Customer Reviews

Positively Mother Goose

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This was one of our family's FAVORITE books when my kids were preschoolers! The sing-song nature of the rhymes makes them easier to memorize, and the positive outlook they imbue is so refreshing compared to the dark outlook of so many of the rhymes they replace. It's just unfortunate that the kids wound up learning the original versions of the rhymes at school and don't remember these bright alternatives.

I've shared this book with my oldest granddaughter and she loves it. I've also bought a copy for my newest granddaughter. Hopefully her parents will bring her up with the mindset contained within. Why anyone would criticize this book as saccharine is beyond me. Isn't there already enough pain, fear, anger etc. in the world?

This book is not what you want if you are looking for the original Mother Goose rhymes. However, this book rewrites the rhymes so they aren't as scary for children. You might think that is being over protective but some of these were written in times where taking children to public executions was normal behavior. If you want to read or sing to your child how your are going to buy them everything to get them to be quiet (Hush little baby) or how they will fall out of a tree if the tree branch breaks that is your choice, but keep in mind kids can't separate reality from fantasy like adults can. To them it's all real. It is really is a baby falling out of a tree to them. I like the concept of this book. You can alway teach them the older versions when they learn the ability to reason.

Although the illustrations are good, this will not appeal to everyone. I was always a bit uncomfortable reading aloud a few of the traditional verses -- "she whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed" -- is an especially alarming example. But adults don't always give children enough credit; many generations have mentally sorted through these verses with no lasting harm. The rhythm, cadence and whimsy of the original versions have been sacrificed to be replaced with clumsy morals and motivational messages.

Fairy tales and nursey rhymes often have a dark edge, which, together with elegant wording, is usually what gives them their power and longevity. Children are small things, but they have big fears, and fairy tales and nursery rhymes have always helped them face those fears, instead of pretending they don't exist. Now imagine this:

Hey, diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such a sport,
And the dish said, "We'll all do it soon."

or, more poignantly:

Little Miss Muffit sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider, who sat down beside her,
And brightened Miss Muffit's whole day.

or this:

Rock-a-bye, baby, on the tree top;
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;
Birdies and squirrels will be at play,
And you can watch them
All through the day.

You don't have to imagine it. That's "Positively Mother Goose," and it gives me the willies.

The illustrations are pleasant, and the title gives little indication of what's inside. The jacket says that it "offers a refreshing new version of the traditional rhymes, promoting the values of self-esteem, conflict resolution, lifelong learning, and innovative thinking." (Buzzword alert!) Apparently, the "positive" new rhymes are "designed to honor what is valuable from the past while gently guiding us into the future." And the original rhymes (the "negative" ones, I guess) appear inside the covers for reference.

The back flap hints at the real story: "When [young co-author] Julia heard the line 'And down will come baby, cradle, and all,' her body stiffened, and she asked her mother to help pick up the crying child. [Her mother] Diane quickly got some white-out [my emphasis], and she and Julia wrote a new and positive Rock-a-Bye Baby. [Co-author Karen Kolberg] was fascinated by the cow who jumped over the moon. On the other hand, she was upset and scared by the dish that ran away with the spoon. Were they unhappy or afraid?"

Upset and scared by Hey Diddle-Diddle? I am a pretty lefty-leaning, love-is-good, save-the-world guy, but I find the book repellent, largely because its attempts at "positivizing" are so clumsy and didactic. I guess the authors don't want kids knowing that fear is normal and okay, or asking any questions about life. ("Why did the dish and spoon run away?" has all sorts of potentially interesting answers, in my mind.) The third co-author, Diane Loomans, is also the author of "The Lovables in the Kingdom of Self-Esteem."

I am not making any of this up.