Now, we open the search to find ‘Father Goose’

Naturally, as a follow-up to the recent column about Mother Goose, inquiring minds want to know: “Was there a Father Goose?”

A Google search on the internet revealed three “Father Goose” matches. 

One is L. Frank Baum of Chittenango, N.Y. (near Syracuse), who lived from 1856-1919. He is best known as the author of the children’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in 1900.

 

As a youth, Baum’s parents sent him to Peekskill (N.Y.) Military Academy, where he was “severely disciplined” as a teenager “for daydreaming.” His early interests were writing and performing in the theater.

 

In the early 1890s, he and his wife, Maud Gage Baum, were raising a family of four sons in Chicago, where Baum was toiling as a reporter at the Chicago Evening Post.

Prior to publishing his inaugural children’s book in 1897, Baum commented: “When I was young, I longed to write a great novel that should win me fame. Now…my first book is written to amuse children…I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one’s heart and brings its own reward.”

 

That first book was titled “Mother Goose in Prose,” a collection of 22 Mother Goose nursery rhymes accompanied by short stories about the characters.

 

“Many of these nursery rhymes are complete tales in themselves, telling their story tersely but completely; there are others that are but bare suggestions, leaving the imagination to weave in the details of the story.”

One online educator commented: “Through Baum’s lens we learn: What was it with that horn in Little Boy Blue? How was it that Black Sheep’s wool made three bags full? Why did Mary’s contrariness make her garden grow…or otherwise? Why was Jack Horner sitting in his corner gouging himself on that pie?”

 In 1899, Baum partnered with illustrator W.W. Denslow of Philadelphia, Pa., to publish “Father Goose: His Book,” a collection of nonsense poetry. The book was a commercial success, becoming the best-selling children’s book of the year.

 

One literary critic said: “‘Father Goose: His Book” is a collection of humorous and whimsical poems. Father Goose is a jolly old man with a white beard and a love of wordplay. The poems are written in a playful and lighthearted style, with a focus on puns, nonsense words and silly rhymes. The illustrations by Denslow add to the whimsy of the book. Overall, ‘Father Goose…’ is a charming and entertaining collection of poetry that is sure to delight readers of all ages.”

 Here’s a bit of it:

 Did you ever see a rabbit climb a tree?

Did you ever see a lobster ride a flea?

Did you ever? No, you never!

For they simply couldn’t do it, don’t you see?

 

Have you seen little Sally

Dance the Ostrich Dance?

The dainty way she does it

Will surely you entrance.

 

With the left foot here

And the right foot there

And the ostrich feathers waving

In her golden hair.

Baum used some of his royalties from his “Father Goose” book to buy a vacation retreat on eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Macatawa, Mich. (near Holland). He named the multi-story Victorian as “The Sign of the Goose" cottage and decorated it with goose motifs.

 

For 11 summers, the Baum family took the steamship about 85 nautical miles from Chicago to Macatawa and reveled in the beauty of Lake Michigan shores, woods and dunes. Baum considered this area just “an Oz-like magical fairyland.”

FYI: Other “Father Goose” citations include a legendary film actor and a wildlife conservationist in Colorado.