Can you Keep a Secret? Timeless rhymes to share and treasure

My friend and I have plans for an IBBY presentation about Nursery Rhymes so I was delighted to find this Australian anthology at a recent charity book sale. Once again I have found an expensive book originally $33 for a very low price ($3) and once again the copy is in mint condition - it may never have even been opened. My copy is also a first edition.

Can you Keep was published in 2008. If you can find a copy this would be a splendid addition to a school, preschool or public library.

In this book Mark Cathew has collected Nursery Rhymes, Playtime Rhymes, Action Rhymes, Chanting Rhymes, Finger Plays and Lullabies.

"In this collection I have sought to rekindle favourites from the past and bring to light lesser known works. ... This collection represents to me the wondrous journey of childhood and the traditions of sharing our imaginations and the joy of verse."

Random House Australia put a lot of effort into the publication of this 185 page book. It has a ribbon book mark, cloth reinforced spine, thick paper and vibrant full colour illustrations. There is also a first line index and a list of sources for the rhymes. I have discovered a cover image online which I share above which shows this book was a CBCA notable. I can only guess that this would have been in 2009 and perhaps in the Eve Pownall category. Mark Carthew produced a CD version of this book and you can hear some tracks here. The delightful thing about this is hearing Australian voices. In 2020 a different publisher reissued Can you Keep a Secret in paperback. You can see inside the ebook version here. 

Here are a couple of rhymes which appealed to me:

Forty Years on an Iceberg

Forty years on an iceberg

Over the ocean wide

Nothing to wear but pyjamas,

Nothing to do but slide

The wind was cold and icy,

Jack Frost began to bite

I had to hug my polar bear

To keep me warm at night, night, night, night...

Wash the Dishes

Wash the dishes, 

wipe the dishes,

Ring the bell for tea;

Three good wishes, 

three good kisses,

I will give to thee.

The title of this book comes from a traditional Playtime Rhyme:

Can you keep a secret? I don't suppose you can. 

You mustn't laugh, you mustn't cry.

But do the best you can!

About the author: Mark Carthew is an award winning Australian children’s author, poet, musician and educator well known for his books and series celebrating music, movement, drama, humour and wordplay.  Mark’s recent picture books include Five Little Owls, The Moose is Loose! The Great Zoo Hullabaloo! and The Gobbling Tree, winner of Speech Pathology Australia’s Book of the Year. ... His 2020 releases included a special 10th Anniversary eBook & print edition of his CBCA Notable verse and song anthology Can You Keep a Secret? Timeless rhymes to share and treasure; and an exciting picture book featuring the unique and diverse animals of the Amazon rainforest - The Dingle Dangle Jungle, illustrated by Dave Atze (SA), published by Ford Street Publishing. The Dingle Dangle Jungle was shortlisted in the prestigious 2020 Educational Publishing Awards Australia.  Mark’s latest picture book (Released Feb 1, 2021) is The Thing That Goes Ping! illustrated by Shane McGowan (Shane McG), published by Ford Street Publishing.  Mark is a May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust Fellow (Brisbane, 2013) and more recently (Adelaide, 2020 / 2021). His achievements in writing have also been acknowledged via a Distinguished PhD Award from Swinburne University of Technology. 

I do like the illustrations in this book by Jobi Murphy.