The Alaska Mother Goose: And Other North Country Nursery Rhymes
By Shelley Gill
The Story
Familiar nursery rhymes get an Alaskan makeover, swapping in snow geese, musk oxen, sea otters, and Arctic foxes as the North Country's wild critters take center stage.
Why It's Special
For the kid who loves nursery rhymes but has started asking what a musk ox actually is, this book hands over a whole northern menagerie alongside the rhymes they already know.
- Big idea: Old rhymes can be reshaped to reflect the place a child actually lives, and the natural world right outside the door deserves its own verses.
- Vibes: Playful, homespun, and full of northern wildlife charm.
Perfect For Kids Who
- love rhyming and finishing the last word
- enjoy learning about real animals
- like to ask questions about pictures on the page
- respond well to familiar rhyme patterns with a new twist
Ask Your Little Reader
- Imagination: Which Alaskan animal from the book would you most like to meet — a sea otter, a musk ox, or an Arctic fox?
- Real-life connection: Have you ever seen snow geese or salmon in real life, or only in pictures?
- Story & problem-solving: Can you guess which classic nursery rhyme one of these poems is based on?
- Imagination: If you wrote a nursery rhyme about an animal near your home, which animal would you choose?
