Mother Goose

Illustrations by the creator of Snap!, Crackle!, and Pop! accompany a collection of familiar nursery rhymes, including "Little Jack Horner," "Old King Cole," "Humpty Dumpty," and "Simple Simon."

PreS--This book's finely painted, commercial-looking illustrations will appeal to nostalgic adults rather than children. Grant, a commercial artist who did work for the Kellogg Company during the 1930s, created trademark characters including the still-famous trio, Snap!, Crackle!, and Pop! Over many years, his artwork continued to appear on cereal boxes, notepads, booklets, and magazine covers. The paintings included here illustrate 23 well-known Mother Goose rhymes. They contain angular figures with exaggerated limbs and facial features in cartoonlike poses that are reminiscent of Disney's characters, with backgrounds, furniture, and colors that have a strong art-deco look. Many of these paintings were originally part of booklets printed in the 1930s and are now owned by the Kellogg Company or the Kellogg Archives. A brief biographical note about Grant is appended. Historical interest aside, with the plethora of beautiful, accessible, child-friendly Mother Goose collections available, this is one you can do without.

Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY

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