MOTHER GOOSE REMEMBERS

Arresting artwork combined with a playful challenge of seek-and-find offers readers a fresh alternative to more traditional Mother Goose collections. This one, featuring over 40 rhymes, is an intriguing blend of familiar and arcane verses. The tried-and-true favorites are all here: “Pat-a-Cake,” “Three Blind Mice,” “Jack Be Nimble,” and others. However, the selection of less well-known rhymes will be a delightful discovery for readers, young and old. Rhymes such as “Peddler’s Song,” “Diddly, Diddly, Dumpty,” “Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cherry Tree,” not often included in collections, are reintroduced to a new generation of children. The front pages contain the beginning of the classic rhyme “Cackle, cackle, Mother Goose, / Have you any feathers loose?,” giving readers the task of seeking out all the loose feathers incorporated into the illustrations. Close scrutiny of each page rewards with the discovery of a lone feather in the landscape. Beaton’s (Zoe and Her Zebra, 1999, etc.) splendid collages revel in the whimsy of Mother Goose . The artwork is executed with Beaton’s signature flair; color-filled collages feature intricately sewn pieces of felt and other materials, assembled to create vivid images so three-dimensional that readers will be tempted to run their fingers over the pages to feel the textures. With cheerful characters capering across the pages and encouraging readers to abandon themselves to the wit and wisdom of Mother Goose, this ebullient collection of rhymes deserves a special spot on the shelf. A foreword includes a rather esoteric introduction from the publisher regaling interested adults with an abbreviated history of Mother Goose, from her roots in an ancient Hindu goddess to her first published appearance in 1697. (contents list, index) (Picture book. 2-8)