The Chas. Addams Mother Goose

by Charles Addams

Book by Chas. Addams

Genres: Humor, Picture Books, Poetry, Comics, Art, Horror, Childrens

Paperback

First published October 31, 1967

About the author

The macabre humor and Gothic settings characterized many cartoons, first apparent in the New Yorker, of known American cartoonist Charles Samuel Addams.

Chas Addams best created "The Addams Family" comic characters, adapted for a variety of media. His signature style involved single panels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...

Reviews

[Jessica]

The illustrations are delightful and demented with special appearances by the Addams family. Is Mother Goose wearing Converse shoes?

[Chris Browning]

Not quite a classic, because weirdly Addams lacks the ability of Edward Gorey of completely crossing grotesques with something for a child’s audience, but it gets very close. He’s obviously most at home when he can fully indulge his genius for dark humour - The House That Jack Built, with its human cats and rats for example - but wobbles a bit with trying for a wider audience. It’s a minor quibble though because it’s still very funny and beautifully drawn, and with a lovely little collection of extras at the very end

[Genna]

This was SO GOOD.

[Rosemary]

Agatha Christie knew that nursery rhymes were inherently spooky and titled many of her murder mysteries with their deceptively simple lines. Charles Addams, creator of the Addams Family, gives these verses all their ghastly due. A fabulous book to ponder as the days grow darker and the wind rattles the windows.

[Robert]

Surprisingly, a few nursery rhymes I've never heard before.

[Tatiana]

This book came highly recommended and it wasn't as great as I thought it'd be. It might've been nostalgia speaking for those people.

The Mother Goose rhymes remain untouched; it's the drawings where this book is quirky and unique.

True to his tradition, Charles Addams draws dark Victorian houses, skeleton pigs, and gloomy characters dressed in gothic clothing and with dark circles around their eyes.

There wasn't anything interesting or playful about the layout of the drawings, it was more about their content.

Would recommend to: fans of the Addams Family, illustrators studying how to do a themed retelling of a classic.

[Emily]

This book includes a variety of popular nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet. However, the author, Charles Addams, puts his own twist on the original version of these nursery rhymes. This book is nice to see another take on popular nursery rhymes. However, I feel that this book in particular would not be adequate for a read aloud time because there is no sort of flow or plot to the book. Almost every page is a new nursery rhyme and I feel it may be hard for young kids to follow along with and they will get distracted or confused about what is happening. However, the illustrations are unique and have a lot for young kids to look at.

[Mayda]

For nursery rhymes with a bit of a macabre twist, you need look no further than this book. Though the rhymes aren’t changed, the illustrations are pure Charles Addams. Wednesday and Pugsley are featured prominently, but the whole family is represented in the charming but decidedly darker than normal illustrations. You ought to pay a call on this Addams’ Mother Goose!

[Keann Moncrieffe]

I loved how this book was full of different stories that we heard while growing up, but had its own spin on it here and there, which I liked a lot. It was engaging and the illustrations helped show the stories too.

[Nicole Thiboutot]

I enjoy this picture storybook. it contains a couple of stories in one book and I think it's interesting how the author was able to put them together as he did. i also think it gives kids an opportunity to have an open imagination.

[Ian]

Uneven. I suspect the problem is that Addams' humor is too similar to the source material, so most of the illustrations feel more straightforward than satirized.

[Robert Marsh]

Delightful.

[Andrew Blok]

All you childhood favorites (do people have favorite nursery rhymes?) with weirdo drawings from Charles Addams. It was fun and over quickly.

[Bella Herrick]

This is a fun and spooky rendition of the mother goose poems with an Addams family twist.

[Cassidy Hamm]

Great for older kids!

[Juli Anna]

A macabre delight.

[Alyssa Doughty]

This book was full of nursery rhymes with a twist. I liked how the author made them a little spooky. The illustrations were also very good.

[Stella]

Delightfully creepy.

[Corey]

This is a pure (dark) delight.

[Mercedes Dorr]

I didn't enjoy the lack of organization throughout this book :(

[Blaine Riesberg]

*snap* *snap*

[Roger Burk]

Charles Addams illustrates nursey rhymes in his trademark ghoulish style.

[Yvonne Mannion]

Characters: Humpty Dumpty, the three blind mice, Miss. Muffet, Tom, the piper’s son, Solomon Grundy, and an assortment of other Mother Goose characters
Setting: Settings vary, depending upon the rhyme, with many not clearly stated
Theme: Nursery Rhymes

Summary: This is a rereleased copy of an older edition of Mother Goose nursery rhymes that had been illustrated by the famous cartoonist, Charles Addams. The book contains 26 conventional nursery rhymes that are illustrated very unconventionally. For example, a dinosaur hatches from Humpty Dumpty. Actual heads grow in Mistress Mary’s garden. Jack Sprat’s wife has a red rimmed, yellow eyes. The rhymes are followed by “The Charles Addams Mother Goose Scrapbook,” which includes captioned photographs, drawings, and cover art by the artist.

Strengths/Weaknesses: A variety of rhymes are included, going beyond those traditionally learned in kindergarten or first grade. However, the illustrations are a bit dark and disturbing. While this is a positive for an older student, the illustrations may not make this book the best choice for younger children. Younger children are typically who would be exposed to nursery rhymes, so this book is most appropriate for a narrow group.

Illustrations: The illustrations were created by the illustrator of the original “Addams Family” comics. Many of the illustrations are in black and white. Most are somewhat unsettling or disturbing. The macabre interpretation of the characters makes inappropriate a book that would otherwise have been very appropriate for a five or six year old. Older children and adults, particularly those familiar with Addam’s work, could find the paradox appealing.

Target Audience: The text is best suited for ages 4 to 6, the illustrations to Ages 10 and above. Overall, I would recommend this book to readers aged 10 to adult.

Curriculum Ties: Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes are typically taught in kindergarten and first grades. They are taught as a genre, and also are used for practice identifying rhyme. The text would work for this purpose, if not the illustrations. The book could be used to review examples of the genre with upper elementary students.

Personal Critique: I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. While most of the nursery rhymes included were familiar to me, a few weren’t. As a mature reader who grew up watching “The Addams Family” television show, I enjoyed the slightly disturbing yet playful illustrations. I’m certain that this book would be very appealing to fans of the artist.

[Marsha]

This is an old treasure of familiar rhymes given Mr. Addams’s unique combinations of the bizarre and twisted. Humpty Dumpty’s fall reveals a prehistoric surprise; Little Miss Muffet is given an arachnid truly to be frightened of and Mother Goose saddles an avian that looks decidedly unhappy to be bearing her weight. Gently yet slily humorous, irreverent, in black and white or color, the late Mr. Addams’s genius for giving a slant to the mundane shows itself in this classic collection of creepy children’s consonances This book also comes with a small scrapbook of photos and magazine cover renditions, making it a real joy for the Addams reader.

[Martha]

This is another children's book that is great fun for adults. Being a product of Chas Addams' mind, the pictures are kind of creepy, but little boys (with their gross out tendencies) love the creepiness. Also this would be a great gift for a friend who is stuck at home with a pre-schooler and needs to resurrect his/her wicked sense of humor.

[Valerie]

This is another book that seems to've got lost on my travels. My copy was a hardback, and I believe it was a gift from my maternal grandmother. It probably formed my introduction to Addams, and my first idea that illustrations could comment on and supplement the text.

Many of the rhymes were familiar; but some I'd never encountered before I read the book.

[Jennie]

This book contains many traditional mother goose rhymes with illustrations by Charles Addams (who created the Addams family). I love it because it's an offbeat, Halloween-y take on the rhymes, which you have to admit can be pretty weird. It's nothing too morbid, just kind of dark. And awesome. My personal favorite illustration is the one for Wee Willie Winkie...check it out.

[Amanda]

My supervisor handed this to me on my lunch break. Find and read this book right away if you have never seen it before. Addams' skewed world view fits Mother Goose perfectly. I would have been forever warped (in a good way) had I read this as a child. Love it!

[Judity]

If you enjoyed "The Adams Family" series on television, you probably will also like how their creator gives us a warped view of some Mother Goose rhymes. I never knew there was a second verse to "Hickory, dickory, dock!" The things you learn when you open a book.

[Victoria]

A book from 1967 that has some classic nursery rhymes that are highlighted by the accompanying art work of the late Charles Adams, the creator of the The Addams family.

This would make a great present for the goth/hipster parents in you life.