Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses

I am always reading to my baby. Of all the books we’ve read together, this one is her favorite! She loves the way the verses naturally inflect in my voice and likes to bounce or dance along!

I have a 2 and a half month old and I could not believe it when I opened the book and he started smiling. We usually lay down on the bed and I have him looking up at the book. He loves the colors and I know that one day he'll love the rhymes. He smiles every time I take that book out. I would highly recommend this book.

As a former children's librarian who is very familiar with children's literature, I think this is possibly the best Mother Goose out there. I bought this for my granddaughter and she loves it, as do I. The selection is great and the illustrations are a delight.

We borrowed this book from the library and now we are going to buy it - even though we own 3 other Mother Goose collections! One of the reasons is the selection of poems. Somehow they have found new selections that were not included in our other volumes. Examples include: a poem which asks a mother hen how many chicks she has; one about a four leaf clover; one about a bat; and one about spinning mice and a mischievous cat. Two poems follow: One leaf for fame, One leaf for wealth One for a faithful lover, And one leaf to bring glorious health, Are all in a four-leaf clover. Little Poll Parrot sat in his garret, Eating toast and tea; A little brown mouse jumped into the house And stole it all away. There are plenty of the classic poems as well so you won't miss out on Jack and Jill, nor the many sheep that M.G. writes about. And yes, it should be noted that this selection of poems has none of the `meaner' poems; ones that you wouldn't necessarily want read to babies and toddlers. Five Stars. Great selections of poems which is prompting us to buy yet another Mother Goose book. Artwork is pastel and nice and uncluttered: generally one poem per page. [I've never been a fan of Mary Engelbreit's artwork but children are very attracted to her style and it works very nicely here.]

As almost everyone now knows Mary Engelbreit is no longer the little girl who copied illustrations from her mother's collection of storybooks - she has grown up to be a beloved, popular illustrator and, now that you mention it, an industry. Her sprightly, colorful art appears on everything from cups to fabrics. She's a phenomenon who has won our hearts. I highly recommend Engelbreit's hardcover version of this title as well as the audio book, which is not to be missed as read by acclaimed actress Lynn Redgrave. She brings a rich, vibrant voice to her performances of some 100 familiar nursery rhymes. We may think we've heard Little Bo-Beep or Humpty Dumpty a number of times, but we've not heard them as read by Redgrave who injects added humor and a touch suspense to the familiar rhymes. Introduction on the audio book is by Leonard Marcus, historian and critic of children's literature as well as the author of "Dear Genius: Margaret Wise Brown," and other titles. This is an audio book that will be prized by both children and adults - don't miss it! Gail Cooke

I just received my copy of Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose. I pre-ordered it last December and have been waiting patiently for it to arrive and it was well worth the wait. It is the most beautifully illustrated Mother Goose book I have ever seen, and I have seen many editions. The large colorful illustratons are sure to appeal to young children. I can hardly wait to share it with my six (soon to be seven) grandchilden. Thank you for making it available.