Lala Salama: A Tanzanian Lullaby

For sleepy little ones everywhere, Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan offers a lyrical Tanzanian lullaby that follows a loving family through their day.

The rhythm of the day’s activities creates the melody of the evening’s lullaby in this sweet song of family life along the banks of Lake Tanganyika. As the bright day shifts to twilight, the lantern on Baba’s boat twinkles in the distance, sending the baby off into a peaceful sleep on Mama’s shoulder. Inspired by a visit to her son, his wife, and their child in Tanzania, Patricia MacLachlan writes a gentle story of an African family’s day from sunup to sundown. Rich, beautifully detailed illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon offer a restful complement to the Swahili refrain "lala salama"—an invocation to "sleep well."