Customer Reviews

Humpty Dumpty: and Other Rhymes (My Very First Mother Goose)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My daughter was given this book for her first birthday, and now that she is turning three, it is still her most treasured book. The illustrations are big and colorful, and the large text and one-rhyme-per-page format make it inviting even for the youngest listener. Iona Opie has done a wonderful job of selecting many familiar and some not-so-familiar rhymes to put in this collection. As a parent, I greatly appreciate the fact that all of these rhymes are gentle and loving, so I don't have to worry about "editing" the cruelty found in some other Mother Goose books. I can't say enough about this book except that every child should be lucky enough to own a copy.

This is one of 4 in a series. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and fun. The rhymes chosen are mostly popular nursery rhymes, but also a few that you may not have heard. Children will love these books!

My daughter loved this book. Starting at age 3 months, she would light up every time I started reciting the words. The bright background colors and the rhythm of the words caught her attention.

We have the board books (like this one), as well as the two large hardbound books. My children love them, especially my daughter age two, one of whose first words was "Winkie!" after the Wee Willie Winkie rhyme. I find the negative reviews of these books very puzzling -- don't the authors of those reviews have any imagination? Or are they just close-mindedly PC? Or maybe they just do not know (literally) that a dumpling is a boiled pastry that is eaten with butter and sugar? An aspect of nursery rhymes is their connection to deep, and ancient, currents of culture.

I am surprised to read the reviews. I do not care about rhymes and illustrations. What I care is if my kid loves it. She always asks me read to this books at least once in a day. She is so happy when I am reading this book for her. The thick pages are really important for small kids as they can not tear them off.

I found this book in the bargain book bin at a local store. I bought it for $1 and still think that I was ripped off. The illustrations, even though they are big and bright, have nothing to do with the rhyme. Example: Humpty Dumpty is an egg in an eggdish in the background, while in the foreground is a rabbit with a spoon. The rhymes that I've never heard (and I've heard most of them) are pretty odd. For instance, there is one about a dumpling, which they name Davey and then eat. How do you explain that to a toddler?

Well, let me start by saying that the little Board Book is adorable, and the illustrations are artsy and well-done. The problem I had with this book is that it's title: Humpty Dumpty and Other Nursery Rhymes, gave me the impression that I would be receiving a book that contained the character of Humpty Dumpty. The nursery rhyme is included, but the illustration is of a small rodent, and in the background, if you look for a bit, there is an inanimate egg on a shelf in one of those little egg cups like you might get at a bed and breakfast. It has no face, no clothes, no personality, no king's horses, no kings men, and no wall for crying out loud. Im living abroad, where English books are hard to find, and therefore must shop online. So, I had purchased the book as a gift for a neighbor, who has a Humpty Dumpty stuffed animal and wanted to find a copy of the book to share the story with her granddaughter. Unfortunately, what arrived has no reference to the character of Humpty Dumpty, and so doesn't really serve any purpose. Were it any of the "other" nursery rhymes so liberally interpreted, I wouldn't complain, but the title should be what was promised. Amazon offers a Look Inside, but it doesn't show the title rhyme, either, so there was no way to tell that this Humnpty Dumpty book had no humpty dumpty character. If you dont care about what characters or images come in your book, buy this one, it's awfully cute, as I said. But, if you are looking for the title character, he is nowhere to be found within.

I knew my first son would love books when he gnawed his way through his first two board books. Now my second son is well on his way, both paging through and chewing on the sturdy board pages of this charming and colorful edition of Humpty Dumpty. Captivating rhythms and bright attention-getting illustrations are sure to delight any fan (child or adult) of Well's animal characters. Previous reviewers expressed concern about rhymes like "Davy Davy Dumpling" but before censoring this book, I'd ask them to think back to when your child was a plump and cuddly infant. How many times did you tickle him and say "I'm going to eat you up!" Did you really mean it? When you change a diaper are you "sugaring and buttering" your baby with powders and creams? I eat my baby up several times a day and it makes him laugh hysterically!

I loved to concept of a board rhyme book but thought the illustrations here were off base. The first rhyme left our son asking "where did he go?" Is the star of this humpty dumpty or what? Our collective favorite is the Classic Mother Goose, edited by A. Eisen. beautiful illustrations there- unfortunately not as hardy..

The Rhymes themselves are Okay but I was dissappointed in the illustrations. It is odd how humpty dumpty is not really illustrated the way we all know Humpty.