Mother Goose Time Baby Books

Mother Goose Time

Library Programs with Books and Babies

Baby Books

This page contains lists of Mother Goose/nursery rhyme collections, librarians' favorite picture books, and links to baby booklists and bibliographies:

Mother Goose/Nursery Rhyme Collections

Listed below are some of the most beloved Mother Goose/nursery rhymes collections:

Brooke, L. Leslie, illus. Ring O’ Roses: A Nursery Rhyme Picture Book. New York: Clarion Books, 1992. ISBN 0395613043.

"Never have young children had a better introduction to Mother Goose than this profusely illustrated collection of 21 rhymes, at last available again.... They are in a new order, but they're all here, and there's now an index. A few plates (perhaps those for which the original art has been lost) seem fuzzy, but most reveal Brooke's marvelous draftsmanship and the subtleties of his painting with new clarity--though some of the colors here revealed will startle his old friends. A book that should be in every child's own library."--Kirkus Reviews
Originally published in 1922.

Cousins, Lucy, illus. The Little Dog Laughed. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1990. ISBN 0525445730.

"The nursery rhymes in this collection are standards ('Jack and Jill,' 'Old King Cole,' 'Little Miss Muffet') and the text, set on a white background, is clear and easy to read. It's the illustrations that star here: they positively go bananas all around the words. Cousins's splashes of intense color possess such refreshing clarity and intensity that they hit the reader like a bit of spring on a cold winter day. Her technique is simple yet bold, and she skillfully applies humor along with the thick paint."--Publishers Weekly

DePaola, Tomie, illus. Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1985. ISBN 0448421550.

"DePaola has collected and illustrated over 200 traditional Mother Goose rhymes as originally collected by Peter and Iona Opie. His illustrations convey a mood of humor, surprise, and nonsense. Happy children and animals smile from the well-designed pages, incorporating good use of white space and borders. Especially appealing is the interracial mix of characters ...."--School Library Journal

Long, Sylvia., illus. Sylvia Long's Mother Goose. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999. ISBN 0811820882.

"Well-dressed mice, frogs, rabbits, dogs, and sheep fill the illustrations of this collection of familiar and some less common nursery rhymes. The roomy layout allows each ink-and-watercolor illustration to expand on the stories in the rhymes. Readers will enjoy finding pictorial connections from one page to the next and seeing the motifs that run throughout the illustrations."--Horn Book Guide

Opie, Iona., ed. Here Comes Mother Goose. Illus. Rosemary Wells. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1999. ISBN 0763606839.

"This oversized companion to the much ballyhooed My Very First Mother Goose (1996) will take toddlers and ex-toddlers deeper into the playscapes of the language, to meet Old King Cole, Old Mother Hubbard, and Dusty Bill From Vinegar Hill; to caper about the mulberry bush, polka with My Aunt Jane, and dance by the light of the moon. Mixing occasional humans into her furred and feathered cast, Wells creates a series of visual scenarios featuring anywhere from one big figure, often dirty or mussed, to every single cat on the road to St. Ives (over a thousand). Opie cuts longer rhymes down to two or three verses, and essays a sly bit of social commentary by switching the answers to what little girls and boys are made of. Though Wells drops the ball with this last, legitimizing the boys' presence in a kitchen by dressing them as chefs, in general the book is plainly the work of a match made in heaven, and merits as much popularity as its predecessor."--Kirkus Reviews

Opie, Iona, ed. My Very First Mother Goose. Illus. Rosemary Wells. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1996. ISBN 1564026205.

"One glimpse of the merry Wells characters that caper through these pages--a cast of hundreds--one flip through the pages where Opie ... has arranged almost 70 familiar and not-so-familiar rhymes to an effect of unabashed glee, and readers will be in love again with the original Mother Goose. There's little point in pretending that even prodigious collections of nursery rhymes can do without this one--it's a must. (Index)"--Kirkus Reviews

Sabuda, Robert. The Movable Mother Goose. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999. ISBN 0689811926.

"Sabuda's interpretation of Mother Goose is a work of moving art, which necessitates that it also be treated like one. This isn't a volume that will survive the wear and tear of many circulations; some of the paper parts have to be gently coaxed into position. However, the reward for handling with care is great; these feats of paper engineering not only illustrate nursery rhymes in three dimensions, but they also reinterpret them, e.g., 'One, two,/Buckle my shoe' is reenvisioned as a woodpecker and a hen preparing for a night out. 'Knock on the door' shows the earnest woodpecker tapping on the front entrance with his beak, while 'Pick up sticks' shows the hen choosing her lipstick. Glorious colors and elaborate configurations of blackbirds bursting out of pies and peacocks fanning their feathers make this an exhibition of paper prowess that's unforgettable. (Pop-up)."--Kirkus Reviews

Whatley, B., illus. My First Nursery Rhymes. New York: HarperFestival, 1999. ISBN 069401205X.

"Whatley puts his exuberant artistic style to good use in this collection of 10 familiar rhymes. The first verse of each rhyme ('Humpty Dumpty,' 'Sing a Song of Sixpence,' etc.) is offered in a clear, clean typeface and accompanied by a full-page painting full of funny details that depict the action. A book that will be asked for again and again."--School Library Journal.
"This entry in the Growing Tree Series provides a sampling of ten classic rhymes. The sturdy format allows little ones to explore the world of moon-leaping cows and blackbird pies, Mrs. Hen and her speckled offspring, and many extraordinary characters."--Kirkus Reviews

Wildsmith, Brian, illus. Mother Goose: Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press, Inc., 1987. ISBN 0192721801.

These eighty-six verses "are well selected and include many quaint and lesser-known verses"--Book Week
"The artist's wholly original, sophisticated yet child-like interpretation of long-familiar material is revealed in his clever composition, unconventional humor, and characteristic watercolor technique with its use of geometric patterns and brilliant modulations."--Horn Book.
Originally published in 1964 as Brian Wildsmith's Mother Goose.

Picture Books

Listed below is a sampling of expert-recommended picture books, all quite suitable for using in Mother Goose Times:

Baker, Keith. Big Fat Hen. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1994. ISBN 0152928693.

"A large, brilliantly colored rendition of the counting rhyme 'one, two, buckle my shoe.' Baker uses an imaginative array of acrylic colors for his hens--greens, purples, and pinks to contrast with the warm, yellow straw background. There are lots of things to count, such as sticks, eggs, chicks, and hens. A fine choice for toddler story hours."--School Library Journal

Cimarusti, Marie Torres. Peek a Moo! lllus.Stephanie Peterson. New York: Dutton, 1998. ISBN 0525460837.

"This lift-the-flap book features seven familiar barnyard animals covering their faces with two of their appendages (hoofs, wings, etc.). The text on each page is identical, 'Guess who? Peek-a-....' Turning down the flaps reveals the face of the animal and the sound it makes. The final spread features a baby. Children will most likely identify all of the animals even before lowering the flaps. This aside, they'll love making the sounds that the book is bound to induce. The creatures are presented in large scale and in vibrant colors set against a single color background. A boon for infant and toddler programs."--School Library Journal

Fox, Mem. Time for Bed. Illus. Jane Dyer. New York: Harcourt, 1993. ISBN 0152010890.

"Charming illustrations and comfortable rhymes characterize this appealing bedtime book. A twilight mood is set by dusky endpapers sprinkled with twinkling yellow stars, and by a title page showing a mother reading to a child. Double page spreads feature animal pairs, each with a parent settling its offspring down for the night. An orange tabby kitten receives a soothing bath, a sleepy blue bird is tucked into a warm nest, and a delicate fawn curls up against its mother. Each babe is lulled by a gently rhyming couplet beginning with the phrase, ``It's time for bed.'' Dyer's watercolor illustrations are dear. Large, clearly drawn animals are placed against backgrounds of vivid hues. A variety of landscapes keeps each scene looking fresh as a foal settles down in a moonlit meadow, a pair of fish blow bubbles in blue water, and two snakes curl up in overgrown grass. Working beautifully with the soothingly repetitive text, each painting conveys a warm feeling of safety and affection."--School Library Journal

Hale, Sarah Joespha Buell. Mary Had a Little Lamb. Photographs and afterward by Bruce McMillan. New York: Scholastic, 1990. ISBN 0590437739.

"It is difficult to set a classic piece of poetry in the historical context in which it belongs and at the same time enable it to evolve and stay alive and fresh. But that is just what McMillan has so artfully done in this picture-book version of the poem. In an inventive blend of layout and design, he meshes the old and new together. The delicate endpapers and old-fashioned edgings to the photographs all serve as the proper background for the black, bespectacled young girl who is the model for Mary and the real coup of the book. This is a Mary who goes to school in an old-fashioned building, but with a male teacher. With her bright smile and yellow overalls, she is sure to connect with children meeting Mary for the first time.... The fine design and excellent color scheme as well as the afterword, original poem, and explanations about the book make this a wonderfully crafted book that no library should miss.."--School Library Journal

Martin, Bill, Jr., Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Illus. Eric Carle. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1983. ISBN 0030641640.

"Both text and illustration merge beautifully to captivate the attention of beginning readers... The repetitive format of the book makes learning the names of the colors and animals an enjoyable experience?"--School Library Journal
First published in 1967.
Also available in Spanish.

Ormerod, Jan. The Saucepan Game. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1989. ISBN 0688085180

"A black-haired, yellow-clad baby and a black cat explore the wealth of creative possibilities offered by a large saucepan. Once again, Ormerod succinctly captures the essence of the toddler experience. The large, clear shapes of the watercolor illustrations are boldly outlined in black against a plain white background and are easily focused upon by very young eyes. From the charming endpapers of the infant's face reflected in the side of the pan to the simple text and the expressive postures of child and cat, this volume offers a playful interlude of sharing between baby and parent or sibling. A book that's sure to send young listeners scurrying to the kitchen for the nearest saucepan."--School Library Journal

Willams, Sue. I Went Walking. Illus. Julie Vivas. San Diego, Gulliver, 1990. ISBN 0152004718.

This book "presents a repetitive rhyme that will be appreciated most by the very young. A boy takes a walk and encounters a variety of animals: 'I went walking/What did I see?/I saw a black cat/Looking at me.' The cat follows him, as do all of the other animals he meets: a brown horse, a red cow, a green duck, a pink pig and a yellow dog. Finally the child is leading a veritable parade of animals. Although Williams's text is not particularly imaginative, the book receives spark from Vivas's illustrations. Each time the question is posed, she offers a partial glimpse of the animal, which is not shown in its entirety until the following page. Thus the story becomes a kind of guessing game that little ones will enjoy playing again and again."--Publishers Weekly

Baby Booklists

Listed below are links to bibliographies/lists, compiled by experts in the field, of books appropriate to share with babies. Please note, many of the following lists contain books with small dimensions, such as board books, which are appropriate for one-on-one sharing. Many Mother Goose programmers bring out bins or baskets of board books for parents and children to peruse after the program proper. In addition, the lists found through the links below could prove helpful for reader's advisory: