Bruce Lansky

Bruce Lansky teams up with some friends to serve up a sequel to or, more accurately, a rewrite of the traditional Mother Goose nursery rhymes.

This couplet pretty much epitomizes the results:

"Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a rooster.
His saddle wasn't high enough, so now he's got a booster."

My daughter thought that this was hilarious satire when she was three. I find it an exercise in tedium as they just pull the same trick forty more times.

FOR REFERENCE:

Originally published as The New show more Adventures of Mother Goose: Gentle Rhymes for Happy Times.

Contents:
• Old Mother Goose / Bruce Lansky
• Mary Had a Little Jam / Bruce Lansky
• Hickory, Dickory, Dock / Jeffery Goodson
• Hickory, Dockory, Hic / Bob Zanger
• There Was a Little Girl / Brad Schreiber
• Georgie Porgie / Bruce Lansky
• Little Miss Muffet / Bruce Lansky
• Jack and Jill / Bruce Lansky
• Jack Was Nimble/ Bruce Lansky
• Little Bo-Peep / Bruce Lansky
• Little Boy Blue / Bruce Lansky
• Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling, My Girl June / Bruce Lansky
• Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling, My Son Scooter / Gwen Molnar
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat / Bruce Lansky
• Rub-a-Dub-Dub / Mary Collins Dunne
• London Bridge / Bruce Lansky
• Humpty Dumpty / Mary Collins Dunne
• Mary, Mary Quite Contrary / Bruce Lansky
• Tom, Tom, the Teacher's Son / Sylvia Andrews
• Old Mother Hubbard / Bruce Lansky
• Peter, Peter, Sugar Eater / Bruce Lansky
• Fee Fie Fo Fum / Bruce Lansky
• Hiccup, Hiccup / Bruce Lansky
• Some Like It Hot / Bruce Lansky
• Hey Diddle, Diddle / Stan Lee Werlin
• Lavender Blue / Bruce Lansky
• Old King Cole / Larry Cohen and Steve Zweig
• Pat a Cake / Bruce Lansky
• Pat a Pie / Virginia Kroll
• There Was an Old Woman / Larry Cohen and Steve Zweig
• Yankee Doodle / Robert Scotellaro
• Roses Are Red / Bruce Lansky
• Jack Sprat / Lois Muehl
• Simple Simon / Bruce Lansky
• Wee Willie Winkie / Bruce Lansky
• Dapple-Gray / Brad Schreiber
• Three Kind Mice / Robert Scotellaro
• Sweetheart, You're My Little Star / Bruce Lansky
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star / Elizabeth Weiss
• Star Light, Star Bright / Bruce Lansky
• Rock-a-Bye, Baby / Bruce Lansky show less

This book is burdened by too many names that are ridiculous, as opposed to just unusual or unique. In addition, all nicknames are listed separately and without definitions, which made the index cumbersome and nearly impossible to navigate on my ereader. I would not recommend it.

Well, it DOES say on the cover that it is a wordless story told in pictures, and indeed, children can make up their own words, so don't be disappointed if you don't find any words in it.

The pictures are nice, the little main character - a European robin - is a cute little guy whose attempts to get a worm himself/herself all fail and who looks duly disappointed, apologetic or confused, depending on the situation. He, or she, ends up relying on Mother to provide food again, and still, even show more though he/she was unsuccessful in getting his/her own worm, gets the worm Mother ("It must be the mother, she has eyelashes!") brings because he/she is the only one awake yet.

Now, you might think of this "lesson" what you may, but I guess analyzing it would be putting way to much into it. Our girls were quite happy that the poor little one got a worm after all, and that's probably all there is to it.

One may be able to use this book as training material for how to tell an engaging story. show less

This was dismal. The author's take on some names is ridiculously specific, along the lines of "People think of Wendy as a redhead with blue eyes." The people in your head, maybe, Bruce?

It's a shame because there is some good information, but the author's odd prejudices irritated me beyond the point of being able to benefit from it.