Ring Around the Moon: Mommy Goose Rhymes

by Mike Norris, Minnie Adkins (Illustrator)

Overview

As this collection adeptly illustrates, nursery rhymes not only evoke innocence, discovery, and joy for children of all ages, but they also can educate and celebrate tradition. Ring Around the Moon features original rhyming poems in a time-honored Appalachian style that acknowledges the importance of the region and its rich heritage while introducing readers to the whimsical and enchanting world of Mommy Goose.

With Kentucky-flavored language and subject matter, this volume brings together the words, art, and music of Appalachia. The poems present classic Appalachian subjects—leaving the homeplace to find work, mountain folklore, country life versus city life—and touch on a wide range of broader themes, such as bullying, gender roles, the power of language, and the power of kindness. This work is illustrated with more than 170 hand-painted carvings by renowned folk artist Minnie Adkins, often referred to as America's most important female wood carver. With sheet music for the original song "Ring Around the Moon" complementing the text, this multifaceted book entertains while capturing the spirit and expanding the range of traditional Appalachian nursery rhymes to reach a new generation of readers.

LISTEN: Mike Norris sings "Ring Around the Moon" (3:16): DOWNLOAD ONLINE HERE.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813177786
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	10/08/2019
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mike Norris was the director of communications for many years at Centre College and still maintains an office there. He writes poems, songs, and stories and is the author of Sonny the Monkey, Bright Blue Rooster, and Mommy Goose: Rhymes from the Mountains. Minnie Adkins is a folk artist with permanent collections at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the American Folk Art Museum, the Huntington Museum of Art, and the Kentucky Folk Art Center. She won the Artist Award from the Kentucky Arts Council honoring lifetime achievement in the arts and holds an honorary doctorate from Morehead State University. She has contributed essays to numerous collections on folk art and crafts.

Table of Contents

About Mommy Goose
Hearing Voices
The Flea and the Fly
Boone, the Raccoon
Granpaw's Possum
Find a Penny, Hold It in Your Hand
The Queen of Carrots
The Mare
Millard Polk
How to Eat a Biscuit
I Like to Write the Things I Write
Love and Money
Work and Play
The Crows
Numbers Are Words
Ring Around the Moon
Grandaddy Longlegs
The Pig's Reply
Freda Mae Frye
I'll Tell You What I Did Near Dawn
The City Cat
The Mule
The Wish Book
EXTRA EGGS
Blackberry Jam
Uncle Alford
Contrary Fever
The Days
Faultfinding Tom
The Play Party
Time and Space
Wealth
December 31
The Backwards Shack
The Board Race
The Bluebird
Little Lessons
The Flu
When I Call
Arguing
In for a Penny
Pink and Blue
What the Old Man Said
Just One Word
Dark and Light
Who Is Us?
Time
The Salt Shaker
January
February
March
The Vine
GOOSE TALES
One-Eyed Jack
The Mirror
The Hill
Guess the Word
Mommy Goose's Goodbye
"Ring Around the Moon," words and music by Mike Norris
About the author and illustrator

What People are Saying About This

Maurice Manning

"What a wonderful celebration of language! Wit and wordplay abound, and the distinctive mountain phrasing makes these poems sing even beyond the sharp rhyme. But the language is always wrapped around the tale — tall, humorous, and full of critters who explain the wonders of the world. And the illustrations bring such a world to full life. Here is a book of outlandish affection, for young and longer-in-the-tooth readers alike. One suspects it was made in a fit of delight, or a lifetime of it."

Ed McClanahan

"Mommy Goose is back, as sprightly and spry as ever, with a whole new batch of winsome country-flavored rhymes, jingles, tall tales, and tuneful ditties in her poke. Accompanied by her official interpreter (and alter ego) Mike Norris and brought to three-dimensional reality in the antic wood carvings of Minnie Atkins, Mommy once again graces the barnyard with her gentle, timeless wit and wisdom. Welcome home, Mommy!"

From the Publisher

"What a wonderful celebration of language! Wit and wordplay abound, and the distinctive mountain phrasing makes these poems sing even beyond the sharp rhyme. But the language is always wrapped around the tale — tall, humorous, and full of critters who explain the wonders of the world. And the illustrations bring such a world to full life. Here is a book of outlandish affection, for young and longer-in-the-tooth readers alike. One suspects it was made in a fit of delight, or a lifetime of it." — Maurice Manning, author of the forthcoming Railsplitter

Editorial Reviews

Mommy Goose is back, as sprightly and spry as ever, with a whole new batch of winsome country-flavored rhymes, jingles, tall tales, and tuneful ditties in her poke. Accompanied by her official interpreter (and alter ego) Mike Norris and brought to three-dimensional reality in the antic wood carvings of Minnie Atkins, Mommy once again graces the barnyard with her gentle, timeless wit and wisdom. Welcome home, Mommy!

Ed McClanahan

What a wonderful celebration of language! Wit and wordplay abound, and the distinctive mountain phrasing makes these poems sing even beyond the sharp rhyme. But the language is always wrapped around the tale — tall, humorous, and full of critters who explain the wonders of the world. And the illustrations bring such a world to full life. Here is a book of outlandish affection, for young and longer-in-the-tooth readers alike. One suspects it was made in a fit of delight, or a lifetime of it.

Maurice Manning