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HUSH! by Minfong Ho Kirkus Star

HUSH!

By

Pub Date: March 1st, 1996
Publisher: Orchard

From the author of A Clay Marble (1991), a charming, repetitive rhyme (subtitled ""A Thai Lullaby"") in which a mother shushes all the creatures, from a tiny mosquito to a huge elephant, in and around her thatch-roofed house so that her baby can sleep in the blue cloth hammock. However, sharp-eyed readers will notice that each time the mother's back is turned, the child climbs out of the hammock to play. At the end, everyone, including the unsuspecting mother, is asleep--but not the baby! Exceptionally beautiful cut-paper-and-ink illustrations in earth tones use the varied textures of the paper to wonderful effect, depicting traditional Thai textiles, basketry, and building styles. All of young children's favorite elements are here: a reassuringly predictable, rhyming text, animals and their sounds, a mischievous subplot in the pictures, and an ever-so-slightly naughty child who fools everyone in the end. A sure winner.