My Very First Mother Goose

This has already been donated, didn't last long in our home. Basically, none of the stories are organized within the book so you don't know if you are reading the same story as you turn the page. The stories are not traditional Mother Goose stories I remember from my childhood nor are they really good stories. Not to mention some of the stories are incorrect as other reviewers have mentioned.

If you're reading this on the store, you probably want to know how this book compares with other large-format Mother Goose nursery rhyme books. Here's my comparison of this book with four others.

This book (My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells, ISBN 1564026205) -- 68 rhymes. Published 1996. Organized into four chapters ("Jack and Jill," "Hey Diddle, Diddle," "Little Jumping Joan," and "The Moon Sees Me"), although I couldn't figure out why certain rhymes fell into certain chapters. The large majority of the illustrations feature animals acting like people. PLUSES: Interplay of text and engaging watercolor illustrations is more creative than in any other book reviewed here. For example, "There was a crooked man" has many small illustrations for the rhyme, while the text of "Pop goes the weasel" is contained within the large illustration. Font sizes vary considerably, from very large to moderately small, and the large initial letters of many rhymes are painted with something relevant to the rhyme (e.g., train tracks for "From Wibbleton to Wobbleton"). Extra information -- like tiny illustrations for cake-making under the main "Pat-a-cake" illustration, and four constellations' names for "Star light, star bright" -- add to the variety. I found no sexist or violent rhymes. Has some uncommon rhymes (e.g., "Mrs. Mason bought a basin"). MINUSES: Some illustrations may be confusing; for example, "Humpty Dumpty" is an actual (from-the-chicken) small egg that gets knocked to the ground, not a "living character" as in other books. Non-Christians may question the inclusion of two "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John" rhymes toward the end. SUMMARY: 5 stars.

Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose by Scott Gustafson, ISBN 978-0867130973 -- 45 rhymes. Published 2007. PLUSES: Illustrations (oil paintings) are large, detailed, varied, and fanciful; think a combination of Norman Rockwell, Walt Disney, and Salvador Dali. My favorites include "Jack Be Nimble" with Jack as a grasshopper, and "Simple Simon" as a monkey and the pieman as a gorilla. Several illustrations offset the "politically incorrect" aspects of the corresponding rhymes (e.g., for "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater" a squirrel couple serves pie to a boy in front of their pumpkin house). Some illustrations depict black and Asian children. MINUSES: Because only the first 1-4 verses from each rhyme is given, "Old Mother Hubbard" is missing a lot of verses. With the smallest selection of rhymes of the books reviewed here, it may not have some that your child may like (e.g., "Three Little Kittens"). SUMMARY: 5 stars.

Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses, ISBN 0060081716 -- Published 2005. PLUSES: If you like Engelbreit's artistic style, this book is for you. A number of illustrations depict black and Asian children. Has some uncommon rhymes (e.g., "Three Little Ghostesses" and "Terrence McDiddler"). I found no violent rhymes. MINUSES: Some illustrations do not fit the rhymes well. As one example, Jack Sprat's wife appears to have some "lean" vegetables and fruits on her side of the table (though certainly a much larger quantity of food than Jack himself). As another example, "Three Little Kittens" shows the kittens in large mittens on a clothesline, while the rhyme calls on them to be losing and putting on the mittens. Some pages (22, 28, 69, 76, 90, 93, 112, 117) have two rhymes on them, which might be slightly confusing, but on the other hand it might also be fun for kids to guess the relationship between the two rhymes on a page (e.g., "Red sky at night" and "Touch blue" both deal with colors). SUMMARY: 4 stars.

The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright, ISBN 0590225170 -- 305 rhymes. First published 1916. Typography and illustrations (almost all of which depict people as opposed to animals acting like people) are either "nostalgic" (if you like them) or "old-fashioned" (if you don't). It has the smallest page size (8.5"x11") of the books reviewed here. PLUSES: Probably the most well-known, "classic" collection. Includes uncommon rhymes (e.g., "Comical Folk") and longer rhymes (e.g., "This is the House that Jack Built") not in the other books. MINUSES: I compared the current (1994 Scholastic/Cartwheel Books) printing with a previous (1991 Checkerboard Press) printing, and the color in the illustrations is less saturated than before. Has some rhymes and illustrations that could be considered "politically incorrect" (violent, sexist, etc.) such as "Little Polly Flinders" (in which a mother "whipped her little daughter") and "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater" (picturing a woman stuck inside a pumpkin). Multiple rhymes on each page could be confusing to young readers. SUMMARY: 4 stars.

Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever (Giant Little Golden Book), ISBN 0307155781 -- 50 rhymes. First published 1964. PLUSES: Endearing large illustrations feature animals acting like people. The use of pigs is especially nice (e.g., a clothed pig stealing a gingerbread pig for "Tom, Tom, the piper's son" and Georgie Porgie as a boy pig "snouting" a girl pig). Has some uncommon rhymes (e.g., "The cat sat asleep by the side of the fire"). MINUSES: Has some rhymes and illustrations that could be considered sexist (e.g., "When I was a bachelor" and "I had a little hen") or violent (e.g., "Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum" and "Taffy Was a Welshman"). There is a certain monotony to the illustrations, and all of them follow their rhymes fairly literally, so I'm not sure they would hold older children's attention well. SUMMARY: 4 stars.

Buy any or all of these books from the store.com!

My Very First Mother Goose, edited by Iona Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells is a great version of Mother Goose stories. In the in the introduction, Opie writes, "I firmly believe that Rosemary Wells is Mother Goose's second cousin and has inherited the family point of view." The stories are enacted by Wells' colorful animal characters, which we recognize from some of her other books. Wells reminds me of Sandra Boynton in that respect.

My 2 and 4 year old girls enjoyed this book during our end-of-lunchtime story time. It is a large book, on the order of the big Richard Scarry hardcovers and will probably be one of the "keepers" when my kids are older and I'm whittling down our collection.

I am genuinely thrilled that the 20th Anniversary Edition is available! Out of the *many* Mother Goose books that we have at our house, this has been the hands-down favorite of all six kids, and I purchased it when the first was 18 months old (he is now 17). As babies and toddlers, we read the rhymes, we sing the rhymes, and we tape up the pages, because this is a go-to book has sees a lot of use! After many hours reading "My Very First Mother Goose" throughout baby/toddlerhood, we return to it again as the kids are learning to read. The large font size is excellent for beginning readers, and Rosemary Well's humorous illustrations appeal to children and parents alike. One of my children even learned most of his letters by looking at the drop-caps (large initials) at the beginning of each nursery rhyme, pointing and asking "What letter is that?" "My Very First Mother Goose" has been an important part of all my kids' early literacy and an important part of our lives, and I am very grateful for it!

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.

The illustrations are cute and whimsical. It gets extra points for having several pages that revolve around trains, cars, or planes. This book has the most cars, trains, and planes of all the nursery books we've sampled. My 2-year-old son is obsessed with vehicles, so obviously those were his favorite rhymes in this book. I really want to like this book for its fanciful illustrations, but the rhymes just fall short.

This book just doesn't have enough well-known rhymes when compared to other nursery rhyme books. You can see how few rhymes there are by looking at the index page on the store's Look Inside! preview. Some of the rhymes that I would have liked to see are Mary Had Little Lamb, Little Bo Beep, Three Little Kittens, Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe, Little Miss Muffet, Sing a Song of Sixpense, Old King Cole, and there's so many more to list.

I would recommend Sylvia Long's Mother Goose, Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose, or Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose instead. These other books also have beautiful illustrations, and they have more rhyme selections.

the store SHOWS THIS BOOK TO BE PRINTED IN ITALY. THE ACTUAL BOOK I RECEIVED IS PRINTED IN CHINA. SAME HAPPENED WITH MIKE MULLIGAN AND HIS STEAM SHOVEL. SHOWED TO BE PRINTED IN US AND WAS ACTUALLY PRINTED IN CHINA. RETURNING BOTH. HAD A I WANTED A CHEAP CHINESE PRINTING I COULD HAVE BOUGHT THAT ANYWHERE AND SEEN A TRUTHFUL SHOWING OF THIS

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!

I was charmed by the beautiful illustrations in this book, as was my two year old son. Many of the verses are short, and this together with the cute, bright animal pictures means the book will hold the attention of even very young children. I discovered many of my old favourites in this book, as well as rhymes I had never heard before. My little boy has learnt many of the rhymes and loves to act out his favourite, the cow jumps over the moon. I was really pleased to see a further book of rhymes by Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells out this year, and have bought it for my second son. These are definitely books to keep.

This is a great book which both my daughters loved to read. We gradually moved from reading one chapter to reading the whole thing.

A few people have posted reviews saying they don't like it because some of the rhymes are not "traditional". But the point about this book is that the author (Opie) is the foremost scholar of children's nursery rhymes there is. So it's no accident or mistake that it's "Dickory Dickory Dock" for example instead of "Hickory Dickory". If you don't like that then fine, of course, but for me it doesn't detract from the book, and I figure even very young children can cope with varied versions of rhymes. Or even if you like read out "Hickory Dickory" since you'll be reading to them anyway!

The illustrations are charming and wonderful, and to me it's by far the best nursery rhyme book for children.

Started reading this (and the companion collection Here Comes Mother Goose) at about 18 mo. and it quickly became the most requested bedtime book. The illustrations are quirky and grow on you. I love that it contains a fair number of the less-familiar nursery rhymes.

This has been one of our kids' very favorite books since they were about 6 months old, edited by the clever Iona Opie and illustrated by the author of the Max and Ruby books. The sing-song rhythms enchanted them as babies, and the entertaining (and adorable) animal-based interpretations of the words have kept the kids coming back to pull this off the shelf. The collection is really well-chosen, with most of the "classic" nursery rhymes here; my only complaint is that the editor seems to opt for only one verse of most rhymes where in some cases I'm pretty sure there's more to it than that. The division into "chapters" makes it a little easier to find a closure point, since they keep wanting to hear/see "just one more!" A great baby gift.

The illustrations in this book are adorable and beautiful. There are many books with Mother Goose Rhymes, but this one stands out because the illustrations are so original and ads an extra story behind the original story. A few cartoons are also included on some of the pages, which make it quite humorous and fun. VERY ORIGINAL and BEAUTIFUL.

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.

Rosemary Wells has created the most kid-friendly and Grandma pleasing illustrations imaginable. I have found it necessary to acquire both the smaller board books taken from this source as well as this large compilation in order have a copy that is not completely loved to pieces. I probably should get another copy or two to save for future generations.

All of the Opie/Wells Mother Goose books are fantastic. Although I have the 2 volume "library edition" of their Mother Goose, this is the book we read everyday, since my daughter wants to grab and chew her books. No wonder this is her favorite: the rhymes are melodic, enchanting and accessable while the illustrations are inspired, beautiful and charming. It is the perfect introduction to the wonders and playfulness of language, for both child and parent.

PURCHASED AS A GIFT FOR GRANDMOTHER TO READ TO HER TWO LITTLE G'DAUGHTERS. ALTHOUGH TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND, THE PURPOSE IS FOR THE L ITTLE GIRLS TO GET USED TO HER VOICE RIGHT NOW AND TO HELP PROMOTE LOVE OF READING WHEN THE KIDS GET OLDER. THE BOOK ITSELF IS BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED.

What a beautiful collection of nursery rhymes-my daughter loved this book from before she could even sit up-it is also available as a set of board books which I also highly recommend. Keep in mind Iona Opie, the editor, is English and uses some English rhymes or English versions, which has some people confused. The drawings are simple and charming, classic Rosemary Wells.

This is an excellent book. I purchased it for myself while taking a childrens literature course and am now purchasing a second copy for my niece for Christmas. I know she will enjoy it for years to come! The illustrations are absolutely amazing! Don't miss this one!