What do you think?
The Neighborhood Mother Goose
Every day, children the world over sing, shout, and celebrate Mother Goose rhymes. And now there's a new reason to cheer: Nina Crews has added her own remarkable, jazzy style of illustration to a collection of forty-one favorite verses. Whether it's Jack jumping over a candlestick (atop a cupcake), Georgie Porgie kissing the girls (at the playground), or a fine lady riding a white horse (on the carousel), this exuberant treasury is sure to be read and enjoyed over and over again.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published December 23, 2003
About the author
Nina Crews
32 books14 followersNina Crews is a well known author and an illustrator children's books. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
December 9, 2017
Nina Crews does it again with her beautiful photography and collagework. She takes Mother Goose's rhymes and recreates them around her images featuring children of color and their experiences in a fun and vibrant way. In all honesty, I like Mother Goose, but I just didn't find her rhymes as engaging ever since I turned, like, 12. And then Nina Crews does THIS and now I'm in love all over again. What creativity! I absolutely loved this and think that this is perfect for any home, classroom, or library.
Review cross-listed here!
Review cross-listed here!
August 24, 2022
This is Mother Goose for all those boys and girls who live in the city. Such a fun book. Dozens of Mother Goose rhymes are inside with photographs that help depict what is happening in each of the verses. Kids will love seeing themselves acting out the familiar rhymes and will want to go back to this book again and again.
Read
September 9, 2022The illustrations were mischievous, exuberant, and refreshing, illustrating traditional nursery rhymes with photos of urban children. I loved the father-child and mother-child dynamics in many of the pictures. Surprised how intensely nostalgic it was despite being so recent (ok, so almost 20 years ago now). What has happened to our world?
October 17, 2008
A contemporary Mother Goose set in Brooklyn, with photographs of children at play.
Intended Age Group 3-7
To many people, nursery rhymes seem dead and static—they are read merely for tradition’s sake, or because your child’s other grandmother’s sister gave you a book of them and it’s cluttering your shelf. Mother Goose books are often illustrated with pictures of bonnet clad children and members of the European peasantry, as well as workers like candlestick makers, whom we tend not to encounter in our daily lives. If you’ve felt this way, check out the Neighborhood Mother Goose, by Nina Crews. This updated version takes place not in the European countryside, but in modern-day Brooklyn. Her fanciful photographic collages of energetic children outside parks, shoe stores, and markets provide a backdrop to the verses, and it works: the pulse of urban life and the movement of the children accentuates the rhythmic qualities of the rhymes and breathes new life into them. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary waters flowers in a community garden, and Ride a Cock Horse takes place on the carousel in Prospect Park. Crews is also a master of digital special effects: Boys watch a cow jumping over the moon between buildings on a city block; a real cat plays a fiddle in a concrete yard. On the last page, instead of a wizened old lady in glasses and a witch’s hat, we see a real snow goose watching the sunset from a city rooftop. In sum, the Neighborhood Mother Goose is great for introducing children to rhyming verse; it’s also a multiethnic visual feast full of surprises and fun.
Reviewers agreed that this book catapulted Mother Goose into the present, and praised Crews’ imagination and skill in photographing children in a way that captures their joy and looks natural. The book received many starred reviews and was chosen as an ALA Notable/Best Book in 2005. The Horn Book, (May/June, 2004) approved of her choice of multiethnic children—the review was very descriptive and enthusiastic, and listed many examples of how she illustrated the rhymes. They also liked how she included some lesser known rhymes and “makes the familiar rhymes seem new”. A Publisher’s Weekly (1/26/04) review was similiarly helpful, describing the book well and listing many examples of the artwork the reviewer admired.
Intended Age Group 3-7
To many people, nursery rhymes seem dead and static—they are read merely for tradition’s sake, or because your child’s other grandmother’s sister gave you a book of them and it’s cluttering your shelf. Mother Goose books are often illustrated with pictures of bonnet clad children and members of the European peasantry, as well as workers like candlestick makers, whom we tend not to encounter in our daily lives. If you’ve felt this way, check out the Neighborhood Mother Goose, by Nina Crews. This updated version takes place not in the European countryside, but in modern-day Brooklyn. Her fanciful photographic collages of energetic children outside parks, shoe stores, and markets provide a backdrop to the verses, and it works: the pulse of urban life and the movement of the children accentuates the rhythmic qualities of the rhymes and breathes new life into them. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary waters flowers in a community garden, and Ride a Cock Horse takes place on the carousel in Prospect Park. Crews is also a master of digital special effects: Boys watch a cow jumping over the moon between buildings on a city block; a real cat plays a fiddle in a concrete yard. On the last page, instead of a wizened old lady in glasses and a witch’s hat, we see a real snow goose watching the sunset from a city rooftop. In sum, the Neighborhood Mother Goose is great for introducing children to rhyming verse; it’s also a multiethnic visual feast full of surprises and fun.
Reviewers agreed that this book catapulted Mother Goose into the present, and praised Crews’ imagination and skill in photographing children in a way that captures their joy and looks natural. The book received many starred reviews and was chosen as an ALA Notable/Best Book in 2005. The Horn Book, (May/June, 2004) approved of her choice of multiethnic children—the review was very descriptive and enthusiastic, and listed many examples of how she illustrated the rhymes. They also liked how she included some lesser known rhymes and “makes the familiar rhymes seem new”. A Publisher’s Weekly (1/26/04) review was similiarly helpful, describing the book well and listing many examples of the artwork the reviewer admired.
November 9, 2009
Nina Crews puts a new twist on original Mother Goose poetry in her book, The Neighborhood Mother Goose. This book features forty-one well-known and beloved poems such as Humpty Dumpty, Peter Piper, Ring around the Rosie and There was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe. The poems themselves are not altered. What makes this book unique is that the illustrator matches photographs to the text. Some of the photographs are altered on a computer; such as the illustration in the poem, There Was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe. The photograph was augmented to show several children and their mother shrunken down in size in or playing around a shoe (their home). The illustrator brings literal meaning to the text through her photography.
I enjoyed rereading poems from my youth as this book brought a different and humorous element to them. I thought the illustrations were clever and fun. Students will enjoy comparing the traditional Mother Goose poetry with this version. In addition, they will enjoy seeing children like themselves in the pictures, which allows for text to self-connections. This book is appropriate for early elementary ages.
I enjoyed rereading poems from my youth as this book brought a different and humorous element to them. I thought the illustrations were clever and fun. Students will enjoy comparing the traditional Mother Goose poetry with this version. In addition, they will enjoy seeing children like themselves in the pictures, which allows for text to self-connections. This book is appropriate for early elementary ages.
March 3, 2016
Crews, Nina. The Neighborhood Mother Goose. Greenwillow Books, 2004.
While the typical Mother Goose collection is chock-full of whimsical, Victorian-era-inspired illustrations of costumed animals, humble peasants, and bucolic pastures, this collection takes a different approach. Crews breathes new life into 41 Mother Goose rhymes by printing their verses atop photographs of a diverse cast of children in New York City neighborhoods; girls play “pat-a-cake” outside of a bakery, “Georgie Porgie” chases girls on a blacktop, and “Mary, Mary, quite contrary” waters an urban garden. While most of the rhymes are accompanied by photographs of everyday city life, some paired with superimposed photos, such as a young “Jack” jumping over a candlestick on a larger-than-life cupcake, and “a pint-sized “Peter” climbing over-sized supermarket shelves to find his jar of “pickled peppers.” Parents and children alike will enjoy this joyful romp through city life, which renders these traditional rhymes not as relics of a bygone era, but as reflections of the people and places that we see every day.
Target audience: Ages 3-7
While the typical Mother Goose collection is chock-full of whimsical, Victorian-era-inspired illustrations of costumed animals, humble peasants, and bucolic pastures, this collection takes a different approach. Crews breathes new life into 41 Mother Goose rhymes by printing their verses atop photographs of a diverse cast of children in New York City neighborhoods; girls play “pat-a-cake” outside of a bakery, “Georgie Porgie” chases girls on a blacktop, and “Mary, Mary, quite contrary” waters an urban garden. While most of the rhymes are accompanied by photographs of everyday city life, some paired with superimposed photos, such as a young “Jack” jumping over a candlestick on a larger-than-life cupcake, and “a pint-sized “Peter” climbing over-sized supermarket shelves to find his jar of “pickled peppers.” Parents and children alike will enjoy this joyful romp through city life, which renders these traditional rhymes not as relics of a bygone era, but as reflections of the people and places that we see every day.
Target audience: Ages 3-7
October 30, 2009
Forty one traditional Mother Goose rhymes are given a new spin with Nina Crews' photographs in The Neighborhood Mother Goose. The photographs taken in Crews' hometown of Brooklyn, NY show Jack jumping over a candlestick with happens to be on a cupcake and a little girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead cutting the hair off her barbie doll. Each photo is engaging with lots going on, Crews also utilized photoshop to add some surprising elements to the pictures. The book is great fun and will introduce a whole new generation to Mother Goose rhymes.
I think this is a great book because it depicts the diversity of Brooklyn through the photographs of kids. I think it will also engage children and parents who might not normally reach for Mother Goose rhymes. Kids will love the photographs and parents will enjoy the new twist on the verses they grew up with.
I think this is a great book because it depicts the diversity of Brooklyn through the photographs of kids. I think it will also engage children and parents who might not normally reach for Mother Goose rhymes. Kids will love the photographs and parents will enjoy the new twist on the verses they grew up with.
July 1, 2015
Nina Crews brings familiar Mother Goose rhymes to life with her digitally altered photographs in her book, The Neighborhood Mother Goose. She brilliantly chose backgrounds and people from all walks of life to illustrate the rhymes she used from The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, The Annotated Mother Goose, and others she changed from versions passed down through oral tradition. My favorite rhyme in the book is, “Jack Be Nimble,” because she has combined a photograph of a boy jumping with a photograph of a lit candle in a cupcake that looks larger than the boy. The white font on top of the party background is a great example of how Nina Crews put thought behind every piece of her book. I would recommend this book to readers that are looking for a way to demonstrate the continued importance of rhymes and oral tradition with a modern twist.
April 16, 2009
The old familiar nursery rhymes are accompanied by photographs featuring racially diverse children and families. A great way to keep these rhymes in a current perspective, although sometimes the photographs are a little creepy (ex: a huge dish and spoon lurking behind a fence). This would make a great read-aloud story time book, and after a while, the children would recite the poems along with the reader.
October 4, 2017
The Neighborhood Mother Goose
Author: Nina Crews
Genre: Mother Goose Books, Fables
Theme(s): Rhyming
Opening line/sentence: "Hey diddle diddle! The cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such a sport and the dish ran away with the spoon."
Brief Book Summary: This book contains many of the rhyming songs that children love to sing. It contains popular rhymes, such as Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Ring Around the Rosie, and Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Horn Book Guide Online
Link: http://www.hornbookguide.com.ezaccess...
"PS Modern-day urban settings popping with color, with real live children acting out the parts, give these rhymes a new twist. The compositions are digitally collaged yet natural-looking."
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Samantha Casselli (First Grade Teacher)
Phone Interview
“I have actually used this book when I taught Kindergarten. It is great for repetition and predictability- the kids knew the words after the second day we read from the book. The children were entertained by the fun pictures, since this book is more modern than older nursery rhyme books.”
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews concluded that this book is more up-to-date than other nursery rhyme books. The vibrant and loud colors add to the children’s interest in the book, as both reviews mentioned. Casselli’s review mentioned that it is good for repetition and predictability, something the other review failed to mention.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book has realistic pictures mixed with abstract and unrealistic things (cows in the sky, giant china plates, etc.). This entertains children and also draws their attention. The illustrations and the realistic pictures mimic what the nursery rhymes say, thus adding to a child’s understanding of the book through illustrations/pictures.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I could use this book during a rhyming lesson to teach different patterns and schemes. Also, I could read this to my students everyday so they memorize each one with hand motions. This will teach children fine motor skills. I can also have them create their own nursery rhyme and draw an illustration for it as an activity after reading it together as a class.
Author: Nina Crews
Genre: Mother Goose Books, Fables
Theme(s): Rhyming
Opening line/sentence: "Hey diddle diddle! The cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such a sport and the dish ran away with the spoon."
Brief Book Summary: This book contains many of the rhyming songs that children love to sing. It contains popular rhymes, such as Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Ring Around the Rosie, and Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Horn Book Guide Online
Link: http://www.hornbookguide.com.ezaccess...
"PS Modern-day urban settings popping with color, with real live children acting out the parts, give these rhymes a new twist. The compositions are digitally collaged yet natural-looking."
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Samantha Casselli (First Grade Teacher)
Phone Interview
“I have actually used this book when I taught Kindergarten. It is great for repetition and predictability- the kids knew the words after the second day we read from the book. The children were entertained by the fun pictures, since this book is more modern than older nursery rhyme books.”
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews concluded that this book is more up-to-date than other nursery rhyme books. The vibrant and loud colors add to the children’s interest in the book, as both reviews mentioned. Casselli’s review mentioned that it is good for repetition and predictability, something the other review failed to mention.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book has realistic pictures mixed with abstract and unrealistic things (cows in the sky, giant china plates, etc.). This entertains children and also draws their attention. The illustrations and the realistic pictures mimic what the nursery rhymes say, thus adding to a child’s understanding of the book through illustrations/pictures.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I could use this book during a rhyming lesson to teach different patterns and schemes. Also, I could read this to my students everyday so they memorize each one with hand motions. This will teach children fine motor skills. I can also have them create their own nursery rhyme and draw an illustration for it as an activity after reading it together as a class.
November 28, 2017
Reading Level: 3.8
Book Level/ Guided Reading Level: P
This book offers a unique spin on the classic Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, by providing a photograph of children in a modern urban setting to illustrate each of the characteristic nursery rhymes, making this just one of many renditions of this piece of Traditional Literature. Nursery Rhymes featured in this collection consist of, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle, etc. There is a handy Table of Contents at the front of the book, so readers can easily find their favorite Nursery Rhyme.
This book would be an ideal read aloud for students in primary elementary grades. After the teacher reads the nursery rhyme aloud, students can sequence the parts of different nursery rhymes as part of English Language Arts instruction. Other English Language Arts instructional ideas this book is superlative for would be lessons on rhyming.
Since the genre of fairytales is easily accessible to younger children, and this book has a slightly higher reading level, it is a perfect guided reading selection for younger elementary students who are advanced readers and are reading above grade level.
Moreover, this novel could be used as a mentor text to demonstrate the writing traits of organization, sentence fluency and presentation. In terms of presentation, the class could specifically explore how the images selected to accompany each rhyme give the reader a new insight into an old classic. Furthermore, the urban nature of the imagery will allow students living in urban neighborhoods to feel a greater sense of connection to the lessons described.
Book Level/ Guided Reading Level: P
This book offers a unique spin on the classic Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, by providing a photograph of children in a modern urban setting to illustrate each of the characteristic nursery rhymes, making this just one of many renditions of this piece of Traditional Literature. Nursery Rhymes featured in this collection consist of, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle, etc. There is a handy Table of Contents at the front of the book, so readers can easily find their favorite Nursery Rhyme.
This book would be an ideal read aloud for students in primary elementary grades. After the teacher reads the nursery rhyme aloud, students can sequence the parts of different nursery rhymes as part of English Language Arts instruction. Other English Language Arts instructional ideas this book is superlative for would be lessons on rhyming.
Since the genre of fairytales is easily accessible to younger children, and this book has a slightly higher reading level, it is a perfect guided reading selection for younger elementary students who are advanced readers and are reading above grade level.
Moreover, this novel could be used as a mentor text to demonstrate the writing traits of organization, sentence fluency and presentation. In terms of presentation, the class could specifically explore how the images selected to accompany each rhyme give the reader a new insight into an old classic. Furthermore, the urban nature of the imagery will allow students living in urban neighborhoods to feel a greater sense of connection to the lessons described.
Read
November 22, 2020Book Title: The Neighborhood Mother Goose
Author/Illustrator: Nina Crews
Reading Level: LG
Book Level: 3.8
Book Summary: A collection of nursery rhymes including Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Hey Diddle Diddle, and Little Miss Muffet.
Bookshelf Genre: Traditional Literature
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:
Sentence Fluency - This book of course has strong sentence fluency through the variety of nursery rhymes within it. Each rhyme encourages readers to sing along in the tempo and tone of its message, thus creating a book that is a joy to read.
Conventions - When a book has so many rhymes it is important to use the correct punctuation, and grammar to ensure they are read in the correct style and tempo. This book ensures correct mechanics throughout to allow the reader to go through each rhyme correctly and rhythmically.
Using rhyming books such as this one can help improve reading fluency by creating an organized and steady tempo that readers are able to follow along with.
Author/Illustrator: Nina Crews
Reading Level: LG
Book Level: 3.8
Book Summary: A collection of nursery rhymes including Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Hey Diddle Diddle, and Little Miss Muffet.
Bookshelf Genre: Traditional Literature
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:
Sentence Fluency - This book of course has strong sentence fluency through the variety of nursery rhymes within it. Each rhyme encourages readers to sing along in the tempo and tone of its message, thus creating a book that is a joy to read.
Conventions - When a book has so many rhymes it is important to use the correct punctuation, and grammar to ensure they are read in the correct style and tempo. This book ensures correct mechanics throughout to allow the reader to go through each rhyme correctly and rhythmically.
Using rhyming books such as this one can help improve reading fluency by creating an organized and steady tempo that readers are able to follow along with.
June 9, 2018
A favorite in our house for a long time, we love it! It's the rhymes we all know and love from our childhood but Crews has the knack for making stories relatable to modern children. The photography is taken around neighborhoods most children in urban areas will identify with and includes children from all ethnicities. It makes the silly ridiculous outdated rhymes make sense; it helps our young readers connect with the words. Plus these pictures are just plain fun! I included inside shots of some of our favorite pages!
If you like this, check out her other books. We especially love Jack and the beanstalk!
If you like this, check out her other books. We especially love Jack and the beanstalk!
March 14, 2021
This book’s genre would be considered folklore, as it is full of everyone’s favorite nursery rhymes from when they were a child. There were even some that I had never even heard of before, so it also contains the less popular ones. The illustrations in this picture book are beautiful. Nina Crews uses photography in each spread to assist in the storytelling of all of the nursery rhymes. This book would be perfect for a read aloud to a younger elementary class. If you enjoy nursery rhymes from your childhood and beautiful photography, give this book a read.
September 12, 2017
This book is a compilation of nursery rhymes using the author's hometown, Brooklyn, as the background for the illustrations. The illustrations that Crews used truly brought the nursery rhymes to life because the pictures are actual photographs of Brooklyn and its residents. I think that this would be a fun book for small children to read and I think it would be good to read aloud to a very young age group.
March 8, 2019
As I was looking through this story in class, it did not really surprise me in many ways only due to the art work of the story. The text seemed fine because the text had a lot of rhyming schemes in it and it did a good job of explaining the pictures of the story. But I just thought the art work seemed very boring to me.
November 26, 2018
Nina Crews takes the classic Mother Goose stories and updates the imagery with whimsical photoshopped illustrations and an emphasis on diversity. There is a lot to unpack in these illustrations and children and adults will want to revisit time and time again.
November 21, 2024
Crews Cuts #1
A book of old time nursery rhymes with a new introduction.
Of average value and will bring nostalgic feelings to some.
Others may think it looks and feels dated, and kids have moved on.
A book of old time nursery rhymes with a new introduction.
Of average value and will bring nostalgic feelings to some.
Others may think it looks and feels dated, and kids have moved on.
June 6, 2018
Many many Mother Goose rhymes, illustrated with photos of diverse kids in a city setting.
September 8, 2018
it's great
beautiful pictures
buy this
beautiful pictures
buy this
December 7, 2018
This book lists nursery rhymes, apparently from Mother Goose. The illustrations are collages from pictures in the Brooklyn neighborhood. Nice work, and well connected!
December 22, 2018
My daughter’s favorite; all the classic rhymes but with modern photos of kids. She’s addicted and knows them all by heart. This is one I don’t mind reading a zillion times over.
February 13, 2019
The only mother goose book you would ever need full stop.
October 16, 2019
This is closer to a 3.5 rating. It has great, classic nursery rhymes and is fantastically diverse.
October 20, 2021
A collection of Mother Goose rhymes. Each rhyme is accompanied by large photographs of a diverse group of children. Would be great for sharing in storytime.
May 8, 2024
Beautiful book with all the songs!!!
August 7, 2024
It's nice to see more people of color in books! Great work!
February 12, 2025
these pictures were so much fun. at times absurdist, very often dynamic. delightful.
November 22, 2025
Good selection of mother goose and really interesting pictures. this is especially impressive knowing this was done in Adobe 20 years ago. My toddler really liked this version.
October 12, 2015
Title: italicize The Neighborhood Mother Goose
Author: Nina Crews
Illustrator: Nina Crews
Genre: Nursery Rhymes
Theme(s): Neighborhood Community, Rhyming
Opening line/sentence: Hey diddle diddle!
Brief Book Summary: This book of nursery rhymes has a table of contents, and offers different nursery rhymes on each page with fun images! Each nursery rhyme correlates with photographic images from a diverse neighborhood in a city. With every nursery rhyme, you are sure to find some classics and some newer ones, and all have a beat and flow to it.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Publishers Weekly
Crews's photographic picture books (One Hot Summer Day; Snowball) have always captured a certain rhythm-be it of the playground, a city sidewalk or just childlike interaction. Like them, her latest project rolls along with a strong beat; verse and image keep perfect time. Viewed through Crews's camera, an urban neighborhood (the author's beloved Brooklyn, as distinguished by various borough landmarks) resonates with activity. Readers can almost hear hands clapping, babies cooing and children laughing in crisp photo-collages. A grassy park, storefronts, apartment windows and rooftops provide some of the backdrops for members of a multi-ethnic cast as they interpret such rhymes as "Ring Around the Rosie," "Dance, Little Baby" and "Humpty Dumpty." Crews includes lesser-known verses as well-"Cobbler, Cobbler," "Three Wise Men of Gotham"-which work to equally good effect. Adding an element of whimsy, she digitally manipulates her photos, achieving a varied scale that allows Jack (of "Be Nimble" fame) to hurdle a cupcake with a candle in it, or three tiny men (those men of Gotham) to head seaward off a Coney Island pier. The updated look provides a freshness without being overtly contemporary; Mother Goose's timeless rhymes are quite at home in this new setting. Throughout, the artist demonstrates a talent for coaxing seemingly candid moments from her child subjects as they enact their nursery-rhyme roles, and the other hallmarks of her work-color, action and a sense of fun-shine at full force. Ages 3-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Kirkus Reviews
Crews connects 41 nursery rhymes to full-spread, skillfully manipulated photo-collages depicting a multi-age cast of marvelously expressive children at play in various sunny, well-kept Brooklyn locales. Her visualizations are, by and large, literal: an outsized dish and spoon peer over a tall fence between brownstones, ignoring the airborne cow in the background; an itsy bitsy spider does double duty, climbing up a drain spout and frightening a brown-skinned Miss Muffet; a thumb-sized little old lady laughingly scolds 15 even tinier children as they clamber over a pair of shoes left on a carpeted stairway. Opening and closing with rooftop views of Brooklyn (look for the goose), this gathering of common and not-so-common rhymes will be a hit with young readers and pre-readers in any setting, urban or otherwise. (source note) (Nursery rhymes. 3-7)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews praise the use of photography and literal representations to each and every nursery rhyme. They also applaud the freshness that comes with the book without being too modern. They discuss the setting being in a city community and how that can be relatable to a great audience. Lastly, the reviews take great notice to the wonderful collection of classic and not as classic rhymes throughout the book! Evaluation of Literary Elements: I think that this book does a great job at including new and old rhymes that would appeal to a great audience. I think that this could be for a variety of ages, as the images are very relatable to a wide range of people. I think the photography and images themselves do a great job of portraying each nursery rhyme and they represent the city culture well at the same time.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I think this book could be fun to use in a younger-aged setting. You could go through a couple of the rhymes a day and do them in different voices rhythms or even sing them! I think it would be a unique way to start off a day and get the kids excited for the day ahead! You could also use this book as a scaffold or building block for teaching about rhyming or rhyme scheme.
Author: Nina Crews
Illustrator: Nina Crews
Genre: Nursery Rhymes
Theme(s): Neighborhood Community, Rhyming
Opening line/sentence: Hey diddle diddle!
Brief Book Summary: This book of nursery rhymes has a table of contents, and offers different nursery rhymes on each page with fun images! Each nursery rhyme correlates with photographic images from a diverse neighborhood in a city. With every nursery rhyme, you are sure to find some classics and some newer ones, and all have a beat and flow to it.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Publishers Weekly
Crews's photographic picture books (One Hot Summer Day; Snowball) have always captured a certain rhythm-be it of the playground, a city sidewalk or just childlike interaction. Like them, her latest project rolls along with a strong beat; verse and image keep perfect time. Viewed through Crews's camera, an urban neighborhood (the author's beloved Brooklyn, as distinguished by various borough landmarks) resonates with activity. Readers can almost hear hands clapping, babies cooing and children laughing in crisp photo-collages. A grassy park, storefronts, apartment windows and rooftops provide some of the backdrops for members of a multi-ethnic cast as they interpret such rhymes as "Ring Around the Rosie," "Dance, Little Baby" and "Humpty Dumpty." Crews includes lesser-known verses as well-"Cobbler, Cobbler," "Three Wise Men of Gotham"-which work to equally good effect. Adding an element of whimsy, she digitally manipulates her photos, achieving a varied scale that allows Jack (of "Be Nimble" fame) to hurdle a cupcake with a candle in it, or three tiny men (those men of Gotham) to head seaward off a Coney Island pier. The updated look provides a freshness without being overtly contemporary; Mother Goose's timeless rhymes are quite at home in this new setting. Throughout, the artist demonstrates a talent for coaxing seemingly candid moments from her child subjects as they enact their nursery-rhyme roles, and the other hallmarks of her work-color, action and a sense of fun-shine at full force. Ages 3-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Kirkus Reviews
Crews connects 41 nursery rhymes to full-spread, skillfully manipulated photo-collages depicting a multi-age cast of marvelously expressive children at play in various sunny, well-kept Brooklyn locales. Her visualizations are, by and large, literal: an outsized dish and spoon peer over a tall fence between brownstones, ignoring the airborne cow in the background; an itsy bitsy spider does double duty, climbing up a drain spout and frightening a brown-skinned Miss Muffet; a thumb-sized little old lady laughingly scolds 15 even tinier children as they clamber over a pair of shoes left on a carpeted stairway. Opening and closing with rooftop views of Brooklyn (look for the goose), this gathering of common and not-so-common rhymes will be a hit with young readers and pre-readers in any setting, urban or otherwise. (source note) (Nursery rhymes. 3-7)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews praise the use of photography and literal representations to each and every nursery rhyme. They also applaud the freshness that comes with the book without being too modern. They discuss the setting being in a city community and how that can be relatable to a great audience. Lastly, the reviews take great notice to the wonderful collection of classic and not as classic rhymes throughout the book! Evaluation of Literary Elements: I think that this book does a great job at including new and old rhymes that would appeal to a great audience. I think that this could be for a variety of ages, as the images are very relatable to a wide range of people. I think the photography and images themselves do a great job of portraying each nursery rhyme and they represent the city culture well at the same time.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I think this book could be fun to use in a younger-aged setting. You could go through a couple of the rhymes a day and do them in different voices rhythms or even sing them! I think it would be a unique way to start off a day and get the kids excited for the day ahead! You could also use this book as a scaffold or building block for teaching about rhyming or rhyme scheme.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews