Will Moses' Mother Goose
PreSchool-Grade 1-A winsome collection of 60 nursery rhymes and a few riddles. Most of the selections are commonly known, but an interesting sprinkling is less familiar. What will capture readers' attention is the format. Alternating spreads present six rhymes with accompanying spot art. The following double-page painting shows a bustling land- or streetscape, which children will pore over as they search for the characters introduced on the previous page. Moses's bucolic scenes are filled with picturesque cottages, meandering streams, cobblestone streets, and, of course, the occasional castle. Each detailed oil painting depicts a miniature antique world peopled with nursery-rhyme characters and a few from nursery tales (e.g., the three pigs). The paintings, done in the artist's recognizable folk-art style, sparkle with color and humor (the three little kittens' cottage has a "no dogs" sign at the gate). As Moses states in his introduction, most children who have heard the Mother Goose rhymes can envision the illustrations years later. Those lucky enough to read this collection will long remember the quaint world he creates. Back matter includes an editors' note on Mother Goose, a brief bibliography, and an index of first lines.Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CTCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.