This is a fantastic and powerful book of poetry. The poems are shockingly blunt and incredibly catchy. Her rendition of Jack Be Nimble begins, "Jack be nimble/ Jack be quick/ Snap the blade/ And give it a flick." The introductions discuss the wide spread censorship of the novel, particularly in the 70's. Her inclusion of swearwords, in my opinion, only make the poems more realistic. In stead of making her collection of poetry "safe" for kids she made them good. I would recommend this to readers looking for all different kinds of poetry and readers who could relate to the struggles of living in an inner city. I am going to buy this for my library. ( )

This book rhymes like the original Mother Goose series but offers readers a twist of reality. Each poems rhyme focuses on a social injustice that holds true in today’s inner cities. Eve Merriam effectively highlights various social problems that plague the inner cities of our nation such as poor housing conditions, the availability of drugs on school playgrounds, child prostitution, street violence and a variety of other crimes, both social and legal, that make the inner city a rolling jungle of desperation. Here's a hint of what you will find..."Now I lay me down to sleep/ I pray the double lock will keep,"