Author Spotlight
The
name Mother Goose came from an 8th Century noblewoman named
Bertrada II of Laon. Her son, Charlemagne, was the founder of the Holy
Roman Empire. Bertrada was a teacher, giving the name Berte aux grand pied,
which means Queen Goosefoot. In the 17 Century, she was given the name,
Mother Goose.
Many
of her first stories or folktales were used by Shakespeare for his plays.
The first book to bear the name, Mother Goose, was published in French in
1697 by Charles Perrault. The book was titled, Tales form the Past with
Morals. In 1729, it was translated into English as Mother Goose’s
Fairy Tales. The stories did not take off until about 1760 when another
author rewrote the book.
The
first American edition was published in 1787 by Isaiah Thomas entitled,
Mother Goose’s Melody: or Sonnets for the Cradle. It included Little
Tommy Tucker and Jack and Jill. There are about 700 rhymes, stories, and
riddles in circulation as of today.
Some
of our Mother Goose favorites include:
Star Light, Star Bright
Humpty Dumpty
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Jack and Jill
Hey, Diddle Diddle
Little Miss Muffett
