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This family science program offers adults an exciting and practical approach to stimulating a young child's enthusiasm for science. Along the way, it sparks conversation, interaction and a love of books – as well as a desire to read and explore ideas. With the help of a wonderful selection of books, and a few everyday items, it guides adults in opening young minds to this amazing thought: "We are all scientists. We are all doing science all the time."

The program also includes a series of work sessions to guide adults in use of the books and materials.

The books in the Mother Goose Asks "Why?" program focus on four questions which are basic to all scientific inquiry. Each question is further examined by the simple, hands–on activities in the family activity guide.

What is it?

Issues of observation, scale, point of view, perspective and communication are all presented in Two Bad Ants (Van Allsburg) and in the classic Sufi tale Seven Blind Mice (Young). These books also point out how easy it is to mistake appearance for reality, and how warps in perspective are created.

How many?

The Doorbell Rang (Hutchins) and Who Sank the Boat? (Allen) address issues of scarcity and sharing, of overpopulation and crowding, and of measuring and counting. How do we divide things every day? How many is too many, and how many of what is too many? These are some of the questions generated by discussions centered on these books.

How do you do it?

The effects of trial and error, experimentation and the ways that air, weight, and shape affect falling objects are all a part of The Glorious Flight (Provensen) and Albert's Alphabet (Tryon). We also learn about the human characteristics required of good scientists and engineers – and of good human beings.

How does it grow?

Insect behavior, seed growth, transformation, the difficulty and glory of new beginnings, and changes in climate all capture our attention in The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle) and Home Lovely (Perkins). Both stories prompt discussions of the diversity of living things, change over time, how seeds travel, and the wonders of magnification.

In Ohio, the Mother Goose Asks "Why?" program began in 1997 under a grant from the Vermont Center for the Book. Pilot sites were established under this grant and train–the–trainer workshops were done to promote the program to public libraries as well as early childhood educators who were partnering with local libraries.

Grant funds may be available to libraries for family literacy projects, including Library Services and Technology Act Funds. For further information on LSTA and a family literacy grant tip sheet see LSTA Grant Program.

You Can Count on Mother Goose was developed by the Vermont Center for the Book with the help of the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont. This project is supported in part by the National Science Foundation.