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Mother Goose: The Original Volland Edition
The classic Volland edition of Mother Goose makes a beautiful addition to any home library. Features more than 100 traditional rhymes, each accompanied by a full-page, full color illustration by Fredrick Richardson.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1915
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 29, 2015
Absolutely essential for any child's library. I was raised on this book since before I knew how to speak. Nursery rhymes are so incredibly powerful. You can walk up to almost any American and say,
"Little Jack Horner sat in a corner," and they will immediately respond, "Eating a Christmas pie." It's automatic.
It's a very universal thing in the U.S.A. (Can't make any comments about other countries re: Mother Goose.) I love it. And this collection (published in 1915) is the "real" version, in my mind. I grew up listening to these over and over and over and over again. Some are not as well known as others, but all are fun and catchy. I think nursery rhymes help children learn and grow, and I think nursery rhymes (the repetition, rhyming, easy memorization, and nonsense) helps their brains develop - not to mention their imagination!
Old women are a main feature in nursery rhymes, and I would almost say I like the poems about old women best. We have the old woman who lived in a shoe, the old woman who lived under the hill, the old woman tossed in a blanket (OMG one of my all-time favorites), Old Mother Hubbard, the old woman who sold puddings and pies, the deaf old woman, and the old woman who lived on victuals and drink.
I have this entire book memorized. Say any opening line to me from any nursery rhyme in this collection, and I can complete it for you. And the great thing is, so can everyone else - at least the familiar ones like Hickory Dickory Dock, Little Bo Peep, Jack Sprat, Little Miss Muffet, Old King Cole, etc. etc.
There's also the more obscure ones, but I love them just as much.
Bat, bat
Come under my hat,
And I'll give you a slice of bacon;
And when I bake
I'll give you a cake,
If I am not mistaken.
Or
Pretty John Watts,
We are troubled with rats,
Will you drive them out of the house?
We have mice, too, in plenty,
That feast in the pantry,
But let them stay
And nibble away,
What harm in a little brown mouse?
The old-fashioned illustrations in this volume are wonderful, but of course I'm biased. My copy of this is duct-taped together and many pages are scotch-taped because it is so old and so well-loved.
Absolutely one of the best books ever "written" - really it's more of an oral tradition passed down from generation to generation, but I think it's something that binds English-speakers together in a wonderful way. And it's not religious, nor political - anyone and everyone can learn and enjoy these poems.
P.S. Even now (as adults!) my friends and family will quote nursery rhymes to each other in daily life. Whether children are present or not. And I love meeting child and being able to create an instant bond with her (or him) by reciting nursery rhymes at each other! This has helped me create an instant rapport with children who might otherwise be shy or scared around a new adult. :) Everyone loves nursery rhymes!
"Little Jack Horner sat in a corner," and they will immediately respond, "Eating a Christmas pie." It's automatic.
It's a very universal thing in the U.S.A. (Can't make any comments about other countries re: Mother Goose.) I love it. And this collection (published in 1915) is the "real" version, in my mind. I grew up listening to these over and over and over and over again. Some are not as well known as others, but all are fun and catchy. I think nursery rhymes help children learn and grow, and I think nursery rhymes (the repetition, rhyming, easy memorization, and nonsense) helps their brains develop - not to mention their imagination!
Old women are a main feature in nursery rhymes, and I would almost say I like the poems about old women best. We have the old woman who lived in a shoe, the old woman who lived under the hill, the old woman tossed in a blanket (OMG one of my all-time favorites), Old Mother Hubbard, the old woman who sold puddings and pies, the deaf old woman, and the old woman who lived on victuals and drink.
I have this entire book memorized. Say any opening line to me from any nursery rhyme in this collection, and I can complete it for you. And the great thing is, so can everyone else - at least the familiar ones like Hickory Dickory Dock, Little Bo Peep, Jack Sprat, Little Miss Muffet, Old King Cole, etc. etc.
There's also the more obscure ones, but I love them just as much.
Bat, bat
Come under my hat,
And I'll give you a slice of bacon;
And when I bake
I'll give you a cake,
If I am not mistaken.
Or
Pretty John Watts,
We are troubled with rats,
Will you drive them out of the house?
We have mice, too, in plenty,
That feast in the pantry,
But let them stay
And nibble away,
What harm in a little brown mouse?
The old-fashioned illustrations in this volume are wonderful, but of course I'm biased. My copy of this is duct-taped together and many pages are scotch-taped because it is so old and so well-loved.
Absolutely one of the best books ever "written" - really it's more of an oral tradition passed down from generation to generation, but I think it's something that binds English-speakers together in a wonderful way. And it's not religious, nor political - anyone and everyone can learn and enjoy these poems.
P.S. Even now (as adults!) my friends and family will quote nursery rhymes to each other in daily life. Whether children are present or not. And I love meeting child and being able to create an instant bond with her (or him) by reciting nursery rhymes at each other! This has helped me create an instant rapport with children who might otherwise be shy or scared around a new adult. :) Everyone loves nursery rhymes!
December 16, 2020
This may well be my favorite version of the nursery rhymes. If I'd had this book as a child, with its wonderful art, I probably would have liked the nursery rhymes better than I did. (As I remember, I thought they were silly, although some of them were intriguing because they were so odd.)
The Foreword, by Eulalie Osgood Grover (1915) provides background that I appreciate. She writes,
- We do not hesitate to place this venerable classic on the shelf beside our Shakespeare, and to send our children there for delight and inspiration. They will understand Shakespeare the better for having known and loved Mother Goose.
- This present edition preserves the best of the verses which became so popular in England and America as to first demand their publication.
If these are only the best, I wonder about the others -- there are at least 5 verses here that make no sense and have no cadence. I would have eliminated those. The A-B-C song is a nursery rhyme! That was new to me.
A favorite:
The man in the wilderness
asked me
How many strawberries
grew in the sea.
I answered him
as I thought good,
As many red herrings
as grew in the wood.
There are no page numbers, which makes this awkward for reference.
The Foreword, by Eulalie Osgood Grover (1915) provides background that I appreciate. She writes,
- We do not hesitate to place this venerable classic on the shelf beside our Shakespeare, and to send our children there for delight and inspiration. They will understand Shakespeare the better for having known and loved Mother Goose.
- This present edition preserves the best of the verses which became so popular in England and America as to first demand their publication.
If these are only the best, I wonder about the others -- there are at least 5 verses here that make no sense and have no cadence. I would have eliminated those. The A-B-C song is a nursery rhyme! That was new to me.
A favorite:
The man in the wilderness
asked me
How many strawberries
grew in the sea.
I answered him
as I thought good,
As many red herrings
as grew in the wood.
There are no page numbers, which makes this awkward for reference.
March 25, 2019
Reading these nursery rhymes to Rosalind from the same book that my mom read them to me was certainly fun. I remembered so many more of the rhymes than I expected to, though some turned out to be pretty dark.
July 30, 2008
This book has nearly every Mother Goose rhyme, from the blaringly familiar to the less known:
"I met a little old man
Who wouldn't say his prayers
I took him by the left leg
And threw him down the stairs..."
***
"There was a man in our town
And he was wondrous wise
He jumped into a bramble bush
And scratched out both his eyes..."
***
"Ladybird, ladybird,
Fly away home
Your house is on fire
Your children will burn"
The art nouveau illustrations are equally mad - no chubby-cheeked Disney smiles here, but screaming children, weapon-wielding thieves, and callous spirits toying with the terrestrial. (Arthur Rackham fans will especially enjoy the style.) That said, I had a profound (perhaps sick) fascination with it as a child and still do. I was usually upset easily by violence, but I would pore over the images for (what seemed like) hours, and I think that helped blunt the brutality of the texts once I was old enough to read them.
It's Medieval and Victorian art and wit in all its glory. It makes you realize that Jack breaking his crown is also quite horrible when you think about it, but looking back on your childhood would you forego him and Jill?
"I met a little old man
Who wouldn't say his prayers
I took him by the left leg
And threw him down the stairs..."
***
"There was a man in our town
And he was wondrous wise
He jumped into a bramble bush
And scratched out both his eyes..."
***
"Ladybird, ladybird,
Fly away home
Your house is on fire
Your children will burn"
The art nouveau illustrations are equally mad - no chubby-cheeked Disney smiles here, but screaming children, weapon-wielding thieves, and callous spirits toying with the terrestrial. (Arthur Rackham fans will especially enjoy the style.) That said, I had a profound (perhaps sick) fascination with it as a child and still do. I was usually upset easily by violence, but I would pore over the images for (what seemed like) hours, and I think that helped blunt the brutality of the texts once I was old enough to read them.
It's Medieval and Victorian art and wit in all its glory. It makes you realize that Jack breaking his crown is also quite horrible when you think about it, but looking back on your childhood would you forego him and Jill?
June 22, 2009
This is the version of Mother Goose I remember reading from as a very small child (aged 3-5). Although my copy was green...
I'd been looking for this book for years because the images just stayed with me. I'd read other versions from the library to my children, but it just wasn't the same. I didn't know the illustrator's name or else I would have gone out and purchased it. But...imagine my surprise (and delight!!) when I found it at a thrift shop. Now, I can read these rhymes to my children feeling a little more complete.
I'd been looking for this book for years because the images just stayed with me. I'd read other versions from the library to my children, but it just wasn't the same. I didn't know the illustrator's name or else I would have gone out and purchased it. But...imagine my surprise (and delight!!) when I found it at a thrift shop. Now, I can read these rhymes to my children feeling a little more complete.
December 30, 2007
I have an older, worn, hardback version of this that, as a child, I read incessantly, memorizing many of the rhymes. My preschool daughter now enjoys the same book, which I have kept all these years. Many of the rhymes are older, slightly unfamiliar (to modern kids) forms, and none of them make much of any sense to moderns any longer, but the rhyme still tempts the ear and the pictures still delight my daughter.
January 23, 2014
This was my grandfather's book. It was published in 1915. Some of the stories are so gruesome but others are very funny. I am thoroughly enjoying it, but not sure I will read it to my kids. I think it would give kids nightmares!
October 10, 2009
There are some children's books from childhood that we girls find it really hard to give up. This is mine.
April 16, 2017
This is the Mother Goose that I grew up on. It's also the best Mother Goose ever and deserves a billion stars. There is no possibility for disagreement on this point.
Read
February 8, 2012On the hardcover shelf.
September 27, 2012
What's not to love? Planning on using some of these traditional rhymes in my ESOL class to help with rhythm of speech and pronunciation.
October 18, 2012
More good quality childhood nostalgic nursery rhymes. Yeah.
October 25, 2013
used in class to explain rhyming and short stories tall tales
July 21, 2024
Humpty Dumpty/Humpty Alexander Dumpty is a normal human-sized old man egg. In the 1990 North American hand-drawn animated musical Cinar and Little Golden Book episode video, The Real Story Of Humpty Dumpty, he sat on a wall and had a great fall and all the King’s horses and all the King’s men could not put him together again. Before he was up on the wall, he saved Princess Allegra from Glitch the witch and the witch’s poison custard pie then became the hero for the King’s kingdom after he started his journey to the palace by running away to the palace that was so very deeper from the farm that belonged to Farmer Dumpty the fair light white skin old man peasant farmer. There, he was called a freak by the hens and the chickens in Farmer Dumpty’s henhouse then Farmer Dumpty told him not to mind the hens and the chickens and that it was just that he was different because something meant that he had to look kinda like the foolish Ugly Duckling. Everyone with-on the farm laughed at him, and he ran away, but he had grown into the handsome swan admired by everyone located around when he came back. The story began not too many moons ago. Glitch’s street-smart cat, Scratch was working for her because she turned out to be the well-known one poor excuse to have for a witch. She told Scratch that there was a blue-colored moon in the night sky and that she can only get at Allegra when there was a blue-colored moon. She then also said that Allegra would not be located around much longer once she fed her the poison custard pie. She checked her recipe for the poison custard pie then saw that it needed three fresh eggs in a wicked spell. If Humpty was not around to save Princess Allegra from Glitch and her poison custard pie, she would die by the time she would eat the poison custard pie. The point was that Glitch decided to poison the princess with the help of the poison custard pie because she did not want the princess around no more. Then in the 1987 North American real-live-action musical Wee Sing episode movie, Wee Sing King Cole’s Party, Humpty got put back together again, and he greeted Mary the beautifulest and loveliest younger cutie girl that owned the little lamb, and her buddies, Jack and Jill the sibling children that fell down the hill while they were fetching the pail of water, and their friend, Little Boy Blue the child shepherd that loved sleeping under his haystack and blew within his golden horn really loud in order to get his golden horn to help him call his dairy cows and his sheep in whenever they wandered off and found the Farmer in the Dell (Sam A. Mowrey) to watch over his dairy cows and his sheep while he was gone who were heading for Old King Cole’s party in Old King Cole’s castle located in London, England in order to join Old King Cole the royal merry old soul king and his very good wife, the queen and their trumpeter and their servants and their subjects and their guests and their fiddlers three for the biggest celebration in order to celebrate the well-known 100 years of peace throughout the King’s whole kingdom. Mary made the white wool mittens all by herself from her very own lamb’s wool, and Jill brought her top favorite kitten because her pet mother cat had kittens, and Jack brought his warm yellow blanket that turned out to be his top favorite thing in the planet Earth world on the planet, Earth that he thought he would not give way up ever, and Little Boy Blue brought his golden horn that he somehow used to help him call his dairy cows and his sheep in whenever they wandered off until he found the Farmer in the Dell (Sam A. Mowrey) to watch over his dairy cows and his sheep while he was gone so that he’d keep an uh, you have to watch them every minute, you know, and Dweedle the quacking duck that turned out to be the leader of the Six Little Ducks sent the finest and soft and light feather that he somehow ever grew on his back during the Six Little Ducks song, and the Crooked Man sent his crooked and shiny and bright sixpence coin that he found upon the crooked stile during the There Was A Crooked Man song, and Humpty got Mary and her friends to the party on time with a magic word called “Please.” Then after Mary and her friends gave their gifts to the king, the king thanked them all for the greatest of gifts that were given from the heart because they made him get to feel like the king, and then he told the guests and the servants and the subjects to let the big dance begin. Mary and her friends, Jack and Jill and Little Boy Blue sang and danced at the party of their lives for there would not be the well-known other one like that for 100 years, then after the party, they went home because Humpty saw to that. The king kept their presents because he would have traded everything on the table for the gifts that the children gave from their hearts. In the 1991 North American real-live-action musical Good Housekeeping Kids Klassics Kids Sing Along episode video, Melody Magic In Toyland, the sequel episode movie to the 1990 North American real-live-action musical Good Housekeeping Kids Klassics Kids Sing Along episode video, Melody Magic In Musicland, the movie with the Chopsticks song and the This Old Man song and the Little Miss Muffet song and the The Itsy Bitsy Spider song and the Row Row Row Your Boat song and the The More We Get Together song and the Little Bo Peep/Three Little Kittens/Oh, Where Oh, Where Has My Little Dog Gone? medley song and the Oh, Where Oh, Where Has My Little Song Gone? song and the You’ve Got To Sing When Your Spirit Says Sing song and the Melody Magic song, Humpty was Josh’s Mother Goose toy, and he was with his very good friends, Old King Cole the royal merry old soul king and the Cat With The Fiddle Violin. They felt too surprised and too shocked to see that Josh was too old to play with them and they explained this to Melody Magic (Dina Murray/Dina James) who brought them to life within normal human-size with her magic dust through the We’ve Got Big, Big Trouble song and their brand-new friend, Josh’s computer (Liam Macintosh) that sang and danced and performed the I’m A Computer song in order to teach Melody and her friends everything about computer technologies on computers. Then Melody introduced the computer to her friends. Old King Cole sang the Be True To Your Heart song in order to teach us how to look true to much about our hearts and look very all-heart. Looking very all-heart is Old King Cole’s way of choosing to look kinda like the friend. The cat sang the I’m A Cool Cat song in order to teach us how to count and look kinda like cool cats. Choosing to look kinda like the cool cat is the cat’s great way of choosing to look kinda like the friend. Humpty decided to sing the I’m A Good Egg song on his wall when he decided to teach everyone much about how to look kinda like good egg friends. He was the main singer when he sat on the wall and the two flowers that grew by his wall were the back singers. They worked together to sing the I’m A Good Egg song in order to teach us how to look kinda like good egg friends. Choosing to look kinda like the good egg is Humpty’s great way of choosing to look kinda like the friend. Then after the song, Humpty had a great fall with a very loud crash that woke Josh up. Josh was so surprised and too very shocked to see Humpty in pieces and he wanted to know much about how Melody and Humpty and the cat and Old King Cole got to his bedroom. They had to find a way to save Humpty, and they found a way to save Humpty. It was Josh’s computer (Liam Macintosh). The five friends worked together to save Humpty, then Humpty got right up again when he was all put back together again, thanks to Josh and the computer. Humpty thanked the computer for saving his life then the computer said that it was nothing and Melody told the computer that saving Humpty’s life was important and she then also told the computer that he was really a good egg at heart. Then Melody sang the Everybody Needs A Friend song to show Josh and her friends and the computer what it means to be put in need of a friend to tell their troubles to. That had to look kinda like Melody’s great way to have friends. Then after the song, Melody shook hands with Josh and she then Josh hugged each other and Humpty and the computer and the cat and Old King Cole felt grateful for Melody for saving Josh. Josh asked Melody if he was awake, then Melody told him that it was only a dream. She gave Josh a kiss because she loved him and then she then the computer and their friends were back to where they should be. Then in the next morning, Josh’s mom (Babe Hack) woke him up for breakfast time, then Josh told his mom that he wanted to keep Humpty and the cat and Old King Cole, then his mom was too glad that he wanted to keep his old friends and they hugged each other with happiness joy thanks to Melody saving Josh all the way within the journey from looking too old for Humpty and the cat and Old King Cole with the help of Humpty and the cat and the computer and Old King Cole. Humpty Dumpty/Humpty Alexander Dumpty had to look kinda like my responsibility to save Princess Allegra from Glitch the witch and the witch’s poison custard pie within The Real Story Of Humpty Dumpty (1990) and he had to look kinda like my responsibility to take Mary and Jack and Jill and Little Boy Blue to Old King Cole’s party in Old King Cole’s castle located in London, England in Wee Sing King Cole’s Party (1987) and he had to look kinda like my responsibility to have good egg friends in Good Housekeeping Kids Klassics Kids Sing Along Melody Magic In Toyland (1991) then he had to look kinda like my top favorite main reason why I like the royal fairytale castle soldier horses over and over again.
September 19, 2017
This is my Mother Goose. I had two sets in two sizes of these rhymes and pictures. My younger siblings had/have a different Mother Goose book because this one definitely didn't last through 25 years. But this one is the one I love. This art is my favorite kind. And it taught me a lot about history just by looking at the art. Thanks to Frederick Richardson, the artist! He was a more conscientious artist and one person on this earth is so glad he was. I am currently wanting to learn to draw like him. We'll see how I can do it and how long it takes.
November 18, 2017
My favorite thing about this book were the illustrations that went along with some of the poems. The illustrations are a full page with the one poem written on them. Some pages don't have illustrations, just several poems. A good many don't really make sense to the kids nowadays, but Gabe still loved the rhyming, alliterations, and the like.
February 25, 2023
I now have the same book, with the same illustrator, but a different cover. This is the edition that I read from cover to cover so many times that I still have most of them memorized. I'm 55 now. There is just something about those Old Mother Goose nursery rhymes that stay with you a lifetime.
May 28, 2020
Kids liked it. Some of the old poems were a bit strange, but they were enjoyable.
January 30, 2020
I have not been raised with these rhymes and lullabies so no nostalgic feeling for me here. If I recognize the quality of the artwork, I do not care much for these verses that failed to move me in any way.
February 18, 2016
A wonderful addition to any home or school teachers' library, this book is incredibly powerful. It has nearly every Mother Goose rhyme from the familiar to unfamiliar. I grew up on these nursery rhymes and poems and used this book to teach English to many of my students to help with rhythm of speech and pronunciation. The full page illustrations by Fredrick Richardson that accompany the rhymes are beautiful and self explanatory. The target audience of this book is 3-8years olds, however adults of any age could enjoy this book.
February 10, 2017
I own a fairly old version of this inherited from my mum who inherited it from my grandmum and it basically contains all the most common nursery rhymes. While I wouldn't necessarily read some of them to a child, it would still be really fun to go through them again and research the historical significance.
April 10, 2017
Some of the art in this is really creepy. I'm not a big fan of Mother Goose rhymes in general. They're usually either lackluster or don't make much sense. There's one where a cat ate some dumplings. And the lady asks why did you eat the dumplings. And it repeats. And that's it.
There's so much fun poetry and rhymes for kids. And yeah, these are the old stand bys. But they're sort of dull.
There's so much fun poetry and rhymes for kids. And yeah, these are the old stand bys. But they're sort of dull.
April 14, 2017
I'm still Hans Christian Anderson reincarnated...
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