Not a Bad Introduction to Mother Goose, but There are Better Ones Out There
Pros:
Simple rhymes used, Some not too familiar rhymes included
Cons:
Boring illustrations, Can't get my son to sit with me to read it!
The Bottom Line:
Normally, you can't go wrong with Mother Goose, here's the exception...
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Im not quite certain what feature of this book makes it the real Mother Goose. The title of the board book is indeed The Real Mother Goose Board Book, although I really dont think Mother Goose is really the one who titled it. This book of famous Mother Goose rhymes is a Scholastic publication with no individual author or illustrator listed. It was first published in 1998.
Our particular copy of The Real Mother Goose Board Book was a gift for my toddler son at Christmas time. He received quite a few books and I can never remember who gave him this one. The front cover of the book has a black and white check border with an illustration of Mother Goose astride her famous huge goose and she is carrying a baby in a basket. The book is 30 pages long with only half of those pages being text. It is laid out with the text (or rhyme, if you will) on the left page and the accompanying illustration on the right.
While I will agree that every child/baby should have a copy of a Mother Goose rhyme book, I have seen much better ones than this publication. The illustrations are not very interesting and when your audience is under three, you better have some flashy pictures. The colors are bland and remind me of the brothers Grimm and their dreary fairy tales. The dress of the people in the pictures looks very Dickens and drab. Perhaps it is because these people are too real looking and few are smiling. There has not been any attempt to make the people or animals in the book very animated.
I do appreciate that some of the 15 rhymes are familiar ones such as Humpty Dumpty, Pat-A-Cake, Mary had a Little Lamb, and Hey, Diddle, Diddle. There are also a few that are less notorious like Curly Locks and Bedtime. Knowing some of the lesser known rhymes may come in handy the next time you are at a baby shower and you have to play the Name this Mother Goose Rhyme Game.
I have tried several times to read my son this book. Humpty Dumpty is the very first rhyme. Humpty barely gets situated on the wall before this book falls flat on its face. The illustration shows Humpty just falling off the wall in a grey suit with an almost grey-blue sky with one white cloud behind him. While there is a birdhouse in the picture, there are only birds far off in flight to be seen. I suppose simplicity is the idea here, but it goes way beyond simple into the land of boring.
I just cant get my toddler interested in this book no matter how many times I try. I have always enjoyed Mother Goose and had hoped to share some favorite rhymes with him. Im certain that it is not the rhymes that arent appealing to him because he loves to hear Hey Diddle Diddle in a small board book we own. The illustrations in that book are silly and colorful, however. This book just doesnt make the cut at our house.
The Real Mother Goose Board Book can be found just about anywhere books are sold. The suggested retail listed on our copy is $6.99, but Im sure you can find it cheaper at your local Target store (I would recommend finding it cheaper, or better yet check it out at the library to give it a test run).
If you are looking for a good book of nursery rhymes, I would suggest the timeless classic, Richard Scarrys Best Mother Goose Ever or My Very First Mother Goose illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Neither of these books are board books, but they are wonderful introductions to Mother Goose.
