Mother Goose is often cited as the author of hundreds of children’s stories that have been passed down through oral tradition and published over centuries. Various chants, songs, and even games have been attributed to her, but she is most recognized for her nursery rhymes, which have been familiar with readers of all generations. Her work is often published as Mother Goose Rhymes.

Despite her celebrated place in children’s literature, the exact identity and origin of Mother Goose herself is still unknown. Some believe that the original Mother Goose was a real woman who lived in Boston during the later half of the 17th century. After being widowed by Isaac Goose, a woman named either Elizabeth Foster Goose or Mary Goose (depending on sources) moved in with her eldest daughter, entertaining her grandchildren with amusing jingles which quickly gained popularity with the neighborhood children. According to the legend, her son-in-law, a publisher, printed her rhymes, and thus the reputation of Mother Goose was born.

However, literary historians often dismiss the possibility of a Bostonian Mother Goose, as the existence of various French texts that refer to Mother Goose at a much earlier date make the American legend improbable. These texts, dating as early as 1626, even show that the French terms “mere l’oye” or “mere oye” (Mother Goose) were already familiar to readers and could be referenced. The figure of Mother Goose may even date back as the 10th century, according to other sources. In an ancient French legend, King Robert II had a wife who often told incredible tales that fascinated children.

Regardless of Mother Goose’s origins, Charles Perrault was the first to actually publish a Mother Goose collection of rhymes and other folk tales in 1697, essentially initiating the fairy tale genre. With the subtitle Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oie (Tales of my Mother Goose), the collection quickly gained popularity all over France. By 1729, Perrault’s collection had been translated into English, in the form of Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past Times, Told by Mother Goose. Samber’s volume was eventually republished in 1786 and brought to the U.S.

English publisher of children’s literature, John Newbery, later focused on the nursery rhymes, publishing Mother Goose's Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle, which helped Mother Goose become further associated with children’s poetry.

All published appearances of Mother Goose from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

* Satyre XV a.k.a. “Le Poète malgré soy,” by Mathurin Régnier (1613) – called “ma mere l’Oye”
* De la nature, vertu, et utilité des plantes, by Guy de la Brosse (1628)
* “Satyre d’estat, ou Harangue faicte par le Maistre de Bureau d’Adresse, à Son Éminence le Cardinal de Richelieu,” by Mathieu de Morgues (1636)
* Fifth letter (poem), by Jean Loret (1650)
* Old Mother Goose and the Golden Egg (chapbook) (ca. 1815)
* Melincourt, by Thomas Love Peacock (1817)
* “Cotton Mather and Mother Goose,” by Requiescat (pseud. of John Fleet Eliot) (14 Jan. 1860) – influential letter in Boston Evening Transcript, reprinted in The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (1870s)
* An Explanatory and Pronouncing Dictionary of the Noted Names of Fiction, by William A. Wheeler (1865)
* Old Mother Goose a.k.a. The History of Old Mother Goose and Her Son Jack (1872)
* “The Genesis of a Boston Myth,” by W. H. Whitmore (27 Dec. 1890) – letter in The Boston Commonwealth, reprinted in The Original Mother Goose’s Melody (1892)
* ”Father Goose: His Book” by L. Frank Baum (1899)
* “Queen o’ the May,” by Myrtle Fillmore (May 1903) – poem in Wee Wisdom, reprinted Apr. 1918
* “Bedtime Story, 1939 Style,” by Doug Welch (Mar. 1939) – satire in Esquire

* Harlequin and Mother Goose; or, The Golden Egg! (pantomime), by Thomas Dibdin (1806)
* Directions for a Mother Goose Party, by George B. Bartlett (1876)
* How Christmas Was Saved, or The Sorrows of Santa Claus (play), by Catharine Markham (Dec. 1908)

*The Little Journeys of Nip and Tuck (newspaper strip) (6 June 1909 and 26 Sept. 1909)
*Coo Coo Comics #11: A one page filler about a patriotic Mother Goose.
*Four Color #59,68,90,126,140,172,185,201,253
*Zoo Funnies (1945 series) #1-2

*Pep Comics #30: Hangman battled John Dickerson, a villain who took the moniker of Mother Goose, who sent rhyming invitations of death to his relatives.
*Doll Man #7: Doll Man battled the Mother Goose Gang whose members consisted of Humpty Dumpty, Simple Simon, and Jack and Jill.
*Plastic Man #6: Criminal "First Reader" McGool took on the identities of nursery rhyme characters such as Mother Goose, Little Jack Horner, and Little Miss Muffet. He was captured by Plastic Man and Woozy Winks.

*A Modern Mother Goose (1917)

*The 2nd Annual Macy's Christmas Parade (1925)

*Simple Simon (1935)
*Goofy Goofy Gander (1950)

*In ''The Marriage of Santa Claus,'' Santa is portrayed as a lonely bachelor trying to determine the best candidate to be his wife. Concluding it should be someone who loves children as much as him, he rushes off to propose to Mother Goose (rather than Mother Christmas or Spring the Beauty as in other stories). After she accepts, the reindeer immediately carry her and her “children” (numerous nursery‐rhyme and fairy‐tale characters) to live in Santa Claus’ “great palace,” apparently before even any wedding ceremony.

*[http://www.comicvine.com/mother-goose/4005-18216/ ComicVine]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Goose Wikipedia]
*[http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0035483/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1 IMDB]
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