The Jackie Morris Book of Classic Nursery Rhymes

"Here in this book are rhymes that are playful, nonsense verses, small tales told, and lullabies for quiet times. Each should be spoken or sung, for this is a book for sharing, for young and for old, drawing people together in a celebration of language."

I mentioned this book yesterday when I shared the work of Jackie Morris with you. This book was first published in 2011 with the title The Cat and the Fiddle. The new edition was released in 2020.  In this post I just wanted to dig a little deeper into this book which contains 40 nursery rhymes.

In her introduction Jackie says:

"Reading with children is one of the best ways to spend time together, close and intimate in the sharing of a book. It is my hope that this book will become a treasured part of childhood, keeping the memory of these rhymes alive for future generations."

Now onto the rhymes. Some you will know such as Jack be Nimble; Hickory, Dickory, Dock; Pop! Goes the weasel; Twinkle twinkle little star; Sing a song of sixpence and Baa, baa black sheep.

Others may be unfamiliar. Here is the full text of some I didn't know but enjoyed:

Baby's Bed's a Silver Moon (Alice Riley)

Baby's bed's a silver moon,

Sailing o'er the sky,

Sailing o'er the sea of sleep,

While the stars float by.

Sail baby sail

Far across the sea

Only don't forget to come

Back again to me.

Baby's fishing for a dream

Fishing near and far

Her line a silver moonbeam is

Her bait a silver star

Sail baby sail

Far across the sea

Only don't forget to come

The First of May

The fair maid who, the first of May, 

Goes to the fields at break of day, 

And washes in dew from the hawthorn-tree, 

Will ever after handsome be.

There was an Old Woman

There was an old woman tossed up in a basket,

Seventeen times as high as the moon,

Where she was going, I could not but ask it,

For in her hands she carried a broom.

'Old woman, old woman, old woman' said I,

O wither, O wither, O wither so high?

To sweep the cobwebs from the sky,

But I’ll be with thee by-and-by.

Image Source: Booktopia

You can see more of the illustrations on the publisher web site. I also need to mention the beautiful end papers found in this book: