A real improvement on Mother Goose’s Melodies (q.v.) There’s some wonderful business here from the different Mother Goose characters, that have been disgorged from a number of books. Great idea! We’ll see more of this, of course.
This adaptation is really quite effective: the original verses are so spare and mysterious, such that these glimpses and glances are truer than anything more played out could be. Love the crooked man! The fold out idea is happy too, as is the heartful gathering of all the characters.
A small quibble, but Cole’s song and lyrics are somewhat substandard, compared to what had gone before. Haven’t we all had that happen? It’s tough enough to start well, let alone finish well!