Mother Goose's Little Treasures (My Very First Mother Goose)

"Opie and Wells depart from their previous two collections of well-known Mother Goose rhymes to venture to what Opie describes as 'the far edge of Mother Goose's realm' and there collect 'the most mysterious fragments from our shared memory.' As if to signal the difference, the trim size has changed (it is smaller, at 9 9) and the paper is matte, not glossy. Despite the large fonts and the continued presence of Wells's signature bunny characters, however, this is less a title for Everytoddler than one for lovers of rhyme and verse. Wells gives the art a more sophisticated look, trading the bright colors and bustling borders of the previous books for a more subdued palette and adding many more human characters. She riffs on designs of classic Mother Goose editions, playing with fonts and narrow frames, and she outdoes herself in ingenious interpretations. One verse beseeches a 'chick chick chick chick chicken' to 'lay a little egg for me'; Wells depicts a rustically dressed bunny and a chicken in the same room, each on its own telephone, a speech balloon issuing from the bunny's receiver shows a brightly painted egg. An especially fine series of pictures features a human mother, daughter and doll, all identically dressed; sometimes only one of the trio appears, introducing jokes about scale, but the funniest include all three, as in the art for a contradictory poem about a mother who tells her 'darling daughter' that yes, she can go swimming as long as she doesn't go near the water (the look on the daughter's face as she wades into a pond is pure imp; the doll, towed in a toy boat, mirrors the girl's expression except for its eyes, which roll angelically heavenward). Sadly, the art suffers in the production — low contrasts leave the watercolors looking washed out. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Beloved Mother Goose folklorist Iona Opie reunites with award-winning illustrator Rosemary Wells for this rare selection of little-known nursery rhymes made new again. Full color.

Iona Opie has dedicated her life to collecting and preserving childrens rhymes as an art form. "Nursery rhymes are good for you," she says. "If you acquire a nursery rhyme-ical attitude, youre not at all put out by lifes little bumps and bruises they just seem funny and entirely normal." Iona Opie lives in Hampshire, England.

Rosemary Wells is the author and illustrator of more than sixty books for young readers and has received many awards, including a NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Best Illustrated Book Award, a BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award, and the inaugural Carle Honors Artist Award for lifetime achievement. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.