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Will You Be Mine?
"On Sunday morning my love will come in,
When he shall marry me with a gold ring."
A hardworking cat, an ingénue dog, and a collection of Mother Goose rhymes combine in this charming Valentine picture book. Our romantic leads meet, court, propose, and wed, then honeymoon to London to visit the Queen.
When he shall marry me with a gold ring."
A hardworking cat, an ingénue dog, and a collection of Mother Goose rhymes combine in this charming Valentine picture book. Our romantic leads meet, court, propose, and wed, then honeymoon to London to visit the Queen.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 13, 2011
While the organization of this collection of nursery rhymes to tell the courtship and marriage between a dog and a cat, it didn't particularly appeal to me. The placement of some of the rhymes seemed a bit stilted and didn't work as well as they might have. Then, too, some of the illustrations such as the one showing the bride riding a horse just looked odd and almost disconcerting, given that the rider was a dog. The gouache illustrations allow readers to see the affection between the happy couple, especially that beaming feline on his wedding day. While I was tickled to see the list of guests, nursery rhyme characters, all, including Goosey Gander and Lucy Locket, the wedding menu was something else entirely with escargots and filet of sole and royal chiffon wedding cake listed, perhaps a bit much for younger readers' experiences, I think.
July 26, 2011
Constructing a story narrative from various nursery rhymes sounds fun, but the story line fell flat for me and the obscurity of many of the rhymes won't catch children's interest.
July 6, 2024
Phyllis Limbacher Tildes, both author and illustrator, has pulled together a collection of Mother Goose rhymes in order to create "A Nursery Rhyme Romance."
It's a Valentine picture book, where the heroes are Mr. Intrepid Cat and Ms. Adorable Dog. Enjoy watching them meet, flirt, engage to marry, wed, and then -- for their honeymoon? Go to London to visit the Queen.
Weirdly, this story seems to make perfect sense. Even to this adult.
FIVE STARS, and admiration for Phyllis' cleverness.
It's a Valentine picture book, where the heroes are Mr. Intrepid Cat and Ms. Adorable Dog. Enjoy watching them meet, flirt, engage to marry, wed, and then -- for their honeymoon? Go to London to visit the Queen.
Weirdly, this story seems to make perfect sense. Even to this adult.
FIVE STARS, and admiration for Phyllis' cleverness.
September 29, 2023
These are pretty obscure rhymes for kids today, I think, but I quite enjoyed it.
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October 14, 2015Title: Will You Be Mine?
Author: Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Illustrator: Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Genre: Nursery Rhyme, Romance
Themes: Poetry, Rhyme, Love, Diversity, Marriage
Opening line/sentence:
Hickory, dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
Brief Book Summary: Tildes combines many different nursery rhymes together into one book to tell the story of a cat and a dog. The cat meets a poodle and together they go to the meadow to get some hay. The cat proposes to the poodle dog, named Bonnie, which they then get married. All of the animals from the different nursery rhymes help prepare for the wedding and then all attend the wedding. The new husband and wife take a honeymoon to London to visit the Queen of England.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Janice DeLong (Children’s Literature)
As Tildes states in her dedication, this is a collection of old English nursery rhymes. Adults who will be the first to introduce these familiar ditties to little ones may find themselves quoting some of the verses from memory, recalling their own childhood experiences. It is for that exact reason that this title is significant. The twenty- first century child may never meet these silly songs if not from the lap and love of a parent or grandparent since many other activities seem to arrest the attention of even the preschooler. Tildes choice of nineteen rhymes ranges from the familiar Hickory, Dickory, Dock to the less well-known rhyme beginning there was an old crow, chronicling the friendship, courtship, and marriage of a cat and dog. The union of these two fairly universally known sworn enemies seem a bit odd, unless it is the goal of the complier to bring together those who are diverse, even if they are animals. To further complicate animal animosity, mice accompany cats on most pages. Color- splashed illustrations are large enough to be easily shared with a nursery school class of children, and the mice are adorable. If adults can escape questions of cats marrying dogs, this selection will be a happy addition to Mother Goose collections.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews)
Nursery rhymes provide the text for an animal romance. “Hickory, dickory dock,” it begins; in this version, it’s not a grandfather clock but an alarm clock that the mouse is running down, and it wakes up the farmer cat, asleep in his bed. More rhymes, familiar and less so, spawn stories on the busy farm. While the dog, cat and pig- all attired in country dresses and bonnets- gather hay, the farmer cat begins a flirtation by tipping his hat to a pretty female poodle. And while “This little piggy went to the market,” poodle and cat prepare to marry. The mice make wedding garments; after the ceremony, the bride leads a procession that begins with “Ride a cock- horse to Banbury Cross.” At the reception: “I danced with the girl with the hole in her stocking.” Tilde’s rhyme selection is occasionally forced, but her illustrations are bold and bright, and the friendly animals are dead ringers for those in classic Mother Goose books. A pleasant spin on tradition.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviewers mention that the illustrations are well done and easy for children to follow along with. They also mention that the book is just a bunch of nursery rhymes put together to make a book. In the first review, they say this is a great book if you can escape the questions of why a dog is marrying a cat- however I disagree. I think this is a great simple teaching opportunity to introduce the concept of diversity to children. I also agree with review number two that the rhyming selection was very forced and didn’t always make total sense.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The tone of the story is very catchy for young children and children can keep a beat with the sounds. The style of the writing is in rhymes and is a bit hard to understand and follow along with. The pictures take up the whole page, making it clearer and easier for children to see. The pages are also colorful and bright which presents a happy mood for the reader. The book has an interesting plot line that is simple for readers but enough to keep their attention.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book is mainly focused toward the preschool age because the story is strictly a bunch of nursery rhymes which are typically intended for young children. Young children will be able to get familiarized with many different nursery rhymes. However, this can be used with earlier elementary aged students to teach them about rhyming. The students can create their own rhymes, using the book as an exemplar. It can also be used to teach them the concept of diversity.
Author: Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Illustrator: Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
Genre: Nursery Rhyme, Romance
Themes: Poetry, Rhyme, Love, Diversity, Marriage
Opening line/sentence:
Hickory, dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
Brief Book Summary: Tildes combines many different nursery rhymes together into one book to tell the story of a cat and a dog. The cat meets a poodle and together they go to the meadow to get some hay. The cat proposes to the poodle dog, named Bonnie, which they then get married. All of the animals from the different nursery rhymes help prepare for the wedding and then all attend the wedding. The new husband and wife take a honeymoon to London to visit the Queen of England.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Janice DeLong (Children’s Literature)
As Tildes states in her dedication, this is a collection of old English nursery rhymes. Adults who will be the first to introduce these familiar ditties to little ones may find themselves quoting some of the verses from memory, recalling their own childhood experiences. It is for that exact reason that this title is significant. The twenty- first century child may never meet these silly songs if not from the lap and love of a parent or grandparent since many other activities seem to arrest the attention of even the preschooler. Tildes choice of nineteen rhymes ranges from the familiar Hickory, Dickory, Dock to the less well-known rhyme beginning there was an old crow, chronicling the friendship, courtship, and marriage of a cat and dog. The union of these two fairly universally known sworn enemies seem a bit odd, unless it is the goal of the complier to bring together those who are diverse, even if they are animals. To further complicate animal animosity, mice accompany cats on most pages. Color- splashed illustrations are large enough to be easily shared with a nursery school class of children, and the mice are adorable. If adults can escape questions of cats marrying dogs, this selection will be a happy addition to Mother Goose collections.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews)
Nursery rhymes provide the text for an animal romance. “Hickory, dickory dock,” it begins; in this version, it’s not a grandfather clock but an alarm clock that the mouse is running down, and it wakes up the farmer cat, asleep in his bed. More rhymes, familiar and less so, spawn stories on the busy farm. While the dog, cat and pig- all attired in country dresses and bonnets- gather hay, the farmer cat begins a flirtation by tipping his hat to a pretty female poodle. And while “This little piggy went to the market,” poodle and cat prepare to marry. The mice make wedding garments; after the ceremony, the bride leads a procession that begins with “Ride a cock- horse to Banbury Cross.” At the reception: “I danced with the girl with the hole in her stocking.” Tilde’s rhyme selection is occasionally forced, but her illustrations are bold and bright, and the friendly animals are dead ringers for those in classic Mother Goose books. A pleasant spin on tradition.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviewers mention that the illustrations are well done and easy for children to follow along with. They also mention that the book is just a bunch of nursery rhymes put together to make a book. In the first review, they say this is a great book if you can escape the questions of why a dog is marrying a cat- however I disagree. I think this is a great simple teaching opportunity to introduce the concept of diversity to children. I also agree with review number two that the rhyming selection was very forced and didn’t always make total sense.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The tone of the story is very catchy for young children and children can keep a beat with the sounds. The style of the writing is in rhymes and is a bit hard to understand and follow along with. The pictures take up the whole page, making it clearer and easier for children to see. The pages are also colorful and bright which presents a happy mood for the reader. The book has an interesting plot line that is simple for readers but enough to keep their attention.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book is mainly focused toward the preschool age because the story is strictly a bunch of nursery rhymes which are typically intended for young children. Young children will be able to get familiarized with many different nursery rhymes. However, this can be used with earlier elementary aged students to teach them about rhyming. The students can create their own rhymes, using the book as an exemplar. It can also be used to teach them the concept of diversity.
May 15, 2011
Interesting way to organize nursery rhymes so that they tell a story of sorts, helped along by the illustrations, from beginning to end - in this case a romance between a cat and a dog.
October 2, 2011
The mother goose rhymes mostly tell a story, but it's quite a stretch in places. I didn't like the illustrations at all.
February 10, 2012
The rhymes and stories in this book are sweet and well-written, although the inclusion of a romance struck me as a little forced and confusing.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews