Good Reads Library
Happy Mother Goose Day
Today is Mother Goose Day--you can see a blurb about it at the Mother Goose Society's website, along with other information about Mother Goose rhymes.
I did a post on this called Start With Mother Goose about a year and a half ago, and someone commented that some parents think Mother Goose is just for babies. Not so! I did a story hour today featuring several of my favorite Mother Goose books, including:
The Missing Tarts seems to be out of print, but it is loads of fun. The Queen of Hearts tracks the missing tarts, and receives help from other nursery rhyme characters. All ends happily--the Knave (her little boy) has given the tarts to the children of the Old Woman Who Lived In the Shoe! Delightful pictures by Tracey Campbell Pearson, and a rhyming text will get the kids participating. We not only read the book, as we got to each character, we sang his or her rhyme. Lots of fun!
(Also try Each Peach Pear Plum by the Ahlbergs)
There are a whole number of book versions of the children's song Over in the Meadow. But I am a big Paul Galdone fan--his pictures are so clear and accessible to children. Count from 1 to 10 with mother animals and their young:
Over in the meadow in the sand and the sun, lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one. "Hide" said the mother"I hide" said the one. So they hid all day in the sand in the sun...
Don't know the tune? You can download John McCutcheon's version of Over In The Meadow by clicking on the link.
What happened after that clock struck 1 and the mouse ran down? In The Completed Hickory, Dickory, Dock, Jim Aylesworth answers that question. The mouse plays, has a narrow escape from a cat, shows off for a girl, and more, ending with a bath, a book reading with Mom, and wonderful dreams.The new stanzas all fit the original rhythm perfectly--I know for sure, because I sang the entire book!
You can get some really good information about using Mother Goose with all ages at a site called The Mother Goose Pages. So rediscover Mother Goose and share it with the kids you love!
