National Mother Goose Day

 

May 1st is National Mother Goose Day! Mother Goose Day honors the author of the collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes we all loved as children. 

Only, Mother Goose isn't a "real" author. 

The origins of Mother Goose remain a mystery, with the most likely tale being that the concept of Mother Goose is a compilation of several people throughout history. 

The University of Illinois Library suggests in this blog post, that Mother Goose could date back to 10th century France, and be inspired by Bertha of Burgandy, aka "Queen Goosefoot." Or that a 17th-century Bostonian woman named Mary Goose who loved to entertain her children with rhymes may have been the inspiration. 

Another thought is that, Charles Perrault's fairy tale collection, Contes de ma Mère l'Oye which was translated into Tales of My Mother Goose, in the 18th century may have been the inspiration. 

Today, Mother Goose is synonymous with nursery rhymes, here are a few that you'll instantly recall:

• Baa Baa Blacksheep
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Humpty Dumpty
• Jack and Jill
• Little Miss Muffet

And so many more!

There are countless versions of the Mother Goose nursery rhyme books and each one has beautiful, different artwork. 

So in honor of National Mother Goose Day, pick up your favorite copy, or print out and color some nursery rhyme coloring pages. 

Let us know, what is your favorite Mother Goose nursery rhyme?