Mother Goose's Melody

Long before frozen yogurt and helicopter parents, there was Mother Goose: a feathered grandmother figure who somehow knew every nonsense verse a child could ever need. This 19th-century gem gathers the strange, wonderful rhymes that have been murmuring in the back of English-speaking minds for centuries: the plums in Little Jack Horner's pie, Humpty Dumpty's great fall, the dish running away with the spoon. Merrill's edition brought new life to these verses with whimsical illustrations that still crackle with mischief. The rhymes themselves are peculiar and perfect, full of counting sheep and blackbirds in pies, royal鼻子 and jumping over candlesticks. They make no sense and perfect sense, which is exactly why children have loved them for hundreds of years. Whether you're reading aloud at bedtime or rediscovering these pages as an adult, the rhythms tap something deep and old and joyful. It's not a book you'll read once and put away. It's a book you'll return to forever.