YOUR NURSERY IS AN EVERYWHERE

A rhyming love song imagines the future of a baby in this picture book.

Sitting in a rocking chair with an infant, the narrator of the poem envisions the child’s wishes: “I gaze into your twinkling eyes / and pray they all come true.” As both the parent and baby drift off to sleep, the nursery seems to open beyond its walls, revealing a future world where the child meets farmyard animals, sails on the ocean, enjoys the beach, climbs trees, makes snow ice cream, and finally goes to school. Some of the activities are performed alone as the child gains independence while others are special times shared with the parent. But as all of those things are considered, the narrator confesses that the nursery is the “onlywhere” to be. Bullman’s stanzas flow smoothly in both rhyme and scansion. On some pages, the choice to insert words in the images, such as crooked over mountaintops or curved along a sidewalk, makes the phrases more difficult to decipher, especially for newly independent readers. The challenging vocabulary (splendors, sparkling morn) and the theme of fleeting childhood seem designed for adults to read the tale aloud to young ones. Lap readers will enjoy McAfee’s bright watercolors, which feature characters with varied skin tones (the parent and child both present as White). Despite the frequently cheerful events, the tone is intentionally subdued, mimicking a lullaby.

An excellent bedtime choice that promotes a timeless closeness between parent and child.