It is hard to imagine a more perfect child's book than nursery rhyme stories written in prose by the creator of Oz, L. Frank Baum, and illustrated by beloved illustrator, Maxfield Parrish. Such was the original version of Mother Goose in Prose, first published in 1897. The volume begins with an historical overview written by Baum himself, in which he notes that the first use of the name "Mother Goose" was by the great French author of fantasies, Charles Perrault -- the inventor of Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Puss in Boots. Each tale begins with the nursery rhyme, and then a tale that illustrates the rhyme follows -- told in Baum's charming, natural fashion. Mother Goose in Prose is a delight for children of all ages. The book's last selection features a girl named Dorothy who can talk to animals an anticipation of the Oz books. When Baum later included this story in his Juvenile Speaker (1910) and The Snuggle Tales (1916 17), he changed the girl's name to Doris, to avoid confusing her with Dorothy Gale."