Customer Reviews

Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We borrowed this book from the library and now we are going to buy it - even though we own 3 other Mother Goose collections!

One of the reasons is the selection of poems. Somehow they have found new selections that were not included in our other volumes. Examples include: a poem which asks a mother hen how many chicks she has; one about a four leaf clover; one about a bat; and one about spinning mice and a mischievous cat.

Two poems follow:

One leaf for fame,
One leaf for wealth
One for a faithful lover,
And one leaf to bring glorious health,
Are all in a four-leaf clover.

Little Poll Parrot sat in his garret,
Eating toast and tea;
A little brown mouse jumped into the house
And stole it all away.

There are plenty of the classic poems as well so you won't miss out on Jack and Jill, nor the many sheep that M.G. writes about. And yes, it should be noted that this selection of poems has none of the `meaner' poems; ones that you wouldn't necessarily want read to babies and toddlers.

Five Stars. Great selections of poems which is prompting us to buy yet another Mother Goose book. Artwork is pastel and nice and uncluttered: generally one poem per page. [I've never been a fan of Mary Engelbreit's artwork but children are very attracted to her style and it works very nicely here.]

As almost everyone now knows Mary Engelbreit is no longer the little girl who copied illustrations from her mother's collection of storybooks - she has grown up to be a beloved, popular illustrator and, now that you mention it, an industry. Her sprightly, colorful art appears on everything from cups to fabrics. She's a phenomenon who has won our hearts.

I highly recommend Engelbreit's hardcover version of this title as well as the audio book, which is not to be missed as read by acclaimed actress Lynn Redgrave. She brings a rich, vibrant voice to her performances of some 100 familiar nursery rhymes. We may think we've heard Little Bo-Beep or Humpty Dumpty a number of times, but we've not heard them as read by Redgrave who injects added humor and a touch suspense to the familiar rhymes.

Introduction on the audio book is by Leonard Marcus, historian and critic of children's literature as well as the author of "Dear Genius: Margaret Wise Brown," and other titles.

This is an audio book that will be prized by both children and adults - don't miss it!

Gail Cooke

I just received my copy of Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose. I pre-ordered it last December and have been waiting patiently for it to arrive and it was well worth the wait. It is the most beautifully illustrated Mother Goose book I have ever seen, and I have seen many editions. The large colorful illustratons are sure to appeal to young children. I can hardly wait to share it with my six (soon to be seven) grandchilden. Thank you for making it available.

The book is so beautiful and charming, both my 3 year old daughter and me love it very much. The reason why I gave 3 star is I am a bit disappointed with the accompanying CD, we couldn't seperately review the CD only. Maybe it is just me, the voice isn't pretty. There is such a boring introduction (over 5min) in the begining, while the verses are mostly less than 20 seconds long. So go for the book but not the CD.

If you're reading this on Amazon, 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 (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.

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.

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.

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 Amazon.com!

I have a 2 and a half month old and I could not believe it when I opened the book and he started smiling. We usually lay down on the bed and I have him looking up at the book. He loves the colors and I know that one day he'll love the rhymes. He smiles every time I take that book out.
I would highly recommend this book.

As a former children's librarian who is very familiar with children's literature, I think this is possibly the best Mother Goose out there. I bought this for my granddaughter and she loves it, as do I. The selection is great and the illustrations are a delight.

This is one of my favorite children's books. The classic Mother Goose tales coupled with Mary Engelbreit's beautiful illustrations makes this a must for every child's library. I originally purchased this book for my "Grandma Hope Chest" but it has now become a traditional shower gift. If you are looking for the perfect Mother Goose book this is the one for you.

I purchased this for my Granddaughters and was very pleased to be giving it to them for a gift. The book is just beautiful, and hopefully, will be around for a long time. If you are a fan of Mary Engelbreit, or just looking for a lovely, colorful, fun Mother Goose book, you will not be disappointed. I was very pleased with Amazon's quick shipping and prices. I'll be doing more of my gift shopping here in the future.

My then-six-month-old received this for Christmas. Now eight months, she loves looking at the pictures. Unfortunately, she has already torn one page of the book. That's why I gave it 4 stars: if it's actually to be used by a young audience, I wish they had printed it on sturdier, board book type paper. (Now, Mommy holds the book while she sits in her high chair.) Of course, the artwork is lovely enough to appeal to an adult audience, too. Several of the basic, familiar nursery rhymes, but some that are pretty obscure -- but fun -- too. Overall, both Mommy and baby enjoy this book.