Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever!

by Richard Scarry (illustrator)

Richard Scarry's bright and humorous animal characters have been charming children for decades. Always inventive in the world of animal fashion, Scarry shows the cow jumping over the moon in pearls and a pink dress, and the little dog who "laughed to see such sport" sports a sailor suit. You won't hear "I can't see the pictures!" with this book; its large size makes it a good choice for group story hour. This collection of 50 Mother Goose rhymes is especially appropriate for toddlers; most of the two-page spreads contain only one illustrated rhyme. (Many children younger than three can focus better on one simple verse than on many rhymes on each page.) Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever has stood the test of time for more than 25 years and is still a hit with young readers. (Ages 1 to 4)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Nursery Rhymes, Fiction, Classics, Kids

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

RICHARD SCARRY is one of the world's best-loved children's authors EVER! In his extraordinary career, Scarry illustrated over 150 books, many of which have never been out of print. His books have sold over 100 million copies around the world, and are currently published in over twenty languages. No other illustrator has shown such a lively interest in the words and concepts of early childhood. Richard Scarry was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators in 2012.

Reviews

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

AppleBlossom (10) read the entire oversized Mother Goose to Mermaid Warrior (2.5) and Dragon Viking (3 mo.). We love this one. Originally purchased as a recommendation from Memoria Press. It is everything that I remember as a child but so much more vibrant in color.

[gloriabluestocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have memories of the delightful illustrations and catchy nursery rhymes from my childhood. Was delighted to find a copy when my youngest was a baby, and have enjoyed it alongside both my children since. A must-have for every household with youngins.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical little collection -- did *not* have it in my childhood! I love the two-page spreads with all the little animals. Love also that all references to eating pigs are little gingerbread pigs -- rather than having cannibalistic pigs!

[Katherine C. Hirstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these old fashioned nursery rhymes. And Richard Scarry's illustrations are always fun. The book is pretty big, with usually only one rhyme per page, so the illustrations are huge. I think my favorite picture is Elsie Marley, who is too fine to feed the swine.

And my favorite rhyme is:

One misty, moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man
Clothed all in leather,
Clothed all in leather,
With cap under his chin.
How do you do, and how do you do,
And how do you do again?

I really enjoy this book; it's so fun to read these to my kiddos.

[Mandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part I
Rhyme Answer or completion Anthology/Page

In what rhyme is the hour of one o' clock important?

Hickory, Dickory Dock



The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright pg. 125

Child Craft Vol. 1 Once Upon a Time, pg. 11

Mother Goose a Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes Selected and Illustrated by Michael Hague, pg. 26


When we ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, what are we going to buy?
A Galloping Horse

A penny white loaf, a penny white cake, a two penny apple pie.

Century Co. , The Century Volume 14 Banbury Cross Verses 2 and 3, (1877) – internet source

Newberry, The Original Mother Goose Melody Banbury Cross Verse 3,– internet source

Tommy Thumbs Pretty Song Book (1744) –internet source

http://www.mothergooseclub.com/rhymes...


"Bye, Baby Bunting" what did Daddy go a hunting for?
A rabbit skin


Mother Goose a Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes Selected and Illustrated by Michael Hague, pg. 33

Child Craft Vol. 1 Once Upon a Time, pg. 12

The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright pg. 77







In What rhyme is the hour of ten o' clock mentioned?





A diller, a dollar, a 10 o’clock Scholar








The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright pg. 94

Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose: One Hundred Best Loved Verses, by Mary Engelbreit pg. 90

A Treasury of Mother Goose, by Hilda Offen, pg. 139


What is the answer to this riddle--A house full, a hole full, but you cannot gather a bowl full?
Mist




The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright pg. 35

The Original Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright – internet source

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/moth... - internet source


What did Mother Goose ride on when she wanted to wander?

A gander



Mother Goose selected and illustrated by Scott Cook, pg. 9

Mother Goose a Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes Selected and Illustrated by Michael Hague, pg. 1

Child Craft Vol. 1 Once Upon a Time, pg. 11


Who was found under the haystack fast asleep?
Little Boy Blue



Mother Goose selected and illustrated by Scott Cook, pg. 19

Child Craft Vol. 1 Once Upon a Time, pg. 46

Mother Goose a Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes Selected and Illustrated by Michael Hague, pg. 48








Part II
1. Who is Mother Goose?
Mother Goose was a generic name given to numerous authors who wrote rhymes and fairytale. They then handed them down for generations to enjoy.

2. Who collected the rhymes and published them?
In 1697, Charles Perrault was the first to collect them, as they grew in popularity in France Robert Samber translated them into English. Later John Newberry focused on printing children’s books. So he began collecting the rhymes and published them as “Mother Goose’s Melody” in 1960.
3. Connect the study of mother goose to the kindergarten curriculum. Use the Common Core Standards and see if you can find any standards that mention nursery rhymes or the characteristics of nursery rhymes. (kindergarten) The Common Core Standards for ELA are linked on the D2L site.
You can connect the study of Mother Goose nursery rhymes to the Common Core standards using phonological awareness skills, re-telling, and fluency. One Common Core Standard that I found was:
“R.F.K.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
1 Recognize and produce rhyming words.
2 Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
3 Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
4 Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words. 1 (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.”
However, I believe that there are many ways that nursery rhymes can be used in the Common Core. For example, finger-plays, rhymes, scientific demonstrations, math, gross motor development and class discussion can be used.
For a Reading Activity – Do a shared reading and then have the children put the nursery rhymes in sequence.
For Literacy - the Rhyme Humpty Dumpty could be used to match rhymes (as they put Humpty together again).
For Math – You could use Little Boy Blue and have the children find shapes under the haystack.
For Science – Using the rhyme Little Miss Muffet, you could have the students do a comparison of the insects and spiders that are found in your area.
4. Identify 5 characteristics of an anthology of nursery rhymes for teachers that would make the anthology brilliant.
1. Colorful, Great illustrations
2. Easy to read Aloud, no major tongue twisters.
3. Table of Contents in the front of the book. In alphabetic order for quick reference for using in the curriculum.
4. A Paragraph before the rhyme describing the meaning or references of the original rhyme. I enjoy the information of Bansbury Cross. I would love to read more about some of the other poems. Also there are a few that could be seen in different perspectives based on the reader.
5. Different activities that may be used to really get the children active and involved in the reading. Whether they be art, music or math or literacy, I believe that this could add to what the teacher may already have in mind.
5. Identify 5 characteristics of an anthology of nursery rhymes for children that would make the anthology brilliant.
1. Colorful, Great illustrations.
2. Easy for the student to read alone.
3. Possibly split into many smaller books so that the child does not feel overwhelmed.
4. Simple illustrations
5. Make the collections cheap, so that the parents could afford.
Part III
Answer These:
What would you like if you were buying a collection of rhymes?
a. Indexes?
a. subject index
title index
I think perhaps a little of both of these would work. This would help in comparing the poems to one another.
B. Color? I really prefer the colorful illustrations over the black and white ones. In looking at the different illustrations, I found that Jack Sprat was a man in two books, a mouse in another. It did not matter whether he was a man or mouse, the colors really added something to the story.
C. Notes? I think notes of different activities that could be done with the rhyme would be beneficial. It would add to the ideas that the teacher has already determined to use in the curriculum.
D. Many Poems? I believe that the teachers book could be full of poems. However it would have to be something light so that the teacher would be able to hold it turned to the children while she is reading it out loud to the students.
E. Explanations of the context of the rhyme? Yes, I believe that this would add something to the understanding of the poems. I also believe that it would be something that may make the students gain a better understanding of life when the rhymes where written.
F. Table of Contents? I personally would prefer a listing of the titles at the front of the book. In some of the books I read the index was in the back. Most of the Mother Goose rhymes that I read had the index in alphabetical order based on the first lines of the poems. While this was a pretty good idea, since that is the way I am able to remember most of them, it was difficult for some. For example, I remembered A diller, A dollar, A 10 o’clock scholar as simply “A 10 o’clock scholar”. Because of this I had many problems locating the correct poem. The other problem that I ran into was that I confused the riddle –“A house full, a hole full, but you cannot gather a bowl full?” with the one by Beatrix Potter. So I was thinking “Smoke”. I was discussing these rhymes with my mom. I gave her the riddle and she said, “Mist”. I laughed and said “Nope, smoke.” So she proceeded to pull out our old nursery rhyme book to show me that she was correct. I am really glad that she did because I then researched and realized that I was thinking of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. Which would have been really confusing when I started doing research for the anthologies.
G. Cheap? Yes, As a teacher there will be many things that I want for my classroom. Being able to afford the books that I want in there is important. However I mean cheap in price not in the way that it is made. I would want to make sure that this book would last.

What would you like if you were buying for a 5 year old? Would her idea of what makes a "good" anthology be the same as yours?
A. Indexes?
a. subject index
b. title index
I do not believe that younger children would care if there was an index or not.
B. Color? Yes, Most definitely! My 5 year old loves looking at the pictures. He enjoys picking our the words that he knows but he also enjoys comparing the pictures to what has been read to him.
C. Notes? I do not believe that this would be important at a younger age.
D. Many Poems? I believe that fewer poems would be more beneficial at this age. The students could be easily overwhelmed with a larger book. But having a smaller one the student may not feel this way.
E. Explanations of the context of the rhyme? I think that the parents would enjoy reading this for their children. However I do not believe that the younger child would care either way. I mean it could add to the story but I do not believe that this would be a must have.
F. Table of Contents? Yes, this could help them to find their favorite poems fast.
G. Cheap? Yes, I believe that the child/parent would be more willing to add a book to the children’s bookshelf if it was affordable.

[Rowan Egoryshev · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a folktale collection meant for ages 4-8. It's a collection of Mother Goose's tales.

This book is...kinda like a super fast paced fever dream. There's no clear separation between fairy tales, so it takes a while for the reader to understand that each page is a new tale. I may be remembering this wrong, but I believe a lot of these tales were shortened so they can fit to just a page? Like I remember "Old lady in a Shoe" to be much longer than just a stanza. While I feel like this book might be useful in teaching a child the basics of language, I also think that it misses something crucial: the act of story telling. I know that a lot of Mother Goose's stories were nonsensical little poems, but they still had a certain element of a story that this book lacks. It's kinda useless to teach kids words if they don't know what to do with them, but that's just my opinion. The only true upside of this book is the fact that the illustrations are cute and very useful in explaining what is happening in each poem. I think a really little kid might like this, but once you get into the 6-8 range all interest is lost. I also think there are better adaptations of Mother Goose than this, so maybe read your kid something else instead.

[Jennifer Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever compiled by Richard Scarry is a work of poetry intended for children ages 3-7. Mother Goose rhymes are more often than not a child’s first introduction to the world of poetry. Their lively meter, repeated refrains, insistent rhymes and fun vocabulary captivates children and adults of all ages. There are many treasuries of Mother Goose rhymes available to children today. Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever instantly became one of my most favorites. The book is bound by a hardcover that features attractive animal character illustrations – a Richard Scarry trademark. The book contains fifty of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes ever written, including those familiar to most and those not heard as often. Specific rhymes can be easily located in the index. The illustrations throughout the book are large, bright and humorous depicting the actions of each rhyme. Each two-page spreads contains one brilliantly illustrated rhyme and are uncluttered in appearance. Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, and is therefore, not considered multi-cultural. Based on each of these reasons, I believe that this collection of Mother Goose rhymes would be appealing to young readers.
November 25, 2019

[Chuck Mageean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Target audience: Early elementary
Summary: Fifty of the most well known and familiar of the Mother Goose rhymes, (from a diller, a dollar to Wee Willie Winkle) illustrated in typical "Golden Books" style.
Strengths/weaknesses: The greatest strength of this book is the classic Mother Goose rhymes as well as the very sturdy construction of the book. Whether the style of the illustrations is appealing or not is a matter of taste.
Personal critique: The style of the illustrations in this book seem somewhat dated compared to some of the more modern picture books available today. More than adequate, but there are a lot of choices available for Mother Goose books.
Illustrations: As a picture book, the illustrations are the key element. These illustrations do not seem as stimulating as those in some of the other recently reviewed books.

[Araksia Pendergast · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Appropriate level: Toddlers- 1st Grade
2. Summary: This book is made up of fifty favorite and not so well-known nursery rhymes are brought to vibrant life by Richard Scarry. The bears, pigs, cats, and rabbits perfectly illustrate these familiar verses. This oversize book depicts these most classic characters in bright, funny, colorful ways.
3: Review: This is a great colorful book to teach children about rhymes. It has simple vocabulary words which the children will be able to read out-aloud with the teacher or parent.
4. In class use: Its a great book for a read-aloud for the whole class. It can be used to teach the children about rhymes.

[Heather-Keith Huighe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to your child or have your child read to you. I love Richard Scarry. This book is large and has cute pictures that complement the words. This book is definitely a picture book but it's also an early reader. It has tons of familiar poems with mostly simple words. For the preliterate the large illustrations are bright and colorful and visually appealing.

[Mike Fehrenbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be a children's book, and I may be adding it for the sole purpose of hitting my Goodreads challenge, but the fact is I probably spent more time this year reading "Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever" than I spent reading "Master of the Senate," which at 1040 pages was the longest I read all year.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still haven’t original childhood copy, which I’m now reading with my children. A few of the stories get skipped, because I’m not a fan, but lovely illustrations and a great intro to short rhymes that are easily memorized.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a few pages of this daily with my 3-month old. She loves it! The book is a large size so when I hold her on my lap facing the book, it’s like being at a drive in movie for her! She looks at the pictures while I read the rhymes. Perfect for her first storytime.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grabbing a book by this author is such a great gift to give the children you love and to help them on that road to learning.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawings are good as always. The nursery rhymes include many unfamiliar/obscure ones. One about Taffy the Welshman was surprising in its plot of repeated thefts and escalating vengeance.

[Ryan Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a lot as a toddler. It has rhymes, and features many cats. Extremely derivative.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many familiar nursery rhymes with wonderful artwork.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enqi said, she doesn’t like it since it is not understandable.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such lovely illustrations. Really a treat to look at, even as an adult!

[Julia]

I own this book...if anyone wants to buy it

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A used bookstore find! I love his art work.

“Good night, sleep tight,
Wake up bright
In the morning light
To do what’s right
With all your might.”

[Candice Farnsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our favorite mother goose book :)

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these nursery rhymes when I was a kid and I love being able to read them to my daughter.

[Henry O’Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knocked a star off for the anti-Welsh sentiment of the nursery rhyme included on page 74.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loses a star for the anti-Welsh sentiments in the nursery rhyme included on page 74.

[Carmen Gatti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what to expect. Not that interesting if you did not grow up with it.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely old book with many familiar rhymes and comforting pictures. You got to love Richard Scarry’s detailed art work!

[Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictures are cute, and familiar nursery rhymes for all.