My Very First Mother Goose

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Summary: From the day they're born, read to your baby!
Review: "My Very First Mother Goose" is the perfect gift for new parents. Children love rhymes, but, unfortunately, most babies in America today hear very little poetry and rhyme. This book is a gerat way to introduce children to rhyme. The big pages, brightly colored, warm illustrations, and fun, happy rhymes will captivate any baby or toddler. It is very important that babies are read to from birth. From birth to 6 mos, a baby will become accomsomed to the sound of the parent's voice and to the sounds of the English language. From 6 mos to 18 mos, baby will begin responding to favorite stories and rhymes. By three years of age, a baby who has been read to every day will be ready for chapter books such as "Charlotte's Web." A child who has been read to, for just a few minutes each day, will learn to love to read. Children who love to read become excellent readers, thus excelling in history, science, math, literature.... The illustrator of "My Very First Mother Goose", Rosemary Wells, is an strong advocate of literacy. She encourages all parents to turn off the t.v's and read, for fifteen minutes a day, to their children. "My Very First Mother Goose" is the perfect place to start!

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Summary: The Mother Goose to Own
Review: As the mother of four, I think I've read Mother Goose rhymes probably tens of thousands of times over the years. We've checked many Mother Goose books out of the library, but (thanks to my mom), this is the one we own. We return to it time and time again for several reasons. First, of all, it's big, which I really like because it means that I don't have to read the same rhymes night after night after night. There's ample room in it to poke around (also its size has allowed Opie to include in it some we didn't know - but quickly learned. My favorite of these is "Wash the dishes, Wipe the dishes, Ring the bell for tea; Three good wishes, Three good kisses, I will give to thee.") I also really like Opie's selection of rhymes. She's left out some of the grimmest, which makes the book appropriate for even the smallest of readers. This is not to say, however, that this a bland book. For Opie has included many really fun pieces. And this leads me to comment on Rosemary Wells' illustrations, which are warm and funny, in the most beautiful colors. She lends her own touch to this book. Sometimes she offers a new interpretation of a rhyme (see, for example, Humpty Dumpty, which it turns out in Wells' world really concerns a small bunny not very fond of boiled eggs). In other pictures, she simply adds hilarious, unexpected, fascinating detail. My daughters Rose, 2, and Daisy, 6, and I laughed and laughed over this book today, turning a sad sick morning into a happy time. I regularly find Rose, who is generally given to activities like bouncing, sitting quietly, poring over this book. This is the one to buy.

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Summary: Dickory Dickory Dock?
Review: I was brought up with the rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock" but it appears in this book as "Dickory Dickory Dock". Perhaps someone out there could explain this different version.

Overall, I like the lovely illustrations, large collection of rhymes (some I have never seen before) and creative layout of the words, however my toddler prefers the Lamaze boardbook of Mother Goose with its durable, easy-to-flip pages. Also, the illustrations, though lovely and imaginative, are a bit sophisticated for the youngest readers. For instance, Humpty-Dumpty is not an egg-shaped character but a tiny, faceless, edible white-shelled egg. Jack and Jill are rabbits not children as are most of the other traditionally human characters.

My advice is to buy this book for its extensive collection of rhymes and beautiful and artistic illustrations, BUT you may want a simple, traditional Mother Goose on hand as well for daily reading.

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Summary: Two masters (mistresses?) at work
Review: Iona Opie is one of the great folklorists we have right now and all English-speakers should be grateful for her (and her late husband Peter's) tireless work to preserve and present the poetry of children at play. This book is a terrific introduction to her ear for the best of this kind of poem and to the wonder of Rosemary Wells' imagination. As others have noted, you will return to this book over and over, when other favorites have long since passed into neglect. There is a second volume of these poems, also with Wells' illustrations.

Then try and find a copy of I Saw Esau, an amazing collection of children's playground rhymes from the past 50 years or so. They are by turns witty, crude, wonderous and cruel and the Sendak drawings that accompany them are great. It's not for small children, but a nine year old would love it.

In the meantime, enjoy Mother Goose!

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Summary: A wonderful update of an old classic
Review: Iona Opie spent her life collecting children's folklore. The selection of nursery rhymes in this book shows the knowledge of what children really have an affinity for that she gained over that time. This is not a collection of what adults think children ought to lie - it's a collection of what they do like.

The illustrations and the layout of the book continue the quality of what children like. The layout gives no more than one rhyme per page. This limits the contents of the book but matches the attention space of the age the book targets. The illustrations are not of humans but of animals in the lineage of Richard Scarry, the Bernsteins, etc. This gives the book a cozy, lap feeling that is age appropriate.

Grandchildren and grandnieces/nephews have all received this book. In all cases it became the Mother Goose of choice for parent and child. That is the best recommendation the book could have.

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Summary: Apparently toddlers LOVE repitition
Review: My 14mo old daughter will bring this book to me 3-4 times a day so I can read it to her. She absolutely loves it, and doesn't seem to get tired of the rhymes. I may have to buy another copy soon as she's not real gentile with books, but it will be money well spent. This beats a Barney or Teletubbies video hands down for educational value, and lives WITH her toys, not up on some bookshelf. I highly recommend it.

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Summary: Sweet, Fun Mother Goose for Little Ones
Review: My son is 18 months old and absolutely loves this wonderful book. He enjoys having any book read to him, but Mother Goose's frequent references to the sun, moon, stars (all favorites topics to my son)and Rosemary Wells' charming illustrations of bunnies, kitties, etc. add up to pure reading fun at our house. These nursery rhymes aren't too intense (some Mother Goose can be downright scary), and are just the right length for a 1- to 2-year old's attention span. And I enjoyed getting to know some nursery rhymes I missed out on as a child (Wibbleton to Wobbleton is a hoot). A few of the book's pages have been ripped in my son's enthusiasm for the subject matter, but this book is a nice change from our dozens of board books at home. I highly recommend this book for toddlers who enjoy being read to and for parents who love to do the reading.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet, Fun Mother Goose for Little Ones
Review: My son is 18 months old and absolutely loves this wonderful book. He enjoys having any book read to him, but Mother Goose's frequent references to the sun, moon, stars (all favorites topics to my son)and Rosemary Wells' charming illustrations of bunnies, kitties, etc. add up to pure reading fun at our house. These nursery rhymes aren't too intense (some Mother Goose can be downright scary), and are just the right length for a 1- to 2-year old's attention span. And I enjoyed getting to know some nursery rhymes I missed out on as a child (Wibbleton to Wobbleton is a hoot). A few of the book's pages have been ripped in my son's enthusiasm for the subject matter, but this book is a nice change from our dozens of board books at home. I highly recommend this book for toddlers who enjoy being read to and for parents who love to do the reading.

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Summary: A very good nursery rhymes book
Review: My son loves this book, he is 4 and have most of them memorized, we borrowed it at first at the library, he loved it so much that I had to get him his own.I like it for it's simple and easy to remember lines, we read a couple of different nursery rhymes books, that I find is a little too much to remember for his age.If you buy this book be ready to keep reading it, 'cause your little one will be asking you again and again.

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Summary: A Delight
Review: This book is a delight, both for the eyes and ears. The pictures are captivating, and please adults as well as children. While these rhymes have been around for years, it was the first time I'd ever seen many of them. This book is a "keeper"!