Husherbye

by John Burningham

A lilting lullaby in which we see everyone at the end of the day, tired and ready for bed - the cat and her kittens, a family of bears, a fish, a goose, a frog, even the man in the moon. Each one weary, each one whispering 'Husherbye'. In the second half of the book we see each character curled up or snuggled down and tucked up and comfortable, each in an appropriate place, fast asleep and the reader reminds the listener that the time has come for sleep and invites them to rest their head on the pillow: Tomorrow's a new day. You will go to sleep now. HUSHER BYE HUSHERBYE HUSH.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2001

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...

Married to Helen Oxenbury They have one son and two daughters.

John Burningham was born in 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, and attended the alternative school, Summerhill. In 1954 he spent two years travelling through Italy, Yugoslavia and Israel, working at a variety of jobs.

From 1956-1959, he studied at the Central School of Art, after which he designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He then became a writer and illustrator of children's books, his first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers (1963) winning the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963, an achievement he repeated with Mr Gumpy's Outing (1970).

Since then, he has written and illustrated many children's books. He is also a freelance designer of murals, exhibitions models, magazine illustrations and advertisements.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations show various characters that have had a long day. The second half of the book shows them finding a comfortable bed or a place to stay. A lovely message that if you've had a bad day, enjoy the relief of getting to bed and tomorrow the slate will be wiped clean. I've read this hundreds of times and I'd highly recommend this as a bedtime read.

Revisited this lovely book today, 17 yrs after I first bought it. I do love John Burningham's illustrations and I love these storylines that are so reassuring, they tell that not everything will go smoothly but don't worry, things will turn out better than you think. I loved the rhythm of the text in this story, very soporific and the perfect bedtime read to cleanse your brain of the rigours of today and leave you feeling ready to take on the challenge of tomorrow.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet beddy-bye book, where even the man in the moon needs to catch some ZZZzzzs.



I'm crazy about this author's illustrations!

[Amy Brydon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book with a great rhyme scheme and simplistic, calming language. However, it is a more of a bedtime story then a book which could be used in schools!

[Andréa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the first half more than the second half.

[Mikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good bedtime book. Kinda quirky. Has a dreamlike quality.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soft illustrations and calming words to drift off to
Sleep. Except my kids nothing can make them want to go to sleep. 😆

[Modboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Burningham is one of the best childrens authors I've ever come across. However, I think I prefer his books for the 3-7 age group. Hushabye is probably best suited for 2-3 year olds. It's about various animals and entities (the man in the moon) setting down to sleep. The art is good, as usual, but not his best -- lacking some of the detail and ingenuity of his other works.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

good bedtime read. adorable pictures. possible for nighttime storytime.

[Finny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy says: A spoken lullaby. A little simple for an almost 6yo.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like falling asleep as I read it, and I think it would be a great addition to a bedtime themed storytime (which I think we should have SOON!)

[Thia]

bedtime, repetitive line

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5*

1* art and story

[Geannemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loved it but I didn't think it was great.

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 3 out of 5]

For parents who are sick to death of reading Goodnight Moon every night.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This John Burningham book would be perfect for the younger listeners -- preschool and under. And it would be a great introduction to his many, many wonderful books.