Ring Around the Moon

Mommy Goose Rhymes

Mike Norris, Minnie Adkins

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN:
  9780813177793
• Print ISBN:
  9780813177786
• Subtopic: Poetry

As this collection adeptly illustrates, nursery rhymes not only evoke innocence, discovery, and joy for children of all ages, but they also can educate and celebrate tradition. Ring Around the Moon features original rhyming poems in a time-honored Appalachian style that acknowledges the importance of the region and its rich heritage while introducing readers to the whimsical and enchanting world of Mommy Goose.

With Kentucky-flavored language and subject matter, this volume brings together the words, art, and music of Appalachia. The poems present classic Appalachian subjects—leaving the homeplace to find work, mountain folklore, country life versus city life—and touch on a wide range of broader themes, such as bullying, gender roles, the power of language, and the power of kindness. This work is illustrated with more than 170 hand-painted carvings by renowned folk artist Minnie Adkins, often referred to as America's most important female wood carver. With sheet music for the original song "Ring Around the Moon" complementing the text, this multifaceted book entertains while capturing the spirit and expanding the range of traditional Appalachian nursery rhymes to reach a new generation of readers.

To hear a complete recording of the book's companion song, "Ring Around the Moon," copy and paste the following into your web browser: https://soundcloud.com/university-press-of-ky/ring-around-the-moon

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Epigraph
• About Mommy Goose
• Hearing Voices
• The Flea and the Fly
• Boone, the Raccoon
• Grandpaw’s Possum
• The Queen of Carrots
• The Mare
• Millard Polk
• How to Eat a Biscuit
• I Like to Write the Things I Write
• Love and Money / Work and Play
• The Crows
• Numbers Are Words
• Ring Around the Moon
• Grandaddy Longlegs
• The Pig’s Reply
• Freda Mae Frye/I’ll Tell You What I Did Near Dawn
• The City Cat
• The Mule/The Wish Book
• Blackberry Jam/Uncle Alford
• Contrary Fever
• The Days
• Faultfinding Tom/The Play Party
• Time and Space/Wealth/December 31
• The Backwards Shack
• The Board Race
• The Bluebird/Little Lessons
• The Flu/When I Call
• Arguing/In for a Penny
• Pink and Blue
• What the Old Man Said/Just One Word . . .
• Dark and Light/Who Is Us?
• Time
• The Salt Shaker
• January/February/March
• The Vine
• One-Eyed Jack
• The Mirror
• The Hill/Guess the Word
• Mommy Goose’s Goodbye
• Ring Around the Moon (music)
• About the Author and Illustrator