Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists

It's easy enough to find a book of nursery rhymes. They're common in bookstores, libraries, and on the personal bookshelves of babies everywhere. But this is a different kind of nursery rhyme book. Fifty of today's most talented and celebrated cartoonists have joined together to present Nursery Rhyme Comics. With comics from Nick Abadzis, Andrew Arnold, Kate Beaton, Vera Brosgol, Nick Bruel, Scott Campbell, Lilli Carre, Roz Chast, JP Coovert, Jordan Crane, Rebecca Dart, Eleanor Davis, Vanessa Davis, Theo Ellsworth, Matt Forsythe, Jules Feiffer, Bob Flynn, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Ben Hatke, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Lucy Knisley, David Macaulay, Mark Martin, Patrick McDonnell, Mike Mignola, Tony Millionaire, Tao Nyeu, George O’Connor, Mo Oh, Eric Orchard, Laura Park, Cyril Pedrosa, Lark Pien, Aaron Renier, Dave Roman, Marc Rosenthal, Stan Sakai, Richard Sala, Mark Siegel, James Sturm, Raina Telgemeier, Craig Thompson, Richard Thompson, Sara Varon, Jen Wang, Drew Weing, Gahan Wilson, Gene Luen Yang, and Stephanie Yue, this is definitely not your grandparents' books of nursery rhymes.

There's so much wonderfulness to discover and uncover in this volume. Some of the cartoonists have taken a traditional approach to illustrating the rhymes, while others have reinterpreted them in new ways. Some of the standouts for me were "The Donkey" by Patrick McDonnell, "Hickory Dickory Dock" by Stephanie Yue, "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Craig Thompson, "Georgie Porgie" by Raina Telgemeier, "Pop Goes the Weasel" by Scott Campbell, "Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?" by Ben Hatke, "The Grand Old Duke of York" by Kate Beaton, "London Bridge is Falling Down" by David MacCaulay, and "There Was a Little Girl" by Vera Brosgol. I was excited to see pages by artists whose work I already know and love; I've also discovered some new artists to look for in the future. Wondering what to get new parents as a baby gift? This is a book that comic fans (or future comic fans) should have on their shelves.

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of First Second and Macmillan.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Jelly Belly by Dennis Lee
Hark! A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton
Bake Sale by Sara Varon
My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie