The ABC Book of Lullabies

This is an old book from 2008 but what I love about books like this is the way they allow you to explore a range of illustrators - in this case illustrators from Australia:

Tamsin Ainslie, Jonathan Bentley, Gaye Chapman, Janine Dawson, Wayne Harris, Ann James, Stephen Michael King, Alison Lester, Caroline Magerl, Kilmeny Niland, Anna Pignataro, Cheryl Orsini, and Emma Quay. 

The cover art is by Emma Quay:

Here is the illustration from Stephen Michael King:

Illustration by Stephen Michael King for Golden Slumbers

I wonder who selected the illustrators to include in this book? I wonder if they were able to select their lullaby to illustrate? I did enjoy reading the end notes where each illustrator talks each specific lullaby. The ABC of the title refers to the publisher's name and not the organisation of the lullabies.

Books like The ABC Book of Lullabies are produced for two audiences simultaneously: the child who focuses on the images as the words are read to them and the adult (usually) who is reading. Each will take different things from the reading. An adult may well be interested in the differences between the images and the differing styles of each illustrator. Short bios, including sketches and photos are included in the final pages for those readers. Each illustrator shares a little about what they do and why, and why they’ve chosen the particular lullaby. Children will enjoy this collection whatever time they read or are read to, but it does make a lovely bedtime collection. For adults, The ABC Book of Lullabies is a bit like a sampler, introducing the work of some of Australia’s most talented illustrators. Or perhaps an illustrators’ version of an anthology. Aussie Reviews

If you have this book in your library and you have a small display space you could copy the pages from this book as a way to explore the CBCA 2026 slogan "Symphony of Stories". Lullabies are often examples of simple stories and hopefully also of familiar stories.

Here are a couple of examples:

Rock-a-bye Baby

Rock-a-bye, baby, in the treetop,

When the wind blows the cradle will rock;

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Baby is drowsing, cosy and fair.

Mother sits near, in her rocking chair.

Forward and back the cradle she swings,

And though baby sleeps, he hears what she sings.

From the high rooftops down to the sea,

No one's as dear as baby to me.

Wee little fingers, eyes wide and bright --

Now sound asleep until morning light.

Hush Little Baby

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,

Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,

Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass gets broke,

Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.

And if that billy goat won't pull,

Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.

And if that cart and bull turn over,

Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,

Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,

You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

I imagine most of these names are very familiar to you. There was only one illustrator that I had not heard of - or perhaps I knew the books but not their names? - Janine Dawson is the illustrator of Pudding and Chips; Bobbie Dazzler and Junkyard Dogs. She also did illustrations for the Aussie Nibble Pippa's Perfect Picnic and the covers of the Lily Quench series. 

Here is one book from each of the illustrators who have work in this book. In most cases you can pop a title into my search bar to read more:

Bea, Bart and the Birds by Katrina Nannestad illustrated by Cheryl Orsini

Alliterative siblings Bea and Bart have a knack for attracting lost birds. Fortunately, they live in a mansion and so there is plenty of room for all these different creatures - Boo the owl; Polly the rhyming parrot; Doornail the peacock; Crumbs the sparrow; Squish the fairy wren; and Rosy the crow. Unfortunately having these creatures inside the house does lead to daily chaos. Mum keeps fainting; the butler keeps dropping plates of food and Nanny cannot get any sleep with the noisy parrot in the house. Oh, and I need to talk about Doornail. Doornail is a peacock and when the children find him, they think he is dead - dead as a doornail. In fact pretending to be dead is a clever defense mechanism for peacocks and the children soon discover this bird is actually alive. I have some country friends who have a peacock in their large back garden. He moved in about a year ago. I think they would like him to move on and no one really knows where he came from. The fun thing about having him living there is his almost daily feather show which delights the small children (and adults) who visit this house. 

Living in mansion might mean these children's parents are rich. They do have a nanny and a butler! A lady sees the kids with all their bird friends in the park, and she hatches a plan to kidnap the children and ask for a ransom. More chaos ensues and the children are rescued. 

This is a sweet story with an old-fashioned feel (think about having a butler and a nanny). It is easy to read with a good print size and plenty of illustrations along with short chapters. Bee, Bart and the Birds will also work as a family (very short) read aloud. The font changes will help readers identify words to emphasise such as in this sentence: "The birds bobbed and chirped. They loved walkies in the park."

This book, Bea, Bart and the Birds, comes from a new series from Affirm Press (Simon and Schuster). The three authors/commentators behind the Facebook and Podcast group "Your Kids Next Read" were asked, I think, or perhaps it was their idea, to develop some simple and hopefully appealing junior chapter books. The series name is taken from their group name. 

Katrina Nannestad talks about her book here.

Here are the blurbs of the first four titles which were released this week: 

The Lonely Lunch Club (Friends, School and Funny Stories) One lunchtime, Benji goes to the worst bench in the whole school instead of playing footy. There he meets a girl named Alice and a spider named Mabel. And Mabel needs their help! But can Benji and Alice do it alone? 

The Missing Pencil Case (Mystery, Family and Funny Stories) Lea has lost her pencil case. It's full of money she has collected for charity! Lea must search all over her apartment block for the missing pencil case. Where could it be?

Will Finn Win? (Animals, Sport and Friends) Fin never wins anything. On school sports day, a naughty puppy stops Fin from coming first in his race. Will Fin ever win? Or will he learn that there are more important things than medals? 

Bea, Bart and the Birds (Animals, Family and Surprising Stories) It all starts with Boo, the owl. Bea and Bart take her home and love her. Soon, they have a feathered family! But Bea and Bart are not the only ones interested in these unusual birds … 

In July last year Joy Lawn (Paperbark Words) interviewed the YKNR team about their book series plans. Allison Tait, Megan Daley and Allison Rushby have quite lofty goals for their series. I have only read one title so far so I will reserve my judgment as to whether their goals have been met: 

• ‘We are thrilled to be part of the development of this incredible series, which offers a wide reading experience for young readers from creators whose work we love and admire. Your Next Read will provide adults with a one-stop shop for quality books for junior readers, while offering young readers books that are fun, exciting and aimed at building a love of literature.’
• Alongside a phonics-based approach to learning the skills of reading comes the most critical part of a child’s reading journey: the desire to keep reading. That’s where Your Next Read comes in – a bold new series designed to ensure every child learns to love reading.

Reading these two statements I find I am very confused - why did the series creators feel the need to produce very detailed 'Teacher's Notes'? This makes me think these books are also intended to be class readers and not literature? I was also distressed to see the team behind the Your Next Read series promoting the sales of their books through BigW which is a department-style chain store here in Australia. Authors and illustrators receive very little payment for their books, and we desperately also need to support our independent book sellers. BigW are selling these books for AUS$8 which is way below the retail price of AUS$13. It seems sad and wrong to me that purchasing these books from a discount department store is being promoted. And there will be a lot of promotion over the coming years since there is a plan for 36 titles in total. If I am right the author and illustrator of these books share $2.50 of the full retail price or 10% and only 5% for the discounted copy. 

If you are looking for junior series that most certainly could 'build a love of literature' see if your library has Aussie Nibbles and the Solo series which are perfect for younger readers and most certainly do contain 'fun' and very satisfying stories. 

Quirky things to notice about the Your Next Read books:

The shape - with rounded corners - this harks back to the wonderful series I just mentioned that we had here in Australia in the past called Aussie Nibbles, Aussie Bites and Aussie Chomps. The rounded corners are possibly intended to make the books stand out as different and I did read they are meant to look like collectors cards. There is spot varnish on the cover - silver for the first titles in the series.

Each book has a set of 'genre' labels on the cover - my book is listed as animals, family and surprising stories. I am not a fan of generifying school library collections but these little labels might help a young reader anticipate the plot of their book. 

I saw this promotional bookmark as part of the book display for this series

At the back of the book readers are invited to take a survey and this then tells them which book could be Your Next Read. 

There is a plan, as I said, to have 36 titles for this series and they are coded silver and gold. These colours link with suggested ages Silver=ages 5-8 Gold=ages 7-9.

Of the four titles from this first batch it seems the creators have somewhat deliberately tried to have 2 "girl" title and two "boy" titles. 

You might recognise some of the author and illustrator names. I purchased Bea, Bart and the Birds (it's a fun alliterative title as I already noted) because I have read nearly every book (for older readers) by Katrina Nannestad and I do love art by Cheryl Orsini. I am so glad that each book will have a different authors and illustrators. Your young readers might then go on to explore other titles by these creators. 

I was pleased to see Affirm Press have kept the price at a lower level for the series at AUS$13 each.  I did spy them for just AUS$10 each in a chain store today and online from the YKNR team for even less at AUS$8. I do wish the paper was slightly higher quality but I guess you need to balance this against a lower price and also consider the intended audience is home ownership not library collections perhaps.

Here are some of the authors and illustrators who will contribute to this series: Peter Cheong, Jane Godwin, Jade Goodwin, Anita Heiss, Kylie Howarth, Tom Jellett, Maddy Mara, Jasmin McGaughey, Katrina Nannestad, Cheryl Orsini, A. L. Tait, Kate & Jol Temple, Amelia Mellor, Jess Racklyeft and Briony Stewart. In one bookshop today the four titles from 'Your Next Read' were all placed together and in a different shop they were scattered among the junior chapter titles in alphabetical order. If you do add these to your school library I would pop them all together in a series box or on a series display spinner. 

Jane Godwin was previously the author of several titles from the Aussie Nibbles and Aussie Bites series including one of my huge favourites Poor Fish. Here's a list of all her books. 

Here are the next two titles due out in June:

The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef by Sophie Masson illustrated by Cheryl Orsini

Cakes, a love story, kindness and destiny - perfect ingredients for a delicious BOOK! (oh and did I mention cake - do not read this book when you are hungry).

Lucas lives in a small, possibly French, town by the sea. He is so lucky because his aunt Violette owns a cake shop. He can sample the cakes and even help to make them, but more importantly, Lucas is a boy with well-developed emotional intelligence. He can see that even though Violette has bright eyes and a sharp sense of humour she somehow also seems a little sad. 

"Sometimes Lucas helped: stirring, mixing, whipping. And Violette would tell Lucas stories about when she was young."

And as well as emotional intelligence Lucas is a good listener. 

Lucas also loves to visit his friend - the fishmonger who works in the busy market. 

"Cyprien (was) a large, shy man with kind eyes and wild hair under his old beret. Some days Lucas helped: wraping, mopping, rearranging. And Cyprien would tell Lucas stories about when he was young."

But like Violette, Cyprien's eyes looked a little sad.

Notice the way Sophie Masson has constructed the two sentences above - a variation on the words.

Cyprien is shy. He does visit the cake shop but he is never brave enough to stay for long. Lucas encourages Violette and Cyprien to share their favourite memories and by happy chance Lucas recognises these memories are linked. All he has to do is find a way to bring these two people together.

I am certain The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef will be a CBCA 2026 notable Picture Book title and possibly even on the shortlist. You could borrow this book from your local or school library but even better the beautiful book design, tactile cover, gentle colour palette, delightful illustrations of cakes and the warmth of this sweet love story make this a book you will want own or perhaps give as a gift at Christmas.

The art in this book by Cheryl Orsini is truly special - I have been a fan of her work for a long time.

Just OH MY!! This is simply an absolutely beautiful treasure from every angle. Just so Stories

This is a charming little matchmaking tale nestled inside the comforts of friendship, glorious memories and delicious food! ... the real stars of the book are the different kinds of French food. Both Masson and Orsini and pour their passion onto the page and Lucas is the embodiment of that. Readers will look at the pastry shop with the "berets Basques with chocolate tops, tartes aux fraises, glossy with strawberries, and gateaux Russe, resplendent with hazelnut meringue and coffee cream" and lick their lips then turn the page and be bombarded with a buffet of "crusty bread and salty ham, wheels of cheese and spears of asparagus, and bright red peppers, tomatoes and cherries ... silvery shoals of fish, spiky squads of lobsters ..."  Buzz Words

Companion books:

The Truck Cat

Herman and Rosie

Love in the Library

‘The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef’ has to be one of my favourite picture books of the year. It is absolutely gorgeous. Sophie Masson knows how to tell a tale and this is a beautiful tale about two people who connect. Indeed, it’s a sweet and romantic tale that is perfectly paced and perfectly structured. And the artwork by Cheryl Orsini is exquisite. ... This is the perfect gift for young ones." Paul Macdonald