Mother Goose Magic

A companion to other rhyme collections by the author and illustrator of The Child's Story Book introduces preschoolers to the colorful world of Mother Goose. BOMC.

PreSchool-Cheerful watercolor interpretations of eight traditional nursery rhymes leap off the pages and immediately engage readers' eyes, ears, and imaginations. The rhythm and tempo of the verses lend themselves to pat-a-caking, toe-tapping, knee-bouncing, and other romping activities. Preschoolers have a treat in store as they look at the single-and double-page spreads with pen-and-ink detail that beg to be "read." Mother Goose herself opens the curtain to the verses and concludes with a quiet, pleasant "Good Night." Don't miss out on this enchanting title.
Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Chorao ( The Baby's Bedtime Book ) assembles familiar and lesser-known characters from eight nursery rhymes to playact the verses, providing pictorial transitions between each. In "Donkey, Donkey, old and gray . . . " a boy throws off his donkey costume, becoming the first link in the chain of characters. Riding on the back of a feathered Mother Goose, he lassos the flying pig from "Dickory, Dickory, Dare," and follows "Little Robin Red Breast" as he flies "needle naddle" to "Sam, Sam, the Butcher Man." The sequence is smooth enough, but some verses are so brief that their rhythm and pace drag when Chorao stretches them over a number of pages. The romp ends as Mother Goose, in the role of "Little Nanny Button Cap," tucks in the characters under the spun-sugar night sky Chorao depicts so well. As in her previous work, her art conjures up a twinkly atmosphere, appropriate for the very youngest readers; but except for the glowing wand Mother Goose holds, it is unclear exactly what magic is at work here. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A winsome, airy confection spun from eight nursery rhymes, several of which will be new to many readers. Introducing her main characters with ``Donkey, donkey, old and gray'' (in the illustrations, the cheery animal becomes a curly-headed boy when Mother Goose waves her wand), Chorao takes them aloft to meet the pig that ``flew up in the air,'' down again to find ``Little Robin Redbreast'' and ``Sam, the Butcher Man'' (dressed as a clown), and so on, with new characters added in each rhyme and finally all tucked in together by the good goose, to the chant of ``Nanny Button Cap.'' Like a a child's dramatic play, the sequence is derived more from imaginative flights of fancy suggested by the nonsense verse than from logic; in the smiley illustrations, where deftly crosshatched details are decked out in sunny colors, the whole makes one long romp--slight, perhaps, and oversweet, but likable. (Folklore/Picture book. 2-6) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 3-5. Chorao, who has been so successful with her series of stories and rhymes for babies, provides another volume for little ones. Using eight lesser-known Mother Goose rhymes as a jumping-off point and Mother Goose herself as the purveyor of magic, Chorao loosely connects the rhymes into a story that has pigs flying ("Dickory, dickory, dare. / The pig flew up in the air") and Sam, Sam the Butcher Man ("washed his face in a frying pan") cavorting with a pig and a young boy. Chorao's accent on the inventive stretches each rhyme like taffy. Candy colors dominate the art, bright yellows and greens and blues especially. Though this probably won't have the staying power of The Baby's Lap Book, it has an infectious joy kids will respond to. Ilene Cooper