Humpty Dumpty Rock/Book and Cassette (Mother Goose Rap-Along) - Hardcover

Meadows, Jayne; Allen, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0894110071 ISBN 13: 9780894110078

Publisher: Kids Matter, 1986

Synopsis

A collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes grouped together by a common theme. Includes related activities.

About this title

Review:

Humpty Dumpty Rock is the first in a series of four children's read-alongs entitled Shakin' Loose with Mother Goose. Narrators on the cassette are Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows. Tata Yega is "guest singer." An orchestra and occasional children's voices accompany the songs in various styles: rock, jazz, and folk. As with many collections, some selections are more successful than others. This reviewer found "Word Play" sheer cacophony and "Humpty Dumpty" a monotonous rock. But "Sing a Song of Sixpence," because it retained the familiar tune, was pleasant. And "Me Story of Little Bo-peep," narrated by Jayne and followed by the song of the same name, was instructive, effective, and melodic. Words that were considered sexist or too violent were changed. For instance, in "Sing a Song of Sixpenct"-contrary to the original version-it is the queen who is "counting out the money," while the king "was in the parlor eating bread and honey." Since nursery rhymes are part of our literary heritage, it seems a little silly, if not sacrilegious, to alter them in this way. The activities section, including "brain benders" and a crossword puzzle, enhance the book's usefulness as a teaching tool. -- From Independent Publisher

About this edition

• Publisher: Kids Matter
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0894110071
• ISBN 13: 9780894110078
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Editor: McCoy Patti Moran, Inada Lawson Fusao
• Illustrator: Bullock Kathleen