Hey Diddle, Diddle The Cat and The Fiddle

This week I was inspired to make some nursery rhyme signs. When my boys were little I would read to them from Mother Goose. Short little ditties to whet their appetite for reading.

The history of Mother Goose is fascinating. Some people don't believe a "real" person exist yet still others believe that she is buried in a Boston cemetery on Treemont Street. It was thought that she was married to Isaac Goose with whom together they had 16 children. After Issac's death, Elizabeth went to live with her oldest daughter and that's where she would entertain her grandchildren with her little song ditties. Her son in law, who was a publisher, gathered her little jingles together and published them.



Other evidence points to the contrary. That Mother Goose isn't a person but is based on archetypical country woman. That many of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes actually come from many different sources. And while we may know that an actual person doesn't exist we still believe her to be "real". Whether Mother Goose was a real person or not, some of her advise in her nursery rhymes is very practical. A few of her rhymes comes to mind like, One Two Buckle My Shoe, or how about Jack Sprat?



Today, there exists a Mother Goose Society for the continuance of the importance of "Mother Goose" in childrens literature. They celebrate by having a Mother Goose day, which is May 1st, and encourage those that participate to partake in activities from, to dress like characters from Mother Goose rhymes, to making of some of her famous recipes, to having a simple songfest.



Nonetheless, whether Mother Goose was an actual figure or not, "her" stories have been read to children for centuries and I'm sure will be read for many more to come.