If your little tike love Barney and likes to have a story read before going to sleep this might be your answer! This is a short 30 page book which is full of color and illustration. The book is titled Barney's Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes Volume 1 and was published in 1994 by Barney Publishing, a division of the Lyons Group. It was written by Stephen White and Illustrated by Mary Grace Eubank.
The Cover
This is a hardback book and it has a laminated cover so you could wipe it with a damp rag if needed. It has a drawing of barney in the middle reading a book and all of the character's of the book as a border.
The Inside
The pages in the book are size 8-1/2 x 11 so it's a nice size to view and easy to hold. The book is printed on quality paper. I don't think that the pages will tear as easily as some of the less expensive books.
I am very impressed with the illustrations. The colors are true to life and are very dark. There is color on every piece of the page.....there is nothing left white. Grass and sky fills anything left which gives the book a more realistic feel.
The drawings on the pages are very simple. The left page and the right page go together to make one setting. There is a picture of Barney on every even numbered page. The pages are not cluttered with a lot of objects. Most of he pictures consists of people or animals and just enough items to determine what they are doing. The children pictured are of different ethnic backgrounds, and one of the girls is in a wheelchair.
The rhymes are very short and are only a few sentences at most. The rhymes are:
* Little Bo Peep
* Pat-A-Cake
* Little Boy Blue
* Humpty Dumpty
* One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
* Jack Be Nimble
* To Market
* Ring Around the Rosie
* Two Little Bluebirds
* Pease Porridge Hot
* Hey, Diddle Diddle
* Wee Willie Winkie
* Twinkle, Twinkle
* Rock-A-Be Baby
* I Love You (Barney Theme)
Lets face it, you know these rhymes by heart. You can read this book as fast or slow as needed. The story is short enough to read as a bedtime story. It will be very interesting for children who can't read or perhaps even understand the words. My daughter who just turned 2 yells "BARNEY" and points to him each time the page is turned. She is somehow surprised that he's there and pleased that she know it. You can also add a little more by asking where things are. If you're introducing the color green, you'll find a lot of green (and purple) in this book!
This is a book that they will enjoy looking at by themselves too. The pages are thick enough that they could turn the pages themselves.
The front page has a picture of barney and Baby Bop reading a book. It says "A Gift For _____from _______ 19__". Unfortunately it's now 2001 show that's going to be a show stopper although I bet you could put a sticker on it or something clever if need be.
Where to Buy
This book is out of print so may be hard to find. I know it's not too hard because I somehow ended up with 2 copies summer (I've got so much Barney stuff I can't keep track).
This is listed as one of the all-time best-selling book, reported as selling 1,237,897 copies by the end of 1995 (excluding international and bookclub sales) which gives you a pretty good chance of finding one. (http://www.publishersweekly.com/articles/19960205_83599.asp)
This book originally sold for $10. You can get this for a fraction of the cost buying it used at www.half.com, www.ebay.com, or whatever auction site you may use.
You could also check it out from the library.
This book would be appropriate for children under 4 and would be considered a poetry/family book.
Recommended:
