Mother Goose's Little Treasures

Opie and Wells depart from their previous two collections of well-known Mother Goose rhymes to venture to what Opie describes as the far edge of Mother Gooses realm and there collect the most mysterious fragments from our shared memory. As if to signal the difference, the trim size has changed (it is smaller, at 9 × 9) and the paper is matte, not glossy. Despite the large fonts and the continued presence of Wellss signature bunny characters, however, this is less a title for Everytoddler than one for lovers of rhyme and verse. Wells gives the art a more sophisticated look, trading the bright colors and bustling borders of the previous books for a more subdued palette and adding many more human characters. She riffs on designs of classic Mother Goose editions, playing with fonts and narrow frames, and she outdoes herself in ingenious interpretations. One verse beseeches a chick chick chick chick chicken to lay a little egg for me; Wells depicts a rustically dressed bunny and a chicken in the same room, each on its own telephone, a speech balloon issuing from the bunnys receiver shows a brightly painted egg. An especially fine series of pictures features a human mother, daughter and doll, all identically dressed; sometimes only one of the trio appears, introducing jokes about scale, but the funniest include all three, as in the art for a contradictory poem about a mother who tells her darling daughter that yes, she can go swimming as long as she doesnt go near the water (the look on the daughters face as she wades into a pond is pure imp; the doll, towed in a toy boat, mirrors the girls expression except for its eyes, which roll angelically heavenward). Sadly, the art suffers in the productionlow contrasts leave the watercolors looking washed out. Ages 3-up. "(Sept.)" Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreSThis third collection by Opie and Wells includes 22 less-familiar rhymes. According to Opie's introduction, "]the little treasures in this book]are the most mysterious fragments of our shared memory." Some rhymes are silly ("Little old dog sits under a chair, /Twenty-five grasshoppers/snarled in his hair].") Others are surreal. For example, "Mother, May I?" poses the question, "Mother, may I go out swimming?," which is answered, "Yes, my darling daughter;/Hang your clothes on a hickory limb, /But don't go near the water." Meanwhile, the picture shows a little girl, waist-deep in a pool, pulling a little boat and holding a doll that looks just like the little girl, which does transform this playful verse into something, yes, mysterious. Many of the characters make multiple appearances, and many are Wells's characteristic rabbits and cats. The very nature of this book makes it a less-essential purchase than this team's "My Very First Mother Goose" (1996) or "Here Comes Mother Goose" (1999, both Candlewick), so possibly only larger collections or libraries with lots of Rosemary Wells fans will want it."Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL" Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Shines with the charm of old-time rhymes and with Wells' beloved animal and child characters...likely to become a staple in children's collections.
—Booklist (starred review)