Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project to Benefit Cancer Research

Gr 3–8—Seventeen previously unrecorded lullabies are included in this book that benefits breast cancer research. In the foreword, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton write, "a lullaby is an offering of love," and this project, with its approximately 100 contributors, represents a whole lotta love. Dawson and Glucksman have assembled notable composers and lyricists, singers and musicians, as well as illustrators to work on each song-Jules Feiffer, Barry Moser, Melissa Sweet, Jon Muth, and Marc Simont are some of the stellar artists. The contributors' notes make for exciting reading. Lullabies of many varieties and hues include "It Takes All Kinds" by Stephen Sondheim; "It takes bimbos,/It takes dumbos/It takes rambos/And Columbos" is sung with a poignant earnestness by Dana Ivey and Walter Charles. A few are heart-wrenching, such as a song for a baby surrounded by tubing and wires, wearing "the tiniest onesie of them all" (music by Wayne Barker; lyrics by BD Wong). Feel-good songs include Michael La Chuiusa's meditation on parenthood: "How much love can a heart hold/Before it fills and overflows" and the classic "The Man Who Invented Ice Cream." This collection is perfect for a shower, as an elementary classroom read or listen, or as a gift of comfort and love.—Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA