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The cover of this book may lead you to believe it's a primary grade book of nursery rhymes but inside you'll discover a "Graphic Novel Shorts" collection that will delight and surprise you. Each rhyme is written in its original text and illustrated by a unique cartoonist from Raina Telgemeier to Gene Yang to Jules Feiffer. Although primary grade children will enjoy this book, upper grades might be even more attracted to it---as long as they can get past the cover and fact that the title is "nursery rhymes" so don't rule it out but sell it! Leonard Marcus writes in the introduction "the comics we discover in these pages are new made fantasies spun from the whole cloth of fantasies we thought we knew" meaning we've taken for granted the back story of these common nursery rhymes, assuming the traditional setting and characters of the rhymes. For example, Lucy Knisley chose to illustrate "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe" with yes, a gray haired woman...with tattoos, a guitar, and a rock band of children called "The Whips" because after all she "...whipped them all soundly..." before bed! It's what the pictures have to say that make this book a winner.
What a fantastic collection of the best cartoonists today and their personal takes on classic nursery rhymes - so fascinating with who went traditional and who went with a completely different interpretation. ( )
If you have kids you should buy this book. For $20 you can get 50 nursery rhymes and read them over and over to your children or students. There are very familiar ones included, but there are also some that you can read with the children and learn about with them. Each rhyme is illustrated by a different artist so the pictures won't become redundant or boring while reading it. 5 stars for a steal! ( )
I am such a sucker for graphic novel and comic collections. This collection has contributions from some pretty famous and awesome artists, including Nick Abadzis (Laika), Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant), Jules Feiffer (The Phantom Tollbooth and Bark, George), David Macaulay (Cathedral), Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), Craig Thompson (Blankets), and Gene Yang (American Born Chinese).
So brilliant! The illustrations often include clever interpretations of the nursery rhymes.
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