Every child should have an early friendship with Mother Goose! Those who know agree that nothing boosts language development better than the catchy rhymes of Mother Goose. Not only are they part of our culture and literary heritage, but reading, saying, singing these rhythms stimulates a child’s imagination. By early friendship, I mean right away—from birth. These nonsensical and fun rhymes have been in print for more than two hundred years and there are many editions to choose from.
Ralph Caldecott was among the first to illustrate “Hey Diddle Diddle” and “Bye Baby Bunting” with his own caricatures from English country life, and hundreds since have adapted these rhymes to their own artistic style. Some are sweet (like Kate Greenaway’s work) and others have a more rambunctious look with outlandish characters. Some are board books featuring a single rhyme and others are almost scholarly tomes (Peter and Iona Opie’s works.) Robert Sabuda has a pop-up book called The Moveable Mother Goose. If you look at the array of Mother Goose books on the market, you will notice that this Mother provides fodder for creativity. Mother Goose has been chanted, read, sung and re-read by millions of children.
Since there are so many editions on the market, how does a parent choose? By all means look at Iona Opie’s My Very First Mother Goose and its companion Here Comes Mother Goose, illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Some of the characters are human, but most are bunnies and mice or cats. The book is bright, bold and user-friendly with such creative illustrations that a child gets a second reading from the pictures. The pussycat who boasted of having “frightened a little mouse under the chair” looks pretty scared in Well’s drawing, suggesting maybe that cat wasn’t as brave as claimed. Most of the rhymes are short and lack all the verses, but it’s a good place to begin.
In his introduction to Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose, Leonard Marcus writes that “It is one of the happy truths about Mother Goose that it is absolutely impossible to sound too foolish while saying them.” He laments that most children learn their first rhymes from television ads and insists that it is refreshing to have a irresistible rhyme that has nothing to sell!. Engelbreit’s book contains over one hundred rhymes and these are illustrated in her cheery greeting card style.
You will want also to consider Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose which contains over 200 rhymes. dePaola’s art is charming and has a lot “to notice.” I like its unusual stanzas about Mother Goose herself, as well as a series of bedtime rhymes.
You will probably need more than one Mother Goose. As a child grows more literate and sophisticated in taste, you may want to have a more complete copy like The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose that has over 300 rhymes with all the extra verses of each story, lots of variety, limericks and ballads and whatever.
So how do you choose? Remember for little children that durability is important, a book that is the right size and not too overwhelming. It should contain the simpler verses that are easy to learn. Compare the illustrations in several collections to discover what your children might like best. Eventually you will want a more comprehensive collection that will find its place for years to come on the family library shelf for reference, for reading at parties, and whatever. It’s part of our heritage.
I'm so thankful to find this site. Recently I discovered the wonders of Mother Goose again with our newest addition, a precious surprise that arrived a little later in life than we had planned! She is still so young, but even the rhythm of the poems captivates her.
— by Angel Rhoden on July 15, 2009