Reference Books

Listed below are a few reference works, related to children's literature; most are bibliographic, containing entries that can enhance Mother Goose Times:

Gillespie, John T. Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade 6. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press., 2002. ISBN 0313320683.

• "This selection guide provides recommendations on the most recently published books for young readers, drawing on professional review sources familiar to librarians. This seventh edition contains some 20,000 annotated entries, about 9,000 new, encompassing books published and reviewed in 2001. Every title has been recommended by at least two major review sources. Brief annotations, with information on ISBNs, book length and price, grade level, and review sources help librarians and teachers find books for children's recreational and educational reading. Entries are in sections on literature, biography, arts and language, history and geography, social institutions, issues, personal development, physical and applied sciences, and recreation."--Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
• Of particular relevance to Mother Goose Time is the "Bedtime Books and Nursery Rhymes" section, which includes 289 titles.

Lima, Carolyn W., and John A. Lima. A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press., 2001. ISBN 0313320691.

• "The latest edition of this standard reference work has grown to 1,800 pages listing nearly 23,000 titles. Once again, the material is divided into five sections: subject headings, subject guides, bibliographic guides, title indexes, and illustrator indexes. This arrangement enables the reader to locate books on a particular topic and to determine the subject of a specific book when only the author, illustrator, or title is known. The more than 1200 subject headings are augmented by subheadings and cross references, which is especially useful because this tool is as much for reader's advisory as it is for collection building. Full bibliographic information for each title included is provided in the bibliographic guide, although price and in-print status are not. This is not a problem, however, since reader's advisory use doesn't usually require pricing information, and there are now several electronic means of obtaining such information quickly and easily. As in previous editions, there is an excellent introductory essay titled 'Genesis of the English-Language Picture Book,' with as many suggested titles for further reading as might be found on a children's literature course syllabus. About the only drawback is the lack of annotations, but had these been added for each title included, the book would rival the Manhattan telephone directory in size. All in all, this remains an essential resource for just about any reference collection."--Library Journal
• One looking for "Mother Goose" is directed to see the "Nursery rhymes" section, which spans four pages.

Opie, Iona, and Peter Opie, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 1997. ISBN 0198600887.

• This is an anthology of "over 500 rhymes, songs, nonsense jingles, and lullabies.... Complementing the rhymes are nearly a hundred illustrations, including reproductions of early art found in ballad sheets and music books, which highlight the developent of children's illustrations over the last two centuries....{The editors note} the earliest known publications of the rhyme, describing how it originated, illustrating changes in wording over time, and indicating variations and parallels in other languages."--Publisher's note
• "The novice as well as the professional will find it an enjoyable read, as well as a learning experience."--American Reference Books Annual

Price, Anne, and Juliette Yaakov, eds. Children's Catalog. Bronx, NY: H.W. Wilson Company, 2001. ISBN 0824210093.

• "A previous edition of this reference is cited in Guide to Reference Books. Intended for children's librarians and school media specialists, this catalog presents short entries on over 6,000 fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, and Web resources for children from preschool through sixth grade. The volume also lists review sources and other professional aids such as works on literary criticism, guides to the operation of media centers, and periodicals relating to library science. New to the 18th edition is the mention of audiobook versions where available."--Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
• Sections particularly relevant to Mother Goose Time are: "General libraries, information centers," "Rhymes and rhyming games," "Miscellaneous Games," and "Songs."

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