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Manuscripts, Theses
The inner city Mother Goose
- Author / Creator
- Available as
- Physical
- Summary
-
Mother Goose rhymes were not always considered to be nonsensical fare for young children, originally these verses were written as social and politcal commentary. In 1969 when author Eve Merriam wan...
Mother Goose rhymes were not always considered to be nonsensical fare for young children, originally these verses were written as social and politcal commentary. In 1969 when author Eve Merriam wanted to comment about social and political issues of the time, she turned to Mother Goose rhymes in a nod to their original purpose. Her resultant poems, inspired by traditional "nursery rhymes," depict the grim reality of inner city life, including such topics as crime, drug abuse, unemployment, and inadequate housing.
Details
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- Creator
- Eve Merriam ; illustrated by David Diaz ; introduction by Nikki Giovanni
- Format
- Manuscripts, Theses
- Language
- English
- Contributors
- Publication
-
- New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, ©1996
- Physical Details
-
- ix, 70 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cm
- ISBNs
- 0689806779, 9780689806773, 0671880330, 9780671880330
- OCLC
- ocm28336003
- Originally published 1969.
- "This new volume, the first published specifically for young adults, contains the complete text of the expanded 1982 edition, and a new introduction by poet Nikki Giovani. It is illustrated with ten dazzling full-color paintings by Caldecott Award-winning artist David Diaz."--Book jacket.
- "Eve Merriam, 1916-1992, was an award-winning writer, playwright and poet for both children and adults. Merriam dedicated her life and most of her work championing the virtues of poetry and wrote extensively on how to read, write and enjoy language and poetry. As her reputation grew in the sixties and the seventies, she, like other poets of her time, 'shifted her concerns to reflect the inner emotional conflicts and stark realities of the world facing children: anxieties, alienation, racial and social injustice, war, in-humane technology, and the struggles of urban life.' (Zaidman, 1987). This concern over social issues undoubtedly motivated her to write the Inner City Mother Goose rhymes, and her choice of Mother Goose as the pattern for her satirical messages pays homage to the political derivation of the original rhymes. Merriam explains in her introduction to the 1982 edition (and reprinted in the 1996 edition), '...when I wanted to comment about some social and political issues of our time, I was following an old tradition of using Mother Goose characters. What modern situations would they face, and where would they live?'"--Contemporary Censorship of Mother Goose <http://eclipse.rutgers.edu/goose/censorship2.aspx>
- Introduction: "The inner city me" / Nikki Giovanni -- Eve Merriam's introduction to the 1982 edition -- Jeremiah Obadiah -- The nub of the nation -- Simple Simon -- Mary, Mary -- Diddle diddle dumpling -- Star light, star bright -- Now I lay me down to sleep -- There is a lady -- Hark, hark -- Lucy Locket -- Jack be nimble, Jack be quick -- Take-a-tour, take-a-tour, congressman -- Boys and girls come out to play -- What are summer nights made of? -- Everyone knows -- You'll find mice -- Ding, dong, bell -- Hushabye baby -- Rub-a-dub-dub -- Here we go round -- Here I am, Little Jumping Joan -- The recruiting sergeant -- The generals -- Taxi Man -- Robin and Richard -- If wishes were horses, beggars would ride -- Sing a song of subways -- I had a little -- My mother said -- Who killed nobody? -- On TV -- This is the plant that was built -- Cherry stones -- Jack Sprat -- Taffy -- If -- To market -- Run, run -- One misty moisty morning -- One, two -- Christmas is coming -- Twelve rooftops leaping -- Fee, fi, fo, fum -- There is an old woman -- There was a man and he had naught -- Little Jack Horner -- Little Tom Tucker -- A man of words -- Fire -- Hey diddle diddle -- Hickety, pickety, my black hen -- Dump it, dump it -- Tom, Tom -- The cow jumped over the moon -- There was a crooked man -- There was a man -- Wisdom -- I do not like thee -- Twinkie, Twinkie -- Numbers -- Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone? -- Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? -- Young flesh to sell -- Gliding across -- Solomon Grundy -- There was a little man -- The riddle -- Hector Protector -- Kindness -- Urban renewal
Subjects
- Inner cities -- Juvenile poetry.
- Slums -- United States -- Juvenile poetry.
- Social problems -- United States -- Juvenile poetry.
- City and town life -- Juvenile poetry.
- Mother Goose -- Parodies, imitations, etc.
- Children's poetry, American.
- City and town life -- United States -- Juvenile poetry.
- City and town life -- Poetry.
Children's Subject Heading
- American poetry.
Children's Subject Heading
- Nursery rhymes.
Children's Subject Heading