This is one of my all time favourite children's books. I read this with my son on a fairly regular basis. It is a beautiful story about a mothers unconcditional love for her son, and the bond between mother and son. It is full of real life examples of the different stages boys hit as they grow and mature. It is funny and heart warming all at the same time.This book has different meanings for the adult and the child, but both can enjoy this book on different levels. I would recommend this book to any parent, especially to moms with boys. It is a fabulous mother son read.

Jake's Review: Mom cries every-time she reads this and I don't get why. The story is kinda funny and the pictures are cool too, but its kinda creepy the way that the Dad rocks the old mom. It sort of makes me sad too. Jake's Rating: 6/10 Mom's Review: Don't get me started I cry like a baby each time I read this. So sensitively written, yet funny at the same time, Munsch is at his very best here. Lets face it though, this one was written for the parents and not the kids -- although when they are very young they get a kick out of the pictures and the rhymes. The artwork is exceptional and so beautifully detailed. Each time I look through it I notice something little that I never noticed before. This is the PERFECT gift for new parents - they will love you and hate you for it. This is all about Unconditional love people -- don't psychoanalyze it too much and its not creepy its beautiful - now someone get me a frickin tissue. Mom's Rating: 10/10

This is the sweetest childrens book out there

I have read the bad reviews and dont agree with them for the following reasons: 1. Children's books need to be written (and read) in a dramatic fashion -- it's meant to be a bit over-the-top. It doesnt mean that mother's generally "crawl" into their kid's rooms when most can actually walk in. Or climb through the window. The intent of books directed at children are to entertain them and to look through the eyes of the child. Suspension of adult disbelief is a must. Otherwise, we wouldnt be able to read any of the much loved fairy-tales or even nursery rhymes to our children without cringing. Think "ring-around the roses" (its about the plague); Puff the Magic Dragon (drugs); Jack and Jill (orgasmic experience). I also wouldn't read Sleeping Beauty to my child (think of the message to daughters -- as a girl you are helpless to determine your fate unless a guy can rescue you...Oh! Puhleese!) 2. By imputing into the book something that is more disturbing, nefarious or "creepy", perhaps we are simply reflecting some of our own insecurities and hang-ups that kids simply dont have. As a child reading it, most feel secure that nothing they do will make their parents disown them-- even when they're all grown up ( I see it that way). This was a book a friend read to her daughter (who was adopted) and now that the daughter is in her late teens she looks back on the book with fondness -- precisely because of the message that her mum will be there for her even when she is an adult - that was a source of comfort and security for her. 3. If we judge the book from adult perspectives and read that book to our children with vague disgust -- our kids are going to pick up on it and perhaps we will have succeeded in transferring our hang-ups to them by transforming a beautiful "safe" book into something twisted. My 2 cents....for what its worth!

my dad read this book to me when i was a baby, it was my absolute favourite book, still is. i would say even if you don't have kids you should still read it. or if you do and haven't read it yet then you should because it's a book you can cuddle to.

This is a classic "new baby" book, a perfect gift. Robert Munsch never ceases to impress, and this heartwarming, tear-jerking story is no exception.

I remember this book from when i was young and just recently bought it for my new niece. I believe this is one of those rare books that every child needs to experience. I had let many years go by without reading it and it really is just as moving now that i'm an adult as it was when i was young. Definitly a must have for any childs library.

i love this book, i have about 7 or 8 copies of it at my house, including one no ones allowed to touch because its hard cover & cloth bound, i bought it for my self last year when i spend $122.45 in books at chapters last year.

I see many differing opinions written here about this book. I think the book is wonderful. The book is about the cycle of life. It describes a Mother's unconditional love for her Son through the years. No matter what he does and how frustrated she is with him, that love never goes away and is eventually passed on from Parent to Child to Parent through the generations. It really gets to the bottom of a parents feelings for their children. I have read the reviews that have given this book low marks. Some people have even went so far as to call this book creepy. While I agree if a Mother in the "real world" drove across town and crept into her Son's room to rock him, it would be disturbing. In this book though, it shows that the Mother continues to love her Son through his whole life even even though there are boundaries separating them. I view this in the same spirit as I do Cinderella. A Step-Daughter that is used like a slave until a fairy god-mother comes and rescues her so she can fall in love with a Prince after one dance. One of Cinderella's messages among many others is just because people treat you bad, what matters is the person you are on the inside and that there is always hope. (unfortunately there are not fairy god-mothers because there sure are a lot of people that could use one.)

We all know that one day, we will grow up and leave the house and family we grew up with...From birth to adulhood, a mother always cradles her child at night...but soon the routine is reversed when the mother is dying, her son is the one to cradle her. As he himself has a child of his own, he continues to sing his lullaby.