Sandy Stryker

Mother Nature Nursery Rhymes is, as the title suggests, a collection of nursery rhymes that have a theme of nature and caring for the environment. The authors have taken several popular nursery rhymes like “Little Miss Muffet,” “Humpty Dumpty,” “Ba, Ba, Black Sheep,” and others, reimagining them with different lines that focus on nature. I’m not sure if all the poems in the book were rewrites (if so there were several I wasn’t familiar with) or if some of them were original works. Either way, they were all well written with great rhythm. The lyrical cadence should delight preverbal little ones, but slightly older children, up to about early elementary age, should enjoy the book as well. In fact, the authors have included educational resources at the back of the book for the older ones, such as suggested nature activities, a brief quiz, a short glossary of science terms, and a list of various organizations to visit for more information. Itoko Maeno’s watercolor illustrations accompanying the text are quite lovely and include a beautiful alphabet of animals and plants on the end papers. Overall, I thought this was a very enjoyable book that would be great for parents who want to teach their children about the wonder of nature and the importance of being environmentally responsible from a young age.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

This book has some of the most amazing illustrations I have ever seen, to be honest. They were so whimsical and eye-catching. The point of the poems is to help young(er) children understand the importance of taking care of the Earth and I think they do that. They change the words of some well known poems (Hey diddle, diddle, and Jack & Jill for example) and give them a different meaning to protect the world around you and I really appreciate that. We only have one planet and I really like the thought behind this. I give it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for any age.… (meer)