Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Gentle nonsense and sly mischief characterize the verses and the illustrations in this large-size nursery-rhyme collection for reading aloud and chanting and singing to the very youngest child. Opie's great folklore collection, I Saw Esau (1992), illustrated by Maurice Sendak, included schoolyard rhymes that were vulgar, fierce, and gross. But in these 60 verses, there's little of the usual Mother Goose violence--no blind mice with their tails cut off, no old men thrown down the stairs, and no simpering pretty maids, either. Wells' watercolor-and-ink pictures show a kindly, grandmotherly Mother Goose. There is pandemonium, and it's part of the fun in cozy families of rabbits, cats, bears, and mice. Sometimes Wells extends the scenarios: the little mouse under the chair sticks out its tongue at the cat; in Dickory, Dickory, Dock, the cat's asleep while the mouse dares to run up and down the clock. Wells makes clear that, for a toddler today, riding a cockhorse is a bouncing game, and this book is a first choice for the lap-time story hour. With the play and the farce, there's such tenderness. From Star Light, Star Bright to Dance to Your Daddy, the words sing, and everyone is safe at home. (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1996)

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

In this exuberant anthology, Opie and Wells choose the best of Mother Goose's ageless work and polish it to a brilliant shine: more than 60 rhymes appear here in four chapters of large, toddler-friendly type. And for those who thought there were no new feathers to be plucked from this goose, Wells's rich watercolor interpretations, simultaneously classic and contemporary, are a revelation. Readers will probably agree with Opie's prefatory remark: """"I firmly believe that Rosemary Wells is Mother Goose's second cousin and has inherited the family point of view."""" Her cast of bushy bunnies (think Max and Ruby), classy cats and the occasional human interact with a combination of wit, charm and ingenuity: Humpty Dumpty, for example, is a soft-boiled egg, knocked accidentally-on-purpose to the floor by a boy bunny at the breakfast table. Also striking--and appropriate for the intended audience--are the numerous scenes of adults and children working and playing together. The cozy, well-appointed settings and loving gestures project a reassuring intimacy. Wells also makes full use of an extended trim size. She encircles rhymes with spots of art, as in the Hungarian-style cat violinists that surround the text of """"Hey diddle, diddle,"""" or embellishes spreads with panels, identifying pig breeds in her depiction of """"Whose little pigs are these?"""" and naming a few constellations alongside """"Star light, star bright."""" Each rhyme begins with a sprightly decorated initial: a golden pear hangs from the """"I"""" in """"I had a little nut tree."""" Motifs recur subtly and purposefully, encouraging close inspection of the pages. A collaboration that both freshens and preserves the past, this volume deserves a prominent place not just in the nursery room but on the shelves of all who treasure illustrated books. Ages 2-up. (Sept.)

Horn Book

Sixty-eight rhymes have been selected with parents, babies, and toddlers firmly in mind. The book is not a definitive Mother Goose, with familiar rhymes such as Old Mother Hubbard missing and less familiar ones included, and there are no footnotes or sources. But as a first Mother Goose, the book does its job superbly, and central to its success are Wells's cozy and appealing illustrations.

Kirkus Reviews

My Very First Mother Goose ($19.99; Sept. 1996; 108 pp.; 1-56402- 620-5): One glimpse of the merry Wells (The Language of Doves, p. 1159, etc.) characters that caper through these pages—a cast of hundreds—one flip through the pages where Opie (I Saw Esau, 1992, etc.) has arranged almost 70 familiar and not-so-familiar rhymes to an effect of unabashed glee, and readers will be in love again with the original Mother Goose. There's little point in pretending that even prodigious collections of nursery rhymes can do without this one—it's a must. (index) (Poetry. 2-8)"

School Library Journal

PreS-K--The 60 plus rhymes in this collection are mostly the old-time favorites, but include some more recent ones such as "Shoo Fly" and "Down by the Station." Wells illustrates the selections with her usual winsome, quirky, anthropomorphic mice, rabbits, cats, pigs, bears, etc., and even includes some people. The lavish ink-and-watercolors are filled with action and delightful details. Ranging in size from tiny vignettes to double-page spreads, they are arranged on the pages in a variety of ways to complement the text. The typeface is large and very clear. Such a spirit of fun and pleasure emanates from every page of this big, handsome volume that although there are many distinguished entries in the nursery-rhyme book field, this one is sure to add special joy to any collection.--Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA