Will the 'Real' Mother Goose Please Stand Up?

My mother in law purchased this book for my son for his first birthday. Not because he didn't have a book of nursery rhymes- he did- but because the cover of the book is the same as one that was read to her when she was my son's age. This book, in a way, has some sentimental value to her.

The illustrations are more artwork than anything else. They remind me of Victorian age illustrations, with women and children dressed in their finest.

The rhymes included in this book are a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Included are:

Humpty Dumpty
Pat A Cake
The Pumpkin Eater
Rain Rain Go Away
Mary Had A Little Lamb
The Cat and The Fiddle
Cat and Queen
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
Hickory Dickory Dock
Banbury Cross
Pease Porridge
Curly Locks
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Bedtime
Wee Willie Winkie

Some I recognize, and others I don't. There are also different variations on some of the rhymes that I didn't know- for instance, there is no rolling in Pat a Cake in this book. My son enjoys sitting with this book, as he does with any others, turning the pages and looking at the pictures. Because he is so young, he doesn't notice any difference in the rhymes, and he still enjoys listening to them- especially if I sing them while he's playing.

Throughout the book, the same format is used. The words are located on the left hand page, while the picture is on the right hand page. Each picture is beautifully drawn, and compliments the rhyme that appears opposite it. The letters are a bit small, which is what gives me the impression that this book is meant more as a collector's item or for sentimental reasons than as a book to be read and treasured by a child, while it is certainly sturdy enough for that.

The book is a sturdy board book, just right for little hands to hold, and sturdy enough to be played with. But this is one book that will be put up, because of the sentimental value behind it. This book is full of treasured nursery rhymes that all children enjoy. Be they sung or read, they are enjoyable to both children and adults, and bring back happy memories of times gone by.