#20 Nursery Rhyme Comics by Chris Duffy (Editor)
I think it's safe to say that most American children have experienced their fair share of nursery rhymes. I have memories of reciting 
them in preschool, and reading from a large hardcover book that collected and illustrated many of the most popular rhymes. Nursery Rhyme Comics takes the idea of the classic collection of nursery rhymes and updates it for our current graphic-novel hungry generation of youngsters. Each nursery rhyme is presented in comic strip form and runs from one to three pages long. Well known classics such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Hey Diddle Diddle.” and “Old Mother Hubbard,” are presented aside some lesser known rhymes such as “My Name is Yon Yonson” and “Solomon Grundy.”
The reason I picked this collection up to read is due to the impressive collection of artists that can be found inside. I was familiar with a handful of them, such as American Born Chinese's Gene Luen Yang, Blankets' Craig Thompson, and Smile's Raina Telgemeier. Other artists I know by name, but have never experienced their work myself, such as Hark! A Vagrant's Kate Beaton, and Hellboy's Mike Mignola. One of the most enjoyable aspect about Nursery Rhyme Comics is the wide variety of content inside. All of the artwork is top notch, but because of the diverse collection of artists, no two comics look alike. Some are similar to what you might find in a cheerful picture book while others (Mike Mignola's in particular) are far from it. This also ends up being the collection's greatest fault when it comes to younger readers, as it's hard to interpret what age this collection was made for, as certain comics may be difficult to follow for some of the younger set.
I really enjoyed watching how each artist chose to interpret their individual nursery rhyme. We may recite nursery rhymes to death, but typically it's more about rhythm of the language then the actual content. Choosing to interpret them through comic strips forces the author to create a visual context for lines that we may not often think about the meaning behind, therefore creating little miniature stories to go along with the rhythmic language. This is well illustrated in “My Name is Yon Yonson,” which interprets the endless repetition of the rhyme as a man running around a single block over and over, constantly introducing himself to a bewildered woman. I also enjoyed the modern updates that the illustrators made with their comics. Gene Luen Yang's “Pat-a-Cake” takes place on a space ship, “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” involves a cloning machine, and “There Was and Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe” recasts the typically traditional old grannie as an aging rocker who runs a babysitting service.
Nursery Rhyme Comics is a great update of the hardcover collection of nursery rhymes I remember reading as a child. The diverse collection of artists results is a vibrant collection filled with many interpretations of classic tales. I read it form cover to cover in one sitting, although I suspect younger readers will find themselves flipping through the pages to find their favorite rhyme.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 119 pages
Source: Readfield Community Library
Other books I've read by this author: This is my first
Next I will be reviewing Fade by Lisa McMann
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
them in preschool, and reading from a large hardcover book that collected and illustrated many of the most popular rhymes. Nursery Rhyme Comics takes the idea of the classic collection of nursery rhymes and updates it for our current graphic-novel hungry generation of youngsters. Each nursery rhyme is presented in comic strip form and runs from one to three pages long. Well known classics such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Hey Diddle Diddle.” and “Old Mother Hubbard,” are presented aside some lesser known rhymes such as “My Name is Yon Yonson” and “Solomon Grundy.”
The reason I picked this collection up to read is due to the impressive collection of artists that can be found inside. I was familiar with a handful of them, such as American Born Chinese's Gene Luen Yang, Blankets' Craig Thompson, and Smile's Raina Telgemeier. Other artists I know by name, but have never experienced their work myself, such as Hark! A Vagrant's Kate Beaton, and Hellboy's Mike Mignola. One of the most enjoyable aspect about Nursery Rhyme Comics is the wide variety of content inside. All of the artwork is top notch, but because of the diverse collection of artists, no two comics look alike. Some are similar to what you might find in a cheerful picture book while others (Mike Mignola's in particular) are far from it. This also ends up being the collection's greatest fault when it comes to younger readers, as it's hard to interpret what age this collection was made for, as certain comics may be difficult to follow for some of the younger set.
I really enjoyed watching how each artist chose to interpret their individual nursery rhyme. We may recite nursery rhymes to death, but typically it's more about rhythm of the language then the actual content. Choosing to interpret them through comic strips forces the author to create a visual context for lines that we may not often think about the meaning behind, therefore creating little miniature stories to go along with the rhythmic language. This is well illustrated in “My Name is Yon Yonson,” which interprets the endless repetition of the rhyme as a man running around a single block over and over, constantly introducing himself to a bewildered woman. I also enjoyed the modern updates that the illustrators made with their comics. Gene Luen Yang's “Pat-a-Cake” takes place on a space ship, “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” involves a cloning machine, and “There Was and Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe” recasts the typically traditional old grannie as an aging rocker who runs a babysitting service.
Nursery Rhyme Comics is a great update of the hardcover collection of nursery rhymes I remember reading as a child. The diverse collection of artists results is a vibrant collection filled with many interpretations of classic tales. I read it form cover to cover in one sitting, although I suspect younger readers will find themselves flipping through the pages to find their favorite rhyme.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 119 pages
Source: Readfield Community Library
Other books I've read by this author: This is my first
Next I will be reviewing Fade by Lisa McMann
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads