Baya, Baya Lulla-by-a (A Hindi Lullabye)

As a sun-yellow baya bird sings from an old thorn tree, a Hindu mother croons a lullaby to her choti ladki (little girl). While the bird collects green grasses to weave her nest, Mata makes her baby's first quilt, "the color of one hundred mornings."

 

The juxtaposition of bird and human maternal caregiving works well, and concludes with Mata taking the now-abandoned baya nest down from the tree and turning it into a lucky night lamp. The intricate watercolor illustrations are delicate in line and intense in color, perfectly complementing the exotic, yet universal plot of the story. A glossary of Hindi words and information about the baya bird of India are included in this jewel of a book. A gentle and fascinating bedtime story.

 

Author: Megan McDonald; Vera Rosenberry, illustrator. 32 pp. Ages: 4 - 8. Hardcover. Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2003.

 

Note: Books shipped from GA warehouse.

 

Ages 4 - 8.

 

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