ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSES

For this traditional lullaby—“Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry./Go to sleepy, little baby./And when you wake, you’ll have cake/and all the pretty little horses”—Saport has taken her cues from the American South, where the song may have originated. The images she concocts are theatrical, with bakers and cakes streaming by, and a small boy atop a horse as it, and the rest of the horses, arching through the sky, pull an orange-colored carriage with a baker at the reins. The elegantly modulated pastels give an impression of twilight, while elements dusted in white and gold shine luminously, offering comfort. (Picture book/folklore. 2-4)