Mother Goose Rhymes

• Mother Goose Rhymes


  Also known as Nursery Rhymes
• Mother Goose


  A myth, a personification of well-loved story-tellers who have existed since the world began
• When a French writer, Charles Perrault, published a collection of fairy tales and named it Comtes de Ma mere l'Oye or Tales of My Mother Goose


  1697
• As the Mother Goose rhymes were handed down orally, they had undergone many changes
• The verses reveal interesting bits of history, old customs, manners and beliefs
• Development of Mother Goose

  1. James Orchard Halliwell published Nursery Rhymes of England in 1842

  2. Later, he issued Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Tales of England which are the recognized source of the authentic versions of English traditional rhymes

  3. In 1897, Andrew Lang published Nursery Rhymes, a collection of over three hundred rhymes and additional Halliwell rhymes

  4. In 1952, Iona and Peter Opie published the latest and most complete collection of rhymes entitled Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
• Earliest collection of Mother Goose verses

  Published by John Newberry in 1765, entitled Mother Goose Melody or Sonnets for the Cradle
• Qualities of Mother Goose Rhymes

  • Musical quality
  • Action
  • Humor
  • Story interest
  • Variety of subject matter (animals, alphabets, dialogue, counting, games, people, time, riddles, tongue twisters, weather, cumulative stories, singing rhymes)
• Why children like the rhymes


  • They enjoy the musical quality, repetition, unexpected combinations of sounds, action, and presence of familiar characters
  • They serve as an introduction to real poetry
  • They are good for ear-training and for pleasure and amusement
  • Comprehension of meaning and ability to read are not involved in the child's enjoyment