Take a Gander at the Revised Mother Goose

The Girls Clubs of America brought out on Friday a new version of Mother Goose rhymes eliminating violence and sexist stereotypes.

In the old version, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater couldn’t keep his wife, so he put her in a pumpkin shell.

In the new version, Peter has a wife he treats with respect, so she stays with him and hugs his neck.

Jack and Jill, after tumbling down the hill, get to take their pail back up again and finish the job--in the new version.

A book titled, “Father Gander Nursery Rhymes,” was presented at the 41st national conference of Girls Clubs of America here. The book, published by Advocacy Press, an arm of the Girls Club of Santa Barbara, was written by Douglas Larche, a speech teacher at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mother Goose rhymes were popular sayings that arose in the 14th Century, often as satire and social comment for adults, not children.

Larche said nursery rhymes are among the first verbal stimuli children have and affect their perceptions of self and of relationships.

“In Mother Goose, girls may be flower tenders, frightened curd eaters or imprisoned pumpkin shell residents--never winners, rulers or even successful candlestick jumpers,” he said.

“Male or female, the expectations for children are generally low. Jack and Jill cannot successfully fetch a pail of water and lazy Simple Simon prefers to mooch his pie.”

Mindy Bingham, executive director of the Santa Barbara club, said, “All of us have a responsibility to see that our children are reared unbiased against another’s age, color, sex and religious preference.

“In the innocence of early childhood, it is critical that the nursery rhymes we recite for our children present the ideals and values we espouse,” she said.

In Father Gander, the artwork portrays people of all races, some wearing glasses.

Some of the revisions involve a change in a single word, such as “he” to “they.” In other cases, such as Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, Larch rewrote the whole verse. Other revisions were achieved by adding a happier ending.

Here is the revised version of “Jack and Jill:”

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after.

Jill and Jack went up the track

To fetch the pail again.

They climbed with care, got safely there,

And finished the job they began.