Sing Mother Goose-Classic!!

1946 Caldecott Honor: Sing Mother Goose

Music By Opal Wheeler                 Illustrations by Marjorie Torrey (or Torrey Chanslor)

Fame is a funny, fickle thing. Marjorie Torrey, who as Torrey Chanslor wrote Our First Murder, was one of the major illustrators of children’s books in the mid-twentieth century, achieving back-to-back Caldecott Honor awards, but today she is virtually forgotten. She was born in New York in 1899 but somewhere in the late 1950s, she seems to have quietly passed from the scene.

She wrote a few children’s books herself but she was primarily an artist, whose old-fashioned style was ideally suited to illustrating books for young people. She also did the covers for the two mysteries featuring the Beagle sisters, Our First Murder (1940) and Our Second Murder (1941). Although these covers were uncredited, there’s absolutely no doubt whose work it is when one compares the playful, yet extremely accurate, cover of Our First Murder (reproduced for this edition in a slightly enlarged form) with the delightful illustrations in her 1946 Caldecott Honor book, Sing Mother Goose.

All of her books are out of print today. Even her Caldecott honor books are difficult to find, often confined to rare book rooms or the special collections section of larger libraries. Ironically, she’s perhaps best known today for her two mysteries, which have been mentioned in Carolyn G. Hart’s popular “Death on Demand” mystery series and are sought after by collectors specializing in the evolution of the private eye novel, especially those featuring women sleuths.

The above taken from: http://www.ruemorguepress.com/authors/chanslor.html

Book Summary

A collection of music and rhymes from traditional Mother Goose.

Illustrations

Young children are portrayed in classic Mother Goose settings.  They children for the most part seem happy and enjoyable.  There are also many animals scattered about.  I found the pictures to be enjoyable to look at.  I would recite the common rhyme, or at times not so common, and then gaze at the pictures.  I enjoyed finding the same animal’s throughout the book as well as the details to the clothing on the children.  I would like to play dress up in some of these clothes.

Final Thoughts:

1. Would this be a book I would pick up again? Probably Not

2. Would I recommend it to others to search out and take a look at? If you play music.

3. Would I spend my hard earned money on the book? No

4. Where did I get the book? Pierce County got a copy from Livingston-Park County in Montana.