The Neighborhood Mother Goose

Book Title: The Neighborhood Mother Goose

Author: Collected from The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes

Photographer: Nina Crews

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Copyright Date: 2004

Genre: Folklore—Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose)

Brief Annotation: In this collection of 41 Mother Goose verses, Crews complements the nursery rhymes with photographs, giving the classic rhymes, such as “Little Miss Muffet” and “Ring Around the Rosie” a more modern and urban feel. The photographs were all taken in Crews’ Brooklyn neighborhood and some have been altered and manipulated, but they still retain a realistic feel.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 3.5—Although I did enjoy the photographs from The Neighborhood Mother Goose, they weren’t anything too special or different. The ones that were digitally manipulated stood out and were fun to look at (like the many children playing in and around a brown boot on a staircase for "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe") and the colors in the photographs are vibrant and bright, but I’m not sure they warrant their own book. It would be interesting to see how children react to this book because although I think kids would prefer illustrations like those in the more traditional versions of Mother Goose, it is also possible that they may relate more to photographs of real children in places that are more typical of an urban setting.

Readers who will like this book: Young children who enjoy nursery rhymes; kids who love Mother Goose; teachers using different versions of the same stories/nursery rhymes to compare in class

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: How many of you are familiar with Mother Goose? Do you think she was a real person?

Optional, but noted as extra effort:

1. Interest Level: K—2

2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 1.8

3. List awards: ALA Notable Book, Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts (NCTE), Parenting Magazine Books of the Year 2004

4. Book trailer: None