(3) PS Illustrated by Wazza Pink. In the same vein as the authors' A Bucket of Blessings (retelling an Indian myth) and The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk, the mother-son coauthors recast Mother Goose classics for an audience of culturally South Asian tots. "Jai Be Nimble," "Humpty Dumpty," "Pat-a-Naan," and more: each nursery rhyme maintains the original's characteristic rhythm while subbing-in one or more Hindi words (defined with pronunciation below). In parallel with the Sehgals' English-Hindi mashups, the digital illustrations include both familiar Mother Goose imagery and South Asian cultural details, such as traditional clothing and lotus design motifs.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) PS Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Selected from Opie and Wells's My Very First Mother Goose and Here Comes Mother Goose, fourteen number-related nursery rhymes and their accompanying illustrations are compiled here in board-book form. This mix of well-known and less-familiar verses, along with Wells's captivating and appealing art, shine a spotlight on the riches within the larger collections.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(4) PS This is an assortment of twenty-six rhymes, mostly well known with a few unusual selections, such as "Elisabeth, Elspeth, Betty, and Bess" and "Honest John Boldero"; the titles are listed only in a table of contents. Marks's graceful pencil, ink, and watercolor art includes a small nod to diversity. The images reflect the illustrator's English background, but the clothing in the pictures suggests many different eras.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Illustrated by Elisa Chavarri. The follow-up to Fairly Fairy Tales presents the verse of six traditional nursery rhymes, such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," followed by simple questions to a preschool class, the last a surprise: "Mary? Yes. Lamb? Yes. School? Yes. Giraffe? NOOOOO!" Vignettes alternate with double-page spreads illustrating the playful twists in this interactive alternative to familiar Mother Goose.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) PS Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Eighteen traditional nursery rhymes are rephrased with some Spanish vocabulary in this interlingual collection (e.g., "María had a little oveja. / Its lana was white as snow"). Elya's Spanish nouns and determiners are unfortunately forced into English grammatical structure, and adherence to meter varies across the book. Martinez-Neal's cherubic illustrations are warm and homey, refreshingly depicting children and families of all colors. Glos.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(3) PS An enterprising young knitter repeatedly asks a black sheep if it has any wool. Each time, the sheep happily obliges with the traditional three bags full; the following spread shows how the wool gets used. Cabrera's twist on the nursery rhyme is accessible and funny--preschoolers will enjoy, for example, the sheep's increasing nakedness, and embarrassment, as the wool is donated.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) K-3 This large volume collects 150 nursery rhymes, from the familiar Mother Goose to the more unfamiliar: an Inuit finger game, a Chinese American riddle, and an African American/Caribbean clapping song. Each double-page spread is illustrated by a different artist, which can make for some jarring page turns. But overall: handsome, original, and impressive in its inclusivity.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) PS Flip-Side Rhymes series. Illustrated by Colin Jack. Each book in this series offers a traditional rhyme and then instructs readers to turn the book over for another verse from a new perspective (e.g. the kings' men in Humpty). While the concluding spreads are occupied by clunky infographics, the humorous illustrations help modernize the familiar texts and introduce very young readers to the concept of point-of-view. Review covers these Flip-Side Rhymes titles: Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) PS Flip-Side Rhymes series. Illustrated by Danny Chatzikonstantinou. Each book in this series offers a traditional rhyme and then instructs readers to turn the book over for another verse from a new perspective (e.g. the kings' men in Humpty). While the concluding spreads are occupied by clunky infographics, the humorous illustrations help modernize the familiar texts and introduce very young readers to the concept of point-of-view. Review covers these Flip-Side Rhymes titles: Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Colin Jack. Familiar nursery rhymes are turned piratical in this Mother Goose adaptation. Readers will often need to be familiar with the original rhyme (whose title appears in parentheses under the pirate title) to get the rhythm and cadence right. The quality and scansion of the individual rhymes are uneven, but the best showcase cleverness and zany humor at just the right kid-level. Caricaturish illustrations add to the silliness.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) PS Each of twelve spreads is devoted to a classic children's song or nursery rhyme, from the familiar (the title song) to the relatively obscure ("Swam Swam over the Sea"). The lush illustrations, featuring toddlers and animals enacting the lyrics, set the cozy mood, but collectively, the rhymes don't add up to more than the sum of their parts. A CD is included.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) PS McPhail enters the crowded Mother Goose field with this affable collection of sixty-three nursery rhymes and seven interspersed short sections of concepts. Each spread is devoted to one or two mostly familiar poems, and the playful illustrations are afforded plenty of room to interpret the verses, giving the whole an uncluttered, approachable look. The concept sections provide opportunities for welcome audience interaction.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(2) PS Brown has taken some of the rhymes from Finger Rhymes (1980) and subsequent books and re-illustrated them to create one appealing collection. Most of the rhymes and songs will be familiar; others will bring new pleasures. Brown's gouache and colored-pencil illustrations jump with joyful energy, with lots of jokes for children to spot amongst the many kids, dogs, and other animals that appear.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Helen Acraman. This collection of nursery rhymes is presented in Korean script, Romanized Korean, and English. The subjects have universal appeal, although the English translations don't always scan well. The fourteen rhymes/songs are each accompanied by a note about the topic, Korean culture, or suggestions for sharing. The vividly colored, stylized illustrations are welcoming ambassadors to the material. A CD in English and Korean is included, sources are not.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(1) K-3 Drawn mostly from the canonical Opies, Mathers's fifty-seven entries include many lesser-known or longer rhymes, all nicely leavened with such familiar nonsense as "Hey Diddle Diddle." Mathers's expressive figures, in many moods, are effectively counterpointed by touches of dramatic, or pensive, landscape. Pair this with the Opie/Sendak I Saw Esau for a feast of traditional rhymes. A delightfully idiosyncratic selection.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(4) PS Illustrated by Sergio De Giorgi. "The Itsy-Bitsy Skid Steer," "Crumbling Bridge Is Falling Down," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Wrecking Ball"--it had to happen: someone would think to rewrite the Mother Goose classics in the construction-work vein; that the illustrations feature an all-animal crew is gravy. Too bad the execution isn't better: the rhymes sometimes feel stiffly constructed (so to speak). The well-composed art has a squeaky-clean look.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Helen Acraman. Warm, flat art illustrates these fifteen songs--rhymes traditionally sung in games and modern songs written for singing in school. Little additional information is provided, and the English translations are awkward, especially on the audio CD. But language learners will appreciate the Japanese/romanized Japanese/English text, and the CD's guitar accompaniment is a welcome alternative to the numerous widely available Muzak-like versions of these songs.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) K-3 The compilation includes fifty nursery rhymes, all in panel format, from an impressive variety of cartoonists. Each of the rhymes--some of which are well known, others less so--is presented in a one- to three-page sequence. The artists find unexpected humor and drama in the classic stories. There's not a lot of cohesion, but the volume's variety provides great entertainment.

Reviewer: Beth L. Meister

(3) PS Cleverly chosen traditional nursery rhymes--including "Bonnie Lass, Pretty Lass, Will You Be Mine?" and "Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?"--form a story arc about an old-fashioned courtship and wedding between a cat and a dog. The figures (sort of super-idyllic Richard Scarry) look a bit stiff, but humorous details abound, and the storytelling concept offers a fresh perspective on the rhymes.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) PS Looking Glass Library: Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes series. Illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau. Each volume presents thirteen nursery rhymes, including the occasional tongue twister, grouped by theme; this works better with some volumes (e.g., Count) than others (Friends). Pleasant enough paintings of smiling children, some contemporary-looking, others old-fashioned, illustrate the rhymes. A brief introduction, nearly identical across volumes, begins the books. Glos. Review covers these Looking Glass Library: Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes titles: Animal Tales from Mother Goose, Bedtime with Mother Goose, Count Along with Mother Goose, and Making Friends with Mother Goose.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan