Twenty years after Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells released their first collection of Mother Goose rhymes, the celebrated original is back in a gorgeous anniversary edition.

To a small child, words are magical. And the most magical of all are the beloved words of Mother Goose. Here, folklorist Iona Opie has gathered more than sixty treasured rhymes in their most perfect, honest forms, from “Hey Diddle, Diddle” and “Pat-a-Cake” to “Little Jack Horner” and “Pussycat, Pussycat” — familiar verses that have been passed from parent to child for generations and are every child’s birthright.