Mushroom Lullaby (Lullaby)

by Kenneth Kraegel (Author) Kenneth Kraegel (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
Series: Lullaby

From the creator of Wild Honey from the Moon comes a fanciful lullaby as cozy and unique as a mushroom home.

Here is your mushroom at the end of the day. The sun stretches out and sets far away. In gentle rhyme, this spare and whimsical picture book from the one-of-a-kind imagination of Kenneth Kraegel introduces little readers to all sorts of wonderful mushrooms: ones that grow up high and ones that never stay dry, ones that grow in a park and ones that glow in the dark, and even one made just for them! Who can resist climbing up the soft mushroom stair, curling up in a plush mushroom chair, and preparing to dream sweet mushroom dreams?

The lulling narration and warm illustrations of this charmingly quirky book will have drowsy young ones settling into their own comfy beds, ready to drift off to sleep.

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Hardcover
$17.99

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Kirkus Reviews

Starred Review
A mycological charmer. 

Booklist

Starred Review
A magical, mellow mushroom dream.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Mushrooms provide an unconventional and earthy through line for this cozy bedtime book. Rhyming lines open with a simple introduction to different types of fungi ("This is a mushroom that grows in the park./ This is a mushroom that glows in the dark"), but the story soon takes a more personal and interactive slant: "And here is a mushroom made just for you./ Your friends can come, too." A game- and lemonade-filled day with bug pals--including a ladybug, centipede, and a pair of butterflies--ensues, until dusk arrives and the door to "your" mushroom house is flung open. Up "soft mushroom stair" the reader discovers a round room with a "big mushroom chair" and a "warm/ mushroom bed"--a welcoming space in which to snuggle down as the full moon peeks through a circular window. Intricate dots and lines define Kraegel's ink and watercolor art, which quaintly supports this enchanted, inviting portrait of a mushroom day and night. Ages 2-5. (Oct.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

This book begins like a lyrical show-and-tell: "This is a mushroom that grows in the park./ This is a mushroom that glows in the dark./ This is a mushroom growing on a tree./ And this little mushroom is hard to see." With the turn of each golden page, the natural world of a realistic mushroom tale turns into a miniature journey to a small mushroom home where "you," the listener, can drop off to sleep in cozy surroundings and dream the night away. By this time, children will have stopped asking questions about how they went from show-and-tell to dollhouse-sized existence, fully entering this mushroom world of warmth and tenderness to settle down to sleep. The rhyming text starts off with mushrooms to look for and ends by being tucked into a snug mushroom bed. The artwork has lots of details that will give the less sleepy opportunities to look for and name things as the pages are turned, without the bother of a narrative plot. VERDICT A nice way to send children off to post-story hour naps, at least once.—Debbie Tanner

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Short sentences, lilting rhymes, and harmonious visuals help viewers grasp the subject matter. . . Kraegel invites readers in by showing a homey mushroom dwelling. . . A mycological charmer." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Mushrooms provide an unconventional and earthy through line for this cozy bedtime book. . . . Intricate dots and lines define Kraegel's ink and watercolor art, which quaintly supports this enchanted, inviting portrait of a mushroom day and night." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The simple, sweet rhymes anchor the gentle story and make it an ideal bedtime read-aloud, and the vibrant ink-and-watercolor illustrations are immersive and intimate. . . Children will pore over the cozy details, from bug-sized volleyball nets to miniature lantern-lit paths, and the last glimpses of a moonlit mushroom village may even have grown-ups wishing for a relocation to the snug setting. A magical, mellow mushroom dream." —Booklist (starred review)

"This book begins like a lyrical show-and-tell. . . With the turn of each golden page, the natural world of a realistic mushroom tale turns into a miniature journey to a small mushroom home. . . A nice way to send children off to post-story hour naps." —School Library Journal
Kenneth Kraegel
Kenneth Kraegel is the author-illustrator of the picture books Green Pants and King Arthur's Very Great Grandson, which was named a New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year, as well as the board book This Is a Book of Shapes and the first chapter book Wild Honey from the Moon. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his family.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781536219418
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
October 20, 2022
Series
Lullaby
BISAC categories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV010000 - Juvenile Fiction | Bedtime & Dreams
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Stories in rhyme
Mushrooms

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