Karen Kolbe is an energized, enthusiastic storyteller and retired school teacher of 23 years. When she reads to children, she likes to assume the role of The Mother Goose, which is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes.[1] As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme.[2] This, however, was dependent on a Christmas pantomime, a successor to which is still performed in the United Kingdom.
The term’s appearance in English dates back to the early 18th century, when Charles Perrault’s fairy tale collection, Contes de ma Mère l’Oye, was first translated into English as Tales of My Mother Goose. Later a compilation of English nursery rhymes, titled Mother Goose’s Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle, helped perpetuate the name both in Britain and the United States.
She wants to share reading with children of all ages because reading:
- can be a lifelong friend
- transports one to places we can only dream of
- provides information on all subject areas
- allows us to better ourselves
- reports past events and establishes ideas/predictions about the future
- entertains us
- allows us to dream
- expands our world