich with wonderful pictures.

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.