Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times


Children - Picture Book
44 Pages
Reviewed on 05/10/2019
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Cassandra Lennox is a Mama of 4 from Pennsylvania. She was inspired to re-write nursery rhymes when rocking her infant son, Joey and singing Rock-a-Bye Baby. She decided to use her love of rhyming and desire to instill a love of reading in her children and create a series that will be enjoyed by children and parents alike. She also writes for teens and adults, with her primary focus on inspiring and provoking thought through rhyme, humor, and journaling.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Bruce Arrington for Readers' Favorite

Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times, by Cassandra Lennox, is a 44-page-long children’s picture book that mimics the nursery rhymes I grew up with but are set more for today's youngsters. The rhymes are positive, bright, and often funny. The pictures are colorful with nice detail. Most of the poems I could understand and the rhymes scanned well overall. The positive messages portrayed by these poems offset some of the negative ones they replace in the older well-known rhymes. It’s a book children will enjoy having adults read to them over and over, especially near bedtime. In today’s world where parents often carefully screen what their little ones watch and listen to, this is one of those safe books wherein readers receive a positive message and enjoy the humor that goes along with it.

One of my favorites is the one about the dad who does everything he can to keep the baby from crying (Hush Little Baby). He promises to respond more directly to the needs of the child rather than promise fancy things that would never be fully appreciated. And of course, if everything he does fails to work, back to Mom the baby goes! A good dose of reality right there. Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times, by Cassandra Lennox, captures the true spirit of nursery rhymes and their purpose of helping to calm, entertain, or enhance the ability of the little one to sleep. This book is well thought out and comes highly recommended.

Jack Magnus

Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times is a children’s picture book written by Cassandra Lennox and illustrated by Jasmine Mills. While still acknowledging the timelessness of the classic Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, Lennox puts a whimsical and modern spin on some of the most popular and endearing favorites. Each rhyme neatly fits the rhythm and pace of the original. In Rub a Dub Dub, the reader finds three ducks floating happily in a bathtub. Instead of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, the ducks are differentiated by their colors. Ring Around the Rosy, which has a dark origin indeed, now celebrates the fun three playmates have as they dance in a circle until they get dizzy and fall. Little Miss Muffet and her tuffet are replaced by the vision of a portly young elephant eating a peanut butter sandwich on her couch until frightened by a visiting mouse. And the Itsy Bitsy Spider yields its place to hatchling turtles seen on the beach as they arduously work their way to the ocean.

Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times presents fun and original rewrites of traditional nursery rhymes. As I read each of them, I couldn’t help but compare them to the original and was impressed by how well her work scanned. Lennox’s verses are designed to appeal to younger readers, and that’s a good thing, but, in some ways, I still enjoy the silliness of those three men adrift in the ocean in a bathtub, an image I have retained since childhood. Mother Goose still inspires flights of imagination and fantasy, and I’m hoping parents and caregivers expose their charges to both the new and the old. Jasmine Mills’ illustrations are marvelous and fit each nursery rhyme to a T. I loved her hatchling turtles hurrying to the safety of the sea. Each illustration is brightly colored and cheerful, and grand fun to look at. Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times is recommended.

Barbara Fanson

“The girls and boys have lost their toys, and don’t know where to find them” is my favorite nursery rhyme in this new collection. Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times is a book of revised rhymes with similar tunes, but different words. Author Cassandra Lennox has written new classical rhymes that children will love hearing over and over. Children love rhyming stories, especially if they can relate to the message. These new, updated nursery rhymes are bound to be classics to be read and re-read for years to come. I like how Mama Kangaroo gathers her children around at the beginning of the book and then they’re all in bed at the end of the book.

Mama Kangaroo Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times is an appealing book of short rhyming stories that parents will enjoy reading to their children. Even teachers will want to tell or sing these new nursery rhymes to students. This collection of poems adds modern terms, words, concepts, and expressions that children will understand. Author Cassandra Lennox has written brand-new nursery rhymes destined to become family favorites. Some of the original nursery rhymes were based on darkness, plagues, or silliness. These poems are easier to understand and relate to and less traumatizing for young children. Illustrator Jasmine Mills has created soft, colorful artwork that will attract the attention of children and keep them interested. This book should be on every shelf in homes, schools, and public libraries. Parents and teachers will enjoy reading them with children.