f you’re looking for a good bedtime story for a child aged three to six, you need look no further. Lyrical and melodic in every way, Eve Merriam’s Low Song is an exemplary illustration of a beautiful lullaby without music. Nevertheless, when read aloud, it offers quiet oscillating harmonies with the cadence of a cradlesong.
The wonder and magic of life are often lost on adults but never on a child. Children have the unique ability to truly “see” their surroundings and appreciate them. Their observant behavior rarely misses the beauty of a spring day or the heightened sense of color in fall foliage. In Low Song the poetic references to sights, sounds, taste, smell and touch add imagination to a child’s daily observations.
Bright, bold and beautiful describe the colorful illustrations by Pam Paparone. A touch of fantasy combined with a brush stoke of reality offer clear and unambiguous depictions of objects and experiences common to a child’s world. Clever images, such as smiling cows painted on the milkman’s milk bottles, add humor to the panoply of color. The vibrant colors used throughout the book reflect the feeling and message of each verse. A rosy pink background for falling snow, a deep blue night for a slumbering giraffe and a bright yellow sky for a cow in clover are certain to catch a child’s attention. Numerous plants, animals and insects are incorporated into various scenes throughout the book offering children ample opportunity to identify familiar objects and learn new ones.
To see the world through the imaginative eyes of a child is indeed a lullaby. Share this sonorous lullaby with your children and marvel at the wonder of it all.
Before her death in 1992, Eve Merriam wrote more than 50 books for children and adults, including The Inner City Mother Goose, illustrated by David Diaz. She won the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Pam Paparone is the illustrator of several children’s books and her paintings have appeared in many places, including the cover of The New Yorker magazine.
C. Elizabeth Davis is a former marketing director for the education division of Turner Broadcasting System.
