Summary
When Mother Earth bids goodnight, / the world is bathed in silver light. / She says, "Goodnight, my precious ones." / Nature's song has just begun.
Mother Earth's Lullaby is a gentle bedtime call to some of the world's most endangered animals. Rhythm, rhyme, and repetition create a quiet moment for children burrowing down in their own beds for the night, imparting a sense that even the most endangered animals feel safe at this peaceful time of day. In successive spreads, a baby giant panda, yellow-footed rock wallaby, California condor, Ariel toucan, American red wolf, Sumatran tiger, polar bear, Javan rhinoceros, Vaquita dolphin, Northern spotted owl, Hawaiian goose, and Key deer are snuggled to sleep by attentive parents in their dens and nests under the moon and stars.
Brief descriptions of each animal appear in the back of the book.
Terry Pierce was a Montessori teacher for 22 years before writing children's books. Her 22 books include Tae Kwon Do! (Bank Street College Best Children's Books of 2007); Mama Loves You So; Blackberry Banquet; Mother Goose Rhymes (a 2007 AEP Distinguished Achievement Award Winner), and My Busy Green Garden (page 65, a Cooperative Children's Book Center Best Book of 2018). She serves on the board of the educational nonprofit organization Whaletimes, Inc., and is an instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.
Carol Heyer has illustrated 32 children's picture books including Humphrey's First Christmas and Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude , winner of eight state awards, as well as several Hank Zipzer books written by Henry Winkler. Formerly she was a production designer and writer of feature films including Thunder Run (1986) and illustrated game materials for Dungeons & Dragons.