27. The Real Mother Goose

The Real Mother Goose. Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. 1916. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep. And can't tell where to find them; Leave them alone, and they'll come home, and bring their tails behind them.

Premise/plot: This Mother Goose collection was originally published in 1916. Its cover (and interior illustrations) are recognizable by generations. There are hundreds of poems/verses. 

My thoughts: I enjoyed reading The Real Mother Goose. While I was familiar with some of the Mother Goose rhymes, there were so many that were new to me. The rhymes do vary in quality and relevance. (I'm not sure little ones need to be familiar with each and every poem in this collection in order to "know" their Mother Goose properly). Here are a few of my favorites:

The Tarts
The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts,
He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more. (107)

Sing a Song of Sixpence
Sing a song of sixpence,
a pocket full of rye;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie!
When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing;
Was not that a dainty dish
To set before the king?
The king was in his counting-house
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird
And snapped off her nose. (62)

The Bunch of Blue Ribbons
Oh, dear what can the matter be?
Oh, dear what can the matter be?
Oh, dear what can the matter be?
Johnny's so long at the fair.
He promised to buy me a bunch of blue ribbons,
He promised to buy me a bunch of blue ribbons,
He promised to buy me a bunch of blue ribbons,
To tie up my bonny brown hair. (127)

Do you have a favorite Mother Goose rhyme?

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Board Book: On the Go with Mother Goose

On the Go with Mother Goose. Iona Opie, editor. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. 2017. Candlewick Press. 26 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

Down at the station,
early in the morning,
See the little puffer-billies
all in a row;
See the engine driver
pull his little lever--
Puff puff, peep peep
off we go!

Premise/plot: This is a themed Mother Goose collection for parents to share with their little ones. The theme is ON THE GO. There are rhymes about going, coming, and arriving. Some of the rhymes may prove familiar to adults, though don't expect every poem to be an old friend. There are SO many Mother Goose rhymes and this collection just shares a few of them that fit this theme.

To market, to market,
to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again,
jiggety-jig.
To market, to market,
to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again,
jiggety-jog.

My thoughts: It's probably best not to come to this one with expectations of what should be included. I'm not sure if the 'missing' rhymes are missing because they've been included in other board book collections by Opie and Wells OR if perhaps the nursery rhymes are not Mother Goose but come from another source. Are all nursery rhymes by 'Mother Goose'? For example, I am thinking of "This Little Piggy," "Wee Willie Winkie," "Rub-a-dub-dub."

The book features illustrations by Rosemary Wells.
 

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Very Best Mother Goose Book Tower

The Very Best Mother Goose Book Tower. By Iona Opie. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. 2010. (February 2010). Candlewick. 80 pages.

Earlier in the month, I reviewed Maisy's Book Tower. I started my review by asking if the product was a book or a toy! I still don't have the perfect answer for that one. Because this is really the first time that I've encounter stacking book towers. (Books meant to serve dual purposes as a book-book and stacking blocks.) We've got four books included in this set. Jack and Jill And Other Classic Rhymes. Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat And Other Animal Rhymes. Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake And Other Action Rhymes. Wee Willie Winkie And Other Lullabies.

Mother Goose can be tricky at times because there are more than a few variations to the text itself. And it can be frustrating (at times, at least for some readers) for the book to "get it wrong." For example, I got a little annoyed that "I'm A Little Teapot" is all wrong:

I'm a little teapot,
short and stout,
Here's my handle,
Here's my spout.
When the tea is ready,
hear me shout,
Pick me up and
pour me out!

Overall, I think there's a good mix of rhymes that are familiar (or familiar enough at any rate) and completely unfamiliar. Some of these are ones that I've not come across before.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers