 First edition (1897) | |
| Author | L. Frank Baum |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Maxfield Parrish |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Way & Williams (1897) George M. Hill (1901) Bobbs-Merrill (1905) |
Publication date | 1897 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 265 |
Mother Goose in Prose is a collection of twenty-twochildren's stories based onMother Goosenursery rhymes. It was the first children's book written byL. Frank Baum, and the first book illustrated byMaxfield Parrish. It was originally published in 1897 byWay and Williams of Chicago, and re-released by theGeorge M. Hill Company in 1901.[1]
The book opens with an introduction by Baum that traces the history of Mother Goose. It is followed by the original text of a nursery rhyme with a broader story to establish its literary context.
The book's last selection features a girl named Dorothy who can talk to animals—an anticipation of theOz books. When Baum later included this story in hisJuvenile Speaker (1910) andThe Snuggle Tales (1916–17), he changed the girl's name to Doris, to avoid confusing her withDorothy Gale.[2]
Though handsomely produced,Mother Goose in Prose was priced relatively expensively for a children's book; it was "only moderately successful" commercially.[3] Publisher Way and Williams went bankrupt a year later. Baum took a different approach in a subsequent venture, composing original verses for hisFather Goose: His Book in 1899.
New editions ofMother Goose in Prose appeared fromBounty Books in 1951 and after (ISBN 0-517-51904-6),Dover Publications in 2002, and Kessinger Publishing in 2004, among others.
The Jim Henson Company made a TV series based on the book calledJim Henson's Mother Goose Stories (1990).
Mother Goose in Prose public domain audiobook atLibriVox
