The words, the rhymes, the rhythems of the Mother Goose tales have been hallowed by time. They are among the first stories read to our children. Age may blunt a memory, but it can never erase Mother Goose! Yet many of the tales leave their characters in awkward situations. Did the wife of Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater live forever in her pumpkin shell? What happened to Humpty Dumpty after neither the King's horses nor the King's men could repair him? Dr. Hickey's lively rhymes take Mother Goose a step further. With warmth and humor, the old favorites are transformed into happy tales sure to become new favorites for generations.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Mother Hubbard's dog gets fed, Humpty Dumpty is repaired and Little Boy Blue's sheep are led safely home. No, these are not scenes from The Twilight Zone , but instead are intriguing addenda to the canon of that celebrated matriarch, Mother Goose. Obstetrician Hickey has seen fit to explicate these verses, providing happy endings and/or expanding upon unresolved "plots." Thus the Lady Bug's children do not perish: "They've all flown away / Except little Ann, / For she's crept under / The frying pan." The dutiful mother returns to her brood and, in a reassuring conclusion, a new home is built (one hopes with a smoke detector). Though this book may seem heretical at first glance, there are surely youngsters--and parents--who really care about the fates of these beloved characters. The energetic tone is carefully preserved, and additions are printed in a different color than the originals. Moss's humorous, zestful pictures have an appropriately old-fashioned air. Though Ms. Goose might cavil, this slightly subverted picture book offers imaginative reunions with some dear old friends. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-- As the dust jacket of this book states, "In some Mother Goose/The endings are bad,/ And others we read/ Are sad, sad, sad!/ So I took the ogres/ Out of the woods,/ and I made the endings/ Good, good, good!" To add new endings to these classic rhymes could be an entertaining exercise in a classroom situation, and possibly this book could spur children on in such a venture. Yet for the most part, Hickey's additions seem unnecessary, at times even uninspiring. Some of the tales are neither sad nor bad. In many cases, he changes the original meter of the nursery rhyme, which is annoying. The original verse is printed in black, and the added lines are in blue. Watercolor, pastel, and ink drawings individualize each rhyme. All of the drawings are of smiling animals from bears and alligators to puppies and kittens. Moss' illustrations do have sunny appeal, yet the basic question still remains: why change the meaning of what already has served children for generations? Mother Goose rhymes, in their diversity and straightforward manner, can be sad, funny, even tragic. This is their beauty. Better to buy a book such as Wendy Watson's Mother Goose (Lothrop, 1989), which brings a fresh outlook to these rhymes through her illustrations, but does not change them. --Martha Topol, Interlochen Public Library, MI
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Adds happy endings to classic rhymes. Humpty is fixed!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Mother Goose and More: Classic Rhymes With Added Lines (Hardcover)
The added lines and stanzas to the poems makes you smile that Mom Hubbard finds food for the dog and The Old Woman in the Shoe is not really a child beater! The illustrations are fabulous too! Good baby gift!
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