"Mother Goose" Reproduction of an original painting by Lori Preusch canvas size 14x20, printed by Dandelion, Inc. P.O. Box 4030 Durango, CO 81302

The New Encyclopędia Britannica, 15th Edition, 1998. This concise, fact-filled short entry deals primarily with the origin of the character or Mother Goose and discusses the controversy over one actual person being the source of the rhymes.

Academic American Encyclopedia, 1996. This Mother Goose entry is brief and limited to primarily the first occurrences of the term and its association with fairy tales vs. nursery rhymes. A brief bibliography is included. There is mention of Mother Goose in the entries for Kate Greenaway, the poet and illustrator after whom the British equivalent of the Caldecott award is named, and Charles Perrault, the French poet credited with the first mention of the character in print.

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1994. As the World Book is written for a 6th grade audience, it is not surprising that it contains the most complete coverage of the general encyclopedias. There is a short entry under "Mother Goose," which deals with the origins of the character, and introduces alternate scholarly theories. It also briefly discusses the first publications of the rhymes and gives a short bibliography of additional resources. The entries for John Newbery and Charles Perrault also mention Mother Goose. The entry on "Nursery Rhymes" covers the topic of the rhymes as forms of poetry, discusses the various types, and includes a brief history, which mentions Mother Goose. The context of Mother Goose and nursery rhymes in the history and development of children's literature and illustration is covered well in the entry "Literature for Children," which was contributed by Zena Sutherland, Graduate Library School Professor at the University of Chicago and author of The Best in Children's Books and the textbook Children and Books, (see below).

Specialized Reference Works
International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, 1996. Chapter 15, "Playground Rhymes and the Oral Tradition" by Iona Opie, covers the topic of nursery rhymes, including Mother Goose, in a somewhat scholarly tone. The chapter includes an overview of the historical background with more detail than the general reference sources and an analysis of the use of nursery rhymes in the linguistic (meter and rhythm), literary (alphabet and counting rhymes), physical (motor skill games), and moral (manners and social behavior) education of young children since the 18th century. The author also discusses children's use of the familiar rhythm of nursery rhymes as the basis for self-made parodies, a topic that is explored in the "Alternative Mother Goose" section of this site.

Yankee Doodle's Literary Sampler of Prose, Poetry and Pictures. This book is a very useful compilation of photographic reproductions of items, which illustrate the history of children's literature, taken from the rare book collection of the Library of Congress. This format allows the original, old and rare forms of the publications to be examined and analyzed, without having to search out original copies. The collection includes reproductions of several unique and interesting versions of Mother Goose, such as Mother Goose in Hieroglyphics, which is actually in rebus, and a copy of one of the early published versions, Charles Perrault's Tales of Passed Times by Mother Goose, in a bi-lingual French and English edition. The samples included give a good idea of what early children's books looked like, particularly chapbooks, providing visual examples to better understanding the descriptions of early versions of Mother Goose found in other references.

Textbooks
Children and Books. This well organized, fully indexed book, is the standard for textbooks on Children's Literature for students of the subject, librarians, and authors. Because of its size and scope, it includes in-depth information about the history, forms, context, and methods of use of literature written for and about children. The sections on Mother Goose, nursery rhymes and poetry for young children, not only evaluate specific editions and discuss how they fit into the publishing history, but also how they are used with and received by children. The authors present educational theories on development and learning, in order to evaluate and select age appropriate materials; discussion of the varieties and types of stories from fantasy to folk tales; a wide selection of illustrations, including a variety of examples of Mother Goose, with instruction on how to understand and appraise their use; and simple introductions to the major authors and poets in the field. Throughout the book, there are bibliographies and resource lists and there is a section on the practical use of books with children, giving methods and approaches on how to present books to children, how to illicit a response and activities and techniques to use to encourage and develop reading skills. The later chapters cover some of the relevant issues of children's literature including censorship, multiculturalism, scholarship, and research, and additional reference resources including award winners, publishers and a pronunciation guide can be found in the Appendices.

Children's Literature in the Elementary School. Bearing a striking similarity in layout to Children and Books, this is also a comprehensive textbook about literature for children, but this book is specifically directed at those studying to become educators; although, students of library services might well benefit from its educational emphasis. It too, presents a history of the form, including a separate section on Mother Goose and the development of children's books in the 18th through 20th centuries; excellent bibliographies and resource lists, highlighted at the edge of the page for easy access; and examples of illustrations, many of them in color. At the end of each chapter, there are insets labeled "Learning Experiences" that give useful, practical exercises, which help to relate the information to the classroom. The later parts of the book give very specific and helpful direction into lesson planning and program development including the use of crafts and drama. The Appendices also include award winners and publishers, there is both a name and subject index and the endpapers include a useful list of "150 books to read aloud" arranged into six age groups from infants to 14 years.

Compilations
Tail Feathers From Mother Goose: The Opie Rhyme Book. This book, credited posthumously to noted experts in and collectors of children's literature, Iona and Peter Opie, is a not traditional version of Mother Goose but is an interesting version for students of the subject. Most of the rhymes, which were taken from the Oxford University Opie Collection of Children's Literature, are previously unpublished or unusual variations of more popular rhymes, but all read like traditional Mother Goose rhymes with familiar rhyme patterns and rhythm. Some of the rhymes are annotated with the source, an interesting fact about the poem or the definition of a particular word. What makes this book interesting is the illustrations. Each of the rhymes is illustrated by a different, noted or award winning illustrator. These illustrators are not traditional Mother Goose illustrators, but rather popular, international illustrators working in children's book illustration today, such as Maurice Sendak and Helen Oxenbury. It is a wonderful way to be able to study illustration styles and modern interpretations of the rhymes.

The Annotated Mother Goose: Nursery Rhymes Old and New, Arranged and Explained. Although older (1958), this book is a wealth of information on the history and theoretical meaning behind Mother Goose rhymes, and provides an extensive collection of rhymes, even the bawdy ones that are often banned. The bulk of the information is written as notes or annotations to the rhymes themselves, which makes the book difficult read, but the first chapter "All About Mother Goose" and the first pages of each chapter thereafter give a good overview and are easier to read. Throughout the book are copies of original, classic illustrations including sample woodcuts and illustrations by notable illustrators such as Caldecott, Greenaway, Rackham and Parrish.

Bibliography for the Pathfinder