Tomie's Little Mother Goose, June 21, 2000

Tomie dePaola's artwork is in a genre all its own, with round heads and line-drawn figures that look like they might have been shaped from clay. This is a colorful collection of traditional Mother Goose rhymes, perfect for the transition from the toddler stage in which the book is more of a toy, to the read-aloud stage, even if the child doesn't understand everything being read. Mother Goose has the advantage of being lyrical and rhythmic, and many of the rhymes have tunes. As children get older they will also acquire a bit of cultural literacy, since phrases from Mother Goose often appear in literature and other kinds of discourse.This volume don't include all the verses to different rhymes, but rather introduces the most-recognized refrain of each one. The cadence changes quickly from rhyme to rhyme, and the rhymes that are songs are interspersed well among those that are spoken, providing the best advantage to entice a very young child to sit still. A good choice...

A happy mix of picture and rhyme. Babies especially love the repetitive rhythms. Very popular with 8 to 12 month old "readers".