Customer Reviews

My First Real Mother Goose

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very disappointed when I received this book. It had gotten such great reviews on Amazon that I was sure it would be a perfect gift for my toddler nephews. However, I haven't even heard of many of the rhymes in it! Of the 15 nursery rhymes in the book, I only recognized 7 of them (and I consider myself a pretty well-read person). I wouldn't have minded the inclusion of rhymes that are new to me, except that I'm not sure how to read them so that they sound like they, well...rhyme. For example "goosey, goosey, gander, where dost thou wander? Upstairs and downstairs and in my lady's chamber." Ok, maybe I can make that work with a little tinkering, but what about "Hush-a-bye, baby, lie still with daddy. Mommy has gone to the mill, to get some meal to bake a cake. So please, my dear baby, lie still?" If I can't get the rhymes to sound proper, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to read them to my nephews or my son.

The book DOES NOT include many common nursery rhymes, such as "Mary had a little lamb", "The old woman who lived in a shoe", "Little Bo Peep", "Little Boy Blue", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", or "Hey Diddle Diddle."

Here is a listing of the rhymes that ARE included so you can decide for yourself if it has what you're looking for.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Hush-a-bye (I know this as "rock-a-bye baby")

Jack (jack be nimble...)

Goosey, Goosey, Gander

Jack and Jill

ABC

To Market

Hush-a-bye (this is the one that I typed above)

Ring around the rosies

A Star (no, this is not twinkle, twinkle)

Five Toes (this little piggy went to the market...)

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

For Baby

I See the Moon

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

Also, the illustrations aren't very interesting.

My son is 2, my daughter is 1, and I have another baby on the way! My toddlers love this book. This Mother Goose board book is perfect for us because we get to read my old favorites without the worry of tearing up the book, spilling something on it or cleaning up the typical crayon marks often found in books. I often let the kids take the book to bed with them, and they pretend to read it by themselves. Never underestimate the power of reading to your children!

This adorable book is entertaining for the parent as well as the child! It's great to be able to share these familiar rhymes with my child. The pictures are bright and detailed, and the board book is the perfect size for a diaper bag!

I found some of the other reviews helpful. It was nice to know which rhymes were included. So, I wasn't surprised by this book. It contains some famous rhymes and some less popular ones. But, I was able to find the beat for each. This is a great starter book! I really wanted a little board book to get my little guy started.

I love this! I had one almost exactly like it when I was little and I read it until it fell apart. The one I had when I was little did not have the little African children in them though. That being said, I have no problem with people of color in my child's Mother Goose book, whether they were present in Victorian England or not. Its a baby book. For babies. It doesn't have to meet adult standards of historical accuracy. I highly doubt that my child will care if the children in her book are black, white, or green. In fact, a book with green children in it wearing Victorian clothing and dancing ring around the rosy might be fun. For people with an imagination. I also don't care that some of the rhymes are not a perfect rhyme. It doesn't matter. Because its a baby book. For babies. And not all poems or even songs rhyme perfectly all the time so it is so not a big deal. Because its a baby book. For babies.

Had the original full version when I was little, and bought this for my new niece. The artwork is the same - beautiful and classic. It's just what I wanted it to be.

I have (and grew up with) the larger, more complete version of this book - The Real Mother Goose. I don't have any particular fondness for it, most of the nursery rhymes are outdated, quaint, often sexist, and grim. But this edition surprised me with the editorial decision to African-Americanize a handful of the children in the drawings, ostensibly to make it more "inclusive" at the risk of completely revising history. A small black boy in Victorian dress dances with a small white girl and her grandmother (?) to ring around the rosies, which, of course, is about dying of the Plague. You may draw your own conclusions about this, clearly we're complex terrain trying to teach 21st century children to be color-blind while teaching them rhymes that are centuries old and from a time of complete social stratification. I simply felt someone needed to point it out.

It's a nice add on to the baby quilt showing similar Nursery Rhymes. I thought the book was larger in size, but I should have looked at the measurments while ordering, also the price reflects the size. However, I would have still made the purchase & am pleased with it.

I have a few quibbles about this book. First, like the other 2 star reviewer said, there are some poems which I had never heard of before and which don't really rhyme well. Second, many poems only have the first verse or so. For example, "one, two, buckle my shoe" ends at ten. Third, "ring around the rosy" is right in the middle of the book. No matter how tired my daughter is, she's always up for another round of "ring around the rosy" - making this a tough book to use at bedtime. Finally, I thought the illustrations were rather odd - depicting a racially integrated Victorian England...?! Nice sentiment, but rather revisionist.

My son has loved this book from day one. He is almost 2 1/2, and we are on our 2nd copy. He calls it baa baa. He asks to have it read over and over again. I never heard of many of the nursery rhymes, but who cares. He loves it, and that is what matters.