Western & Southwestern States, Poetry - Rhymes, Nursery Rhymes & Fingerplays, Poetry - Basic Concepts & Education, Alphabet

Mother Goose in California

Name: Mother Goose in California
Author: Doug Hansen
ISBN: 9781597141017

by Doug Hansen

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Overview

Once upon a time, before the Second World War, children's books were whimsical, colorful, and exuberant. Artists and authors such as Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Howard Garis, and Walter Brooks bestowed wide-eyed wonder on generations of children. Artist Doug Hansen has recaptured this whimsy in a way that is at once nostalgic and brilliantly original. The text of this book is the pure vintage Mother Goose of your grandmother's childhood but set to a new illustrated backdrop of California landmarks such as Half Dome and the Golden Gate Bridge, and inhabited by conquistador cats and sailor squirrels! The level of detail in the illustrations is marvelous. For the letter “T” Hansen recreates an old-fashioned toy store filled with handcrafted gems. “Jack be nimble” is Mark Twain's famous jumping frog dressed up as a gold prospector, complete with a Colt six-shooter and holster, pickaxe, and panning tray. And the three little kittens have lost their mittens to Stellar's jays!

Synopsis

What would Mother Goose see if she were to travel the Golden State? Humpty Dumpty makes his unfortunate fall at the Presidio of Monterey. Mary, Mary, quite contrary, is a Sierra Nevada Red Fox gathering flowers in a mission garden. And the prolific California Quail is the old woman who lives in a shoe. Celebrate California's native plants, animals, and historic places in this creative adaptation of the Mother Goose rhymes!

About the Author, Doug Hansen

Doug Hansen was born in Fresno, California, and is the eldest of six children in an artistic family. Doug has worked as a Fresno Bee newsroom artist, freelance illustrator, and cartoonist, and he illustrated David Mas Masumoto's books Letters to the Valley: A Harvest of Memories and Heirlooms: Letters from a Peach Farmer, as well asMother Goose inCalifornia. He teaches rendering and illustration at his alma mater, California State University, Fresno.

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Editorials

Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer

An alphabet book using nursery rhymes while showcasing California landmarks, animals and history is, indeed, a staggering task, but Hansen has accomplished his goal well. Each page includes a traditional verse with one word highlighted. A is for "air" as in "The pig flew up in the air." The main part of the illustration has a pig piloting a monoplane over San Francisco Bay with a partially completed Golden Gate Bridge below. Corner inserts feature the California Condor. R is for "rain" from "Rain, rain, Go away." A Great Blue Heron shields her young from the falling moisture with an umbrella in the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. A Giant Salamander, a California Tiger Salamander, and a Banana Slug are also shown. "A Guided Tour with Mother Goose" appears at the end of the book, providing information about the many details visible in the pictures but not mentioned in the verses. The book can be enjoyed on several levels. It stands on its own as a delightful alphabet book without reference to the California connections. These connections do, however, offer deeper levels of meaning for more serious readers. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.