Old Mother Hubbard - Hardcover

Johnson, David A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689814852 ISBN 13: 9780689814853

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 1998

Synopsis

The familiar nonsense poem about Old Mother Hubbard and her unflagging efforts to find something her dog will enjoy as much as a bone is set in Victorian times and is complemented by full-color illustrations, in a lively new interpretation.

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1?In this nostalgic version of the classic nursery rhyme, Old Mother Hubbard is a plump and prosperous matron solicitously purchasing all sorts of treats for her contrary mongrel. All of the many familiar verses are recounted here, plus two rarely included elsewhere, that summarize the virtues of the woman's canine companion and describe his immortalization. Each verse shares a page with a smaller illustration of the dog's antics; on the opposite page is a full-size framed watercolor that depicts Old Mother Hubbard's shopping excursions. The warm sepia tones and pale, hazy atmosphere evoke the mists of time, and period costumes and settings effectively capture turn-of-the-century life. In addition to the whimsy of this nonsense rhyme, young listeners will enjoy the search for the sometimes easily spotted and sometimes cleverly hidden cat on each two-page spread. Tradespeople are depicted in realistic and amusing detail but both the cat and dog, while appealing, have disconcertingly vacant stares. Far more sedate than James Marshall's rollicking Old Mother Hubbard and Her Wonderful Dog (Farrar, 1991) and lacking the nursery-rhyme allusions in Tomie De Paola's The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog (Harcourt, 1981), this is an additional purchase to supplement preschool storyhours and to entertain the lap-sit crowd.?Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Although fine lines and a low contrast palette give Johnson's paintings a faded, smudgy look, he effectively captures the classic nursery rhyme's flavor, decking the matronly Mother Hubbard out in sweeping 19th-century gowns that are ruffled, fur- trimmed and elaborately accessorized, then dispatching her to a series of elegantly appointed shops and stalls for goods to lavish on her pampered canine. Johnson drops or rewrites several of the standard version's verses, and adds two of his own that permanently finish off said dog. The illustrations are skillfully rendered, but his interpretations are so free that young readers will search in vain for details such as the tripe, the coat, the linen, the hose, and even the bare cupboard that sparks Mother Hubbard's chain of errands; the visual humor, next to James Marshall's sly, silly take in Old Mother Hubbard and Her Wonderful Dog (1991), is decidedly mild. Notwithstanding Johnson's strong stylistic ties to illustrators such as Randolph Caldecott and E. Boyd Smith, adults are the likeliest audience for this volume. (Picture book. 4-6) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0689814852
• ISBN 13: 9780689814853
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32