Other editions of book Mother Goose in Prose

*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the author). *This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errors. Mother Goose in Prose is a collection of twenty-two children's stories based on Mother Goose nursery rhymes. It was the first children's book written by L. Frank Baum, and the first book illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. It was originally published in 1897 by Way and Williams of Chicago, and re-released by the George M. Hill Company in 1901.

Sing a song o' sixpence, a handful of rye, Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie; When the pie was opened the birds began to sing, Was not that a dainty dish to set before the King? If you have never heard the legend of Gilligren and the King's pie, you will scarcely understand the above verse; so I will tell you the whole story…Thus The Wonderful Wizard of Oz creator, L. Frank Baum, delights readers of all ages with his imaginative tales of the “real” stories behind the beloved nursery rhymes. Written in 1897, Mother Goose in Prose was the book that launched Baum’s career as a writer.

This was the first of Baum's books for children; it is a collection of very short stories, each based upon one of the familiar rhymes of Mother Goose. In the introduction, Baum explains that many of the rhymes "are but bare suggestions, leaving the imagination to weave in the details of the story. . .1 have thought the children might like to have the stories told at greater length.. . [and] for that reason I have written this book." Although he tells us that he has "followed mainly the suggestions of the rhymes", actually the tales are original inventions of the author rather than (as one might suppose from the title) merely expansions of the old nursery rhymes. Dorothy, a little farm girl, appears in the last story, and it is likely that she is the original idea for the Dorothy who later becomes the heroine of Oz.

The volume begins with an historical overview written by Baum himself, in which he notes that the first use of the name "Mother Goose" was by the great French author of fantasies, Charles Perrault -- the inventor of Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Puss in Boots. Each tale begins with the nursery rhyme, and then a tale that illustrates the rhyme follows -- told in Baum's charming, natural fashion. Mother Goose in Prose is a delight for children of all ages. The book's last selection features a girl named Dorothy who can talk to animals — an anticipation of the Oz books. When Baum later included this story in his Juvenile Speaker (1910) and The Snuggle Tales (1916–17), he changed the girl's name to Doris, to avoid confusing her with Dorothy Gale.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) is one of America’s most read authors, and he is widely considered one of the premier authors of children’s books. Baum wrote dozens of novels and short stories, as well as hundreds of poems, and he even foresaw technological innovations such as computers, televisions and mobile phones, all of which made their way into his writing.Baum, however, is still best known and best regarded for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and several other titles that took place in the fantasy world of Oz. Every American is familiar with Dorothy and Toto, and Oz has been adapted for movies, screenplays, and more ever since.

Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote thirteen novel sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and a host of other works (55 novels in total, plus four "lost" novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, an unknown number of scripts, and many miscellaneous writings), and made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen. His works predicted such century-later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high risk, action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work). -wikipedia

Frank Baum was a famous author of children's books. He is best noted for his book The Wizard of Oz. France, England, and America all claim the origin of Mother Goose. In 1650 a small book was published in England containing some of these stories, but without the name Mother Goose. In 1697 Charles Perrault published in France a book of children's tales entitled "Contes de ma Mere Oye," and this is really the first time we find authentic record of the use of the name of Mother Goose. At the beginning of the 18th century "Songs of the Nursery; or, Mother Goose's Melodies for Children." was printed in the U S. Frank Baum has taken the stories that are so familiar and written them filling in details and lengthening some of the stories.