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As Babies Dream
"A warm and wonderful bedtime hug." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
This sweet, rhyming bedtime lullaby is a calming ode to nature as a loving family embraces their child as night falls and dream time begins. From rivers to eagles, to lions and lambs, to leaves and rain, and to stars and the moon, the soothing sounds of the world become the inspiration for a loving night of restful sleep for a weary baby. This book shares the spirit of shared community and the common values of love and hope.
Award-winning and beloved author Lesléa Newman crafts a sweet tale that all families with a young one can appreciate.
This sweet, rhyming bedtime lullaby is a calming ode to nature as a loving family embraces their child as night falls and dream time begins. From rivers to eagles, to lions and lambs, to leaves and rain, and to stars and the moon, the soothing sounds of the world become the inspiration for a loving night of restful sleep for a weary baby. This book shares the spirit of shared community and the common values of love and hope.
Award-winning and beloved author Lesléa Newman crafts a sweet tale that all families with a young one can appreciate.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published September 14, 2021
About the author
Lesléa Newman
101 books239 followersLesléa Newman (born 1955, Brooklyn, NY) is the author of over 50 books including Heather Has Two Mommies, A Letter To Harvey Milk, Writing From The Heart, In Every Laugh a Tear, The Femme Mystique, Still Life with Buddy, Fat Chance and Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear.
She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and two Pushcart Prize Nominations.
Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.
Ms. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children's book to portray lesbian families in a positive way, and has followed up this pioneering work with several more children's books on lesbian and gay families: Gloria Goes To Gay Pride, Belinda's Bouquet, Too Far Away to Touch, and Saturday Is Pattyday.
She is also the author of many books for adults that deal with lesbian identity, Jewish identity and the intersection and collision between the two. Other topics Ms. Newman explores include AIDS, eating disorders, butch/femme relationships and sexual abuse. Her award-winning short story, A Letter To Harvey Milk has been made into a film and adapted for the stage.
In addition to being an author, Ms. Newman is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken on college campuses across the country including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Oregon, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the University of Judaism. From 2005-2009, Lesléa was a faculty member of the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Currently, she is the Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA.
She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and two Pushcart Prize Nominations.
Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.
Ms. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children's book to portray lesbian families in a positive way, and has followed up this pioneering work with several more children's books on lesbian and gay families: Gloria Goes To Gay Pride, Belinda's Bouquet, Too Far Away to Touch, and Saturday Is Pattyday.
She is also the author of many books for adults that deal with lesbian identity, Jewish identity and the intersection and collision between the two. Other topics Ms. Newman explores include AIDS, eating disorders, butch/femme relationships and sexual abuse. Her award-winning short story, A Letter To Harvey Milk has been made into a film and adapted for the stage.
In addition to being an author, Ms. Newman is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken on college campuses across the country including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Oregon, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the University of Judaism. From 2005-2009, Lesléa was a faculty member of the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Currently, she is the Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 20, 2022
The illustrations are pretty and colorful, but I couldn't really figure out the pattern in the words.
Crows fly, rivers flow, eagles cry, winds blow, hawks soar, frogs leap, lions roar, lambs sleep, .....
We don't seem to be progressing through the day from sunup to sundown, although by the end it is nighttime. Because we have rivers flowing and winds blowing it's not all about parents watching/teaching/encouraging/loving children.
It feels like the author was just picking nouns and verbs that go together and then matching them with their rhymes. I couldn't tell if this was "As" used in a comparison (babies dream safe in our love LIKE frogs leap?) or if this was "As" meaning occurring at the same time (babies dream safe in our love while hawks soar).
All the illustrations of animals show at least one adult and at least one child.
Crows fly, rivers flow, eagles cry, winds blow, hawks soar, frogs leap, lions roar, lambs sleep, .....
We don't seem to be progressing through the day from sunup to sundown, although by the end it is nighttime. Because we have rivers flowing and winds blowing it's not all about parents watching/teaching/encouraging/loving children.
It feels like the author was just picking nouns and verbs that go together and then matching them with their rhymes. I couldn't tell if this was "As" used in a comparison (babies dream safe in our love LIKE frogs leap?) or if this was "As" meaning occurring at the same time (babies dream safe in our love while hawks soar).
All the illustrations of animals show at least one adult and at least one child.
July 9, 2023
Wonderful, rich illustrations in this book. It is a great poem about all the things that are happening in the world, especially in the animal world while babies are safe and loved at home. After reading the title of the book I was a little surprised how this book started. I figured it would focus on babies, but it was more focused on baby animals and families than it was on human babies. The words are very lyrical and would engage young kids, especially if you used it as a search and find for all the pairs of animals.
October 7, 2021
Well that was pretty darn sweet. This seems like a run-of-the-mill picture book that highlights different animals and has smooth rhyming text. The illustrations were so colorful and lush though that it set this book apart. Cute nighttime book or a snuggly poem-ish book to read to babies. Could be fun for baby storytime, though I feel like pausing to talk about the animasl would throw off the cadence of the rhymes.
June 5, 2023
The hauntingly beautiful words create a near-hypnotic lulling for children.
So powerful is the combo here of words and sounds, imagery and illustration, that this book just might have the power to teach children to TRUST bedtime and going to sleep.
As for the ending, it couldn't be more perfect. (Though no spoilers from me, no no.)
So powerful is the combo here of words and sounds, imagery and illustration, that this book just might have the power to teach children to TRUST bedtime and going to sleep.
As for the ending, it couldn't be more perfect. (Though no spoilers from me, no no.)
June 11, 2023
I read this to my kid almost every night, on loan from the library. He loves the illustrations and while the rhymes don't have any natural progression to night, keeping his attention is fun and easy - bringing my voice up and down with the rhymes, singing, making noises with the animals, and all that keep my little one super absorbed with the book. It's great for bedtime.
March 4, 2022
This is such an adorable book, and the sweet, rhyming text flows like a lullaby making it the perfect bedtime story. Our daughter loved looking at all the animals in the illustrations and it quickly became her favorite book. She carries it everywhere.
August 5, 2024
I didn't really like this one. Written in poetic form, which I tend not to enjoy, nothing really happens. It's just a bunch of animals performing their typical verbs. I didn't care for the ending, didn't find any meaning in it.
September 30, 2021
The beautiful illustrations in wonderful colors match the sparse, rhyming text to create a bedtime book that is sure to become a favorite.
October 22, 2021
Rhyme, everyday diversity
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October 27, 2021Warm encouragement of family love
December 10, 2021
A lovely, simple read aloud for young children.
December 20, 2021
A great bedtime story for any child. Great story and amazing artwork.
Thank you for the loan Franklin Public Library!
Thank you for the loan Franklin Public Library!
January 7, 2022
A sweet animals-and-babies bedtime book. Not deep, but it rhymes!
Themes: Bedtime
Age range: Babies
Themes: Bedtime
Age range: Babies
January 8, 2022
for the very young: lovely lullaby story
January 24, 2022
Storytime Themes: Bedtime, Baby and Me
March 10, 2022
A calming bedtime book for toddlers and up with nighttime pictures of animals settling down for the night.
March 23, 2022
May be a touch too long for storytime but I loved the illustrations and simple words in this one
March 24, 2022
3.5 cute and beautiful illustrations
January 4, 2023
Beautiful, lilting lullaby. Great for last book at babytime or for bedtime at home.
July 8, 2023
A lovely and lyrical bedtime book that celebrates nature's simple beauty through Lesléa Newman's melodious rhymes and Taia Morley's stunning illustrations.
September 21, 2023
Sweet lullaby of a book, with gorgeous art and a lyrical bent. Perfect bedtime picture book.
December 2, 2023
The illustrations in this book are so well done and beautifully colored; the book’s pages are so striking and gorgeous. I loved the storyline and my child loved roaring with the lion.
January 11, 2022
Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews