Customer Reviews

Miss Mary Mack: A Hand-Clapping Rhyme

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I use this in the music classes that I teach. The kids love the part that everyone knows, but the authors have taken it a few steps further by adding additional verses. The verses are charming and make a great addition to this already established children's classic. The illustrations are hysterical and subtle. Make sure that you take time to examine them closely!

I knew this song was older than the book (1998) but I had no idea it was *so* much older. Evidently the song (or at least the first three stanzas) originally dates back to the Civil War.

With acknowledgment to Wikipedia:

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Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack (name of ship: The Merrimack)
All dressed in black, black, black (ironclad warship)
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons (rivets)
All down her back, back, back (ships are referred to as females)
She asked her mother, mother, mother (the Confederate States of America, i.e., the South)
For fifty cents, cents, cents
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants (symbol of the Republican party, which was the majority of the Union, i.e., the North)
Jump over the fence, fence, fence (boundary line)
They never came back, back, back
Until the fourth of July, July, July (Independence Day)
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The book itself boasts energetic watercolors and of course a memorable rhyme.

Minus half a star for the lack of hand jive clapping instructions, which I believe are included in the non board book version (Miss Mary Mack: A Hand-Clapping Rhyme), and another half star because I would have liked a reference to the history of the song, if only for parents.

I liked this book, like all of the Hoberman song-story books, but it was a little complicated for the preschoolers I teach. The illustrations are complex and hard for a roomful of little ones to "get" right away,- they often asked me what was going on - and I find that "the simpler the better" is a good rule of thumb for this age group.

My daughter can not get enough of this book! She loves all of the repetiton and pictures!

My daughter is 2 years old and enjoys the rhymes in this book. She has started to repeat some of them. Wonderful illustrations.

Although my daughter is only 21/2 years old, she really enjoys this book. It is a fun book to read and the illustrations are wonderful.

What a wonderfully easy book to read/sing with your students. This song also has a hand jive to go with it, but it is not located in the book. The melody isn't located there as well. A quick search on the internet will clue you in on both of those. A great book to read/sing with your students in the regular classroom or in the music classroom. I highly recommend.

Super cute book!! We love it. My daughter knows the whole book and loves singing it. We are working on the hand clapping...

The owner of this site is a remarkable person and wonderful to work with. Many thanks for the kindess shown to me my family (military).

I will return to this dealer and recommend most highly to everyone! Thanks again!

I have given this book for baby present several times. The pictures are charming, and there are so many more fun verses than I knew as a kid.