This book celebrates Appalachian words – through nursery rhymes told in the mountain idiom – art – through the wood carvings of Minnie Adkins – and music – ending with the words and musical notations for an original song by Mike Norris. "What a wonderful celebration of language! Wit and wordplay abound, and the distinctive mountain phrasing makes these poems sing even beyond the sharp rhyme. But the language is always wrapped around the tale ― tall, humorous, and full of critters who explain the wonders of the world. And the illustrations bring such a world to full life. Here is a book of outlandish affection, for young and longer-in-the-tooth readers alike. One suspects it was made in a fit of delight, or a lifetime of it."―Maurice Manning. "Mommy Goose is back, as sprightly and spry as ever, with a whole new batch of winsome country-flavored rhymes, jingles, tall tales, and tuneful ditties in her poke. Accompanied by her official interpreter (and alter ego) Mike Norris and brought to three-dimensional reality in the antic wood carvings of Minnie Atkins, Mommy once again graces the barnyard with her gentle, timeless wit and wisdom. Welcome home, Mommy!"―Ed McClanahan. Minnie Adkins lives in Elliott County, Kentucky, and is one of America’s most eminent female wood carvers. Mike Norris also is a native of Eastern Kentucky, now living in Lexington. This is his fourth children’s book.
Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2019. 50 pages with pictures of 170 carvings by Minnie Adkins created to illustrate this book. 8” X 10.25” hardback with pictorial cover.