''Mother Goose in Prose'' is a collection of twenty-two

children's stories Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

based on

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

nursery rhymes A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

. It was the first children's book written by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

, and the first book illustrated by

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His ...

. It was originally published in 1897 by Way and Williams of Chicago, and re-released by the George M. Hill Company in 1901.

The book opens with an introduction by Baum that traces the history of Mother Goose. It is followed by the original text of a nursery rhyme with a broader story to establish its literary context. * Sing a Song o' Sixpence * The Story of Little Boy Blue * The Cat and the Fiddle *

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1708. Though there is much speculation about the identity of King Cole, it is unlikely that he can be identified reliably as any historical figure. It has a Roud Folk Song Index numbe ...

* Mistress Mary * The Wond'rous Wise Man * What Jack Horner Did *

The Man in the Moon ''The Man in the Moon'' is a 1991 American coming of age drama film. It was the final film directed by Robert Mulligan, from a screenplay written by Jenny Wingfield. It stars Reese Witherspoon in her film debut, Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Em ...

* The Jolly Miller * The Little Man and His Little Gun * Hickory, Dickory, Dock *

Little Bo-Peep "Little Bo-Peep" or "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6487. Lyrics and melody As with most products of oral tradition, there are many variations to the r ...

* The Story of Tommy Tucker * Pussy-cat Mew * How the Beggars Came to Town *

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19621. Lyrics Modern versions of the rhyme include: :Tom, Tom, the piper's son, :Stole a pig, and away did run; :The pig was eat : ...

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

The Woman Who Lived in a Shoe "There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme, with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19132. Debates over its meaning and origin have largely centered on attempts to match the old woman with historical f ...

Little Miss Muffet "Little Miss Muffet" is an English nursery rhyme of uncertain origin, first recorded in 1805. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605. Wording The rhyme first appeared in print in ''Songs for the Nursery'' (1805), and there have been ...

* Three Wise Men of Gotham * Little Bun Rabbit The book's last selection features a girl named Dorothy who can talk to animals—an anticipation of the

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's bo ...

. When Baum later included this story in his '' Juvenile Speaker'' (1910) and ''The Snuggle Tales'' (1916–17), he changed the girl's name to Doris, to avoid confusing her with

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of its ...

. Though handsomely produced, ''Mother Goose in Prose'' was priced relatively expensively for a children's book; it was "only moderately successful" commercially.Katharine M. Rogers, ''L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz: A Biography'', New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002; p. 62. Publisher Way and Williams went bankrupt a year later. Baum took a different approach in a subsequent venture, composing original verses for his '' Father Goose: His Book'' in 1899.

Later editions

New editions of ''Mother Goose in Prose'' appeared from Bounty Books in 1951 and after (),

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

in 2002, and Kessinger Publishing in 2004, among others. The Jim Henson Company made a TV series based on the book called ''

Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories ''Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories'' is a children's television show hosted by Mother Goose, who tells her three goslings the stories behind well-known nursery rhymes. Production The show featured child actors and elaborate puppets created by J ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{L. Frank Baum 1897 books 1897 short story collections Collections of nursery rhymes Books by L. Frank Baum Children's short story collections Fantasy short story collections Works based on nursery rhymes 1890s children's books Books about cats American children's books

Contents

Later editions

References

External links