The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose selected and illustrated by Arnold Lobel

The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose selected and illustrated by Arnold Lobe  A Paula Wiseman Book/ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c1986, 2022. 9781534474352 

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5

Format: Hardcover

What did you like about the book? I don’t know if there is another collection of Mother Goose rhymes that has anywhere near as many as the more than 300 offered in this volume – First published in 1986, this one even includes an index of first lines!  And every rhyme is illustrated, even if one of five on a page.  I am a big lover of Mother Goose rhymes and yet I was unfamiliar with many, many of those selected here. Lobel was at the top of his form when he used black ink, gouache and pencil in creating his illustrations.  The detail is intricate, colorful and amazing; the facial expressions, the shadowing, the ability of expressing action are a tribute to this man who died one year later in 1987. If you decide to own only one version of Mother Goose, you could not go wrong in choosing this one.

Anything you did not like about the book? No.

To whom would you recommend this book? All children need and deserve Mother Goose rhymes even if they do not know it.  Parents need Mother Goose rhymes.  If you begin reading these to your children, they are sure to keep you reading.  A few a day, a few at night – 172 pages of familiar and unfamiliar ones.  This collection is a treat.

Who should buy this book? Public libraries, child-care centers, K-1 libraries and families

Where would you shelve it? 398.8

Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? If you want a major fun treat- by all means

Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Katrina Yurenka, Retired Librarian, Contributor, Youth Services Book Review

Date of Review: October 30, 2022