Mother Goose and Friends by Ruth Sanderson

From the Publisher

Mother Goose's well-loved verses are childhood treasures. At once silly, wise, and lyrical, they have endured through the centuries. You're sure to find your favorites in this stunning new version of the classic, graced with Ruth Sanderson's stunning oil paintings and made complete with other beloved nursery rhymes traditionally not included in Mother Goose collections. For a child's exciting discovery of this magical tradition, this collection is sure to provide hours of laptime reading.

Publishers Weekly

As fans of Sanderson's painterly fairy tale retellings might expect, her Mother Goose collection is an invitation to an old-fashioned world of enchantment. Her oil paintings teem with Victorian elves and fairies as well as human beings; they present gardens full of wild flowers, pumpkin houses, mice in waistcoats, tables set for tea, and a plump muffin man, and each time the human details merge attractively with the imaginary scenery. Sanderson includes almost all of the most familiar Mother Goose rhymes and adds some less well-known verses as well. The images are generally idyllic, but Sanderson sometimes includes unexpected action. King Cole in his ermine-trimmed robe and short puffy breeches blows bubbles from a pipe as three pink pigs in livery fiddle beside him. For the brief "Ride a Cock Horse," Sanderson conjures an elaborate double-page spread of a girl with a hobby horse who stands shyly with her mother behind a twisted, ancient tree. They watch as a parade of winged elves and fairies in flower hats accompany a Guinevere-like lady, seated on a white horse. Luminous and elegant. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)

Children's Literature

Somehow Mother Goose rhymes always seem reassuringly old-fashioned and eternally delightful. Ruth Sanderson's collection includes the old anonymous beloved rhymes such as "Three Little Kittens" or "Humpty Dumpty," plus a smattering of her (and I confess my) favorite authored ones such as Burgess's "I Never Saw a Purple Cow" or Bangs's "The Elf Man." All are presented with richly detailed and colored illustrations that have a very Victorian flavor, but Sanderson mixes children of color with blonde and blue-eyed types and then throws in some appealing creatures of forest and meadow. Both the "Old Woman in the Shoe" and "Peter the Pumpkin Eater" are mice, for example. Now that we realize that these traditional rhymes are a wonderful way to build such 21st century skills as phonemic awareness, no preschool or kindergarten teacher need apologize for adding this delightful collection to a classroom library. Parents and grandparents who need no excuse should not hesitate to do the same. Reviewer: Mary Hynes-Berry

Kathy KrasniewiczCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

K-Gr 3
Anti-revisionists take note: Any talk of beating, soiling, or other unpleasantness has been expunged from this collection of nursery rhymes (in which the Old Lady in the Shoe "kissed them all sweetly and put them to bed"). Contracted, often single-stanza versions of old favorites are offered, along with some lesser-known ditties. Most are in the public domain, but in some instances, an author is cited (one notable omission is an attribution to Kate Greenaway, who wrote "The Cats Have Come to Tea," here titled "The Cat Tea Party"). Focus instead on Sanderson's finely wrought and highly detailed oil paintings, in which fairies ride on downy ducklings, Little Bo Peep's sheep hide in plain sight, and multicultural humans, gnomes, fairies, and trolls inhabit the landscape. Although they may not work well with groups, these are the sorts of pictures that kids can pore over, perhaps with a favorite grown-up. An introduction, aimed at adults, explains Sanderson's process.

Product Details