This book of Mother Goose rhymes is one of the best in my opinion because of Arnold Lobel’s wonderful illustrations. ( )

Mother Goose stories are always fun and are considered classic. Arnold Lobel’s illustrations are as charming as ever but the layout of the book feels dated. This is a great choice for parents who want something easy to read. The rhymes can quickly be read or skipped at the parent or child’s wish, in that way, especially with infants and toddlers, who are a very fickle crowd. I would recommend this to any family looking for classics or rhymes. One thing that is nice about Mother Goose is the reader can quickly determine whether or not they will be interested. ( )

This book has the most wonderous and magical illustrations. It's a detailed compendium of Mother Goose, containing popular verses as well as the lesser known rhymes that most versions skip over. For illustrations representing height such as Humpty Dumpty's fall or the cow jumping over the moon, Lobel ingeniously does a two page spread to make the scale of the picture more impressive. He also does vignettes with little pictures for shorter rhymes that fill the pages with detail. His interpretations of the rhymes are very imaginative, such as "Mary Quite Contrary," where bells and shells grow from vines and pretty maids' heads grow as the tops of flowers. The book is long, but the text isn't too difficult or too small to read. The skill of the artwork and the large selection of stories ensure that a wide range of ages will be drawn to it. ( )

Arnold Lobel definitely put his spin on these Mother Goose tales. There are lots of rhymes in this book, but I wouldn't consider them all Mother Goose (the itsy bitsy spider, yankee doodle etc.) This isn't exactly what I remember as a child, and some of the rhymes don't seem to go how I used to know them. Some of the differences hurt the rhythm of the rhymes, too. Maybe these are just Lobel's way of taking liberties with the stories, but it wasn't what I expected. I loved that there were so many different ones compiled in one book, and the illustrations are fun and silly, and very kid-oriented. ( )

This book has so many wonderful stories in within it. It contains more than 300 nursery rhymes. Children of all ages will delight in learning these rhymes. I would use this book in a classroom of young children, ages 3-6. I would love to use this book as an introduction to different nursery rhymes, which children can memorize for fun. ( )