Lullaby (for a Black Mother) (Board Book) - by Langston Hughes

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"My little dark baby, / My little earth-thing, / My little love-one, / What shall I sing / For your lullaby?" With gracefully chosen words as smooth as a song, the poet Langston Hughes celebrates the love between an African American mother and her baby. Award-winning illustrator Sean Qualls's painted and collaged artwork captures universally powerful maternal moments with tenderness and whimsy. Like little love-ones, this beautiful book is a treasure. Now in board book format.

Review Quotes

A wonderful celebration of both love and poetry.
--School Library Journal

A quiet but welcome introduction to the writer's work for the very young.
--Publishers Weekly

Share with little ones needing a gentle lullaby.
--Kirkus

Not all poems make for great picture book texts, but this one has just the right cadence and all the right line breaks for smooth page turns, especially when accompanied by Qualls's superb art showing the deep bond between a mother and her baby at bedtime.
--Horn Book

About The Author

The American poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967) penned many well-known poems, such as "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "I, Too, Sing America," and "The Dream Keeper."

Sean Qualls received a Coretta Scott King Honor for Before John Was a Jazz Giant, by Carole Boston Weatherford. He lives in Brooklyn with his family. www.seanqualls.com.