Title: The Trial of Mother Goose
Author: Ricky Kennison
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-5246-9324-4
Pages: 24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Celebrations / Thanksgiving
Reviewed by: Barbara Miller
Pacific Book Review
Ouch! Some of the puns in The Trial of Mother Goose by author Ricky Kennison are so sharp you’ll need to wear your oven mittens when holding the book. Funny? Yes. Creative? Beyond imagination. What is created is a non-stop satire of storybooks all brought together in this fanciful courtroom drama where Mother Goose is on trial and so many icons of the children’s book genre are brought up to the witness stand. For example, the Three Blind Mice are eyewitnesses, the Straw Man from The Wizard of Oz makes a statement insulting the prosecutor by not having a brain, and Moby Dick even shows up for a cameo appearance.
Although in some regard the legal mechanizations of the justice system are beyond the understanding of many youngsters and toddlers, the story isn’t bogged down with realism – instead it goes off the tracks of logic into the world of imagination and humor. This is a book which is as much fun for the adult reading it to their child as to the kid itself. The book entertains as it educates by at times needing the reader to explain the depth of humor about the various situations within the book. This will no doubt start conversations between the parent and child and the subject matter of children’s storybook classics will be articulated and enjoyed in new and different ways. The Trial of Mother Goose is sure to captivate the attention of all who read it – or have this book read to them – with the illustrations bringing to mind the courtroom scenes.
Guilty or innocent? You’ll have to see if she gets her goose cooked. The humor and lightheartedness of the characters would actually make for an excellent animation screenplay, it’s adopted by Disney or Pixar for their creative embellishing. However one doesn’t need to see it on TV because it will play out, time and time again, in the theatre of the child’s mind, each and every occasion they page Kennison’s masterpiece of original satire. The Trial of Mother Goose is an excellent addition to all family libraries for kids to enjoy – and perhaps even having them explain the humor to their younger siblings as they learn the absurdity of what the theme of this story is all about. It is a wonderful gift for the holiday season to the younger generation of storybook connoisseurs.[/fusion_text]
