This book of verses is a spoof of ghoulish proportions on traditional Mother Goose.  The title and picture of the old goose herself tells you something is going on in fairytale land.  Could this be a parallel universe representing the bad side of kids while traditional Mother Goose is for the good kids?  There are twenty-five disgusting new poems, filled with rodents and maggots, zombies and ghouls, spiders and, of course, monsters.  They successfully follow the beat of the originals and are recognizable if you know your Mother Goose rhymes.  Of course, if students don’t know the originals, this is the opportunity to pull out the old rhymes and compare.  Amazon.com says, “Readers will delight in identifying the original classic nursery rhymes behind such titles as "Mary Had a Vampire Bat," "Weird Mother Hubbard," "Hush, Little Monster," and "Werewolf Bo-Creep."  This is definitely a book for Halloween tradition.

Judy Sierra is a mastermind.   Children and adults alike will instantly recognize the beauty of this writing.  Every word was carefully chosen to match the rhythm and meaning needed to convey each rhyme’s story.  They are not only scary and ghoulish but also hilarious.  School Library Journal says, “Dark humor buffs or those who giggle at the gross will be roaring over Sierra's wonderfully crude and macabre take on 25 familiar nursery rhymes.”  Publisher’s Weekly says, “The Goose has been spoofed before, but this volume strikes a nice balance between goofy and ghastly.”

As if the rhymes were not enough the accompanying illustrations made with acrylics and colored pencil amuse and scare the reader.  They capture each character’s personality and appearance exactly right.  Publisher’s Weekly says, “He indicates the verses' humor by giving the characters diabolical ear-to-ear grins, shifty eyes and skulky postures.” Children will definitely get delight just looking at the illustrations. Booklist says that "icky, well-defined details (snot dripping from noses and body parts floating in pie) will pull children in for a closer look."

I agree with School Library Journal when they say,  “ Each rhyme is a winner ("Jack Sprat/Ate some fat/And drank some gasoline./He lit his pipe/And in one swipe/Invented Lean Cuisine"), made even more hilarious through illustration.”

Coulter, Emilie. Review of Monster Goose from Amazon.com.   Available from:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152020349//qid=1095820682/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-3926711-3700639?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews. Accessed 23 September 2004

Engberg, Gillian. Review of Monster Goose in Booklist. Available from:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152020349//qid=1095820682/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-3926711-3700639?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews. Accessed 23 September 2004

Review of Monster Goose in Publisher’s Weekly. Available from:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152020349//qid=1095820682/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-3926711-3700639?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews. Accessed 23 September 2004

Van Vleck, Gay Lynn. Review of Monster Goose in School Library Journal.  Available from:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152020349//qid=1095820682/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-3926711-3700639?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews. Accessed 23 September 2004