Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme by Betsy Bird illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi

I often quote Betsy Bird here on this blog and I have previously read, and loved, her books such as Long Road to the Circus and Wild Things. Reading that Betsy Bird loved mixing up or adding crazy lines to familiar nursery rhymes when she read them with her own children, for the hundredth time, absolutely resonated with me. I used to love doing this with fairy tales with my youngest library visitors changing and having fun with familiar stories like Goldilocks and the Three Bears or Little Red Riding Hood. 

Betsy says: As a new mother, I decided I was going to be a good mom and do right by my children. That meant reading them all kinds of literature, including nursery rhymes. So I went out and got all the big compendiums. The large collections by Arnold Lobel and Tomie dePaola, sure, but also smaller ones as well. As I read through the rhymes, I realized the sheer variety of them out there. I also realized that they get a bit… samey after a while. I mean, you might get a little variation between one rhyme or another, but generally speaking you’re saying the same words over and over again. Repetition is great for growing brains but it also is a great way to drive a parent a little wonky. As such, I started to get a bit punch drunk. I’d be reading a rhyme normally… and then I’d suddenly end it with, “Pop, goes the weasel!” It never failed to get a laugh. Toddler comedy gold! And so it occurred to me… maybe there was a book in this.

Here is an interview Besty gave to the School Library Journal talking to the illustrator and editor of her book.

Today is the final day of 9th - 13th November World Nursery Rhyme Week. Check out the video I made with a colleague for IBBY Australia where we talk about the importance of sharing nursery rhymes with young children.

I've been trying to find this book Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme here in Australia since it was first published over a year ago in 2025. I actually cheered (quietly because I was in a library) when I saw this book on the shelves of a public library a couple of weeks ago. In Australia this book does cost over AUS$32 but if you have the budget for your school or preschool, I do highly recommend Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme (writing this post I did find a cheaper copy) BUT only read this book once your group are fully familiar with the actual rhymes shared from various sources - fabulous anthologies or single versions. 

Kirkus says: While the physical comedy will make for an intensely funny read-aloud, the book will be best appreciated by children who have absorbed the original rhymes and are in on the changes.

Publisher blurb: In this laugh-out-loud spin on a classic nursery rhyme collection, a feisty weasel continuously interrupts the narrator s carefully prepared recitation adding exuberant mischief to the timeless rhymes we all know and love. The sensible Secretary Bird wants nothing more than to get on with their job of properly narrating a classic nursery rhyme book. But something is afoot in the orderly land of nursery rhymes . . . a zippy little Weasel has entered the scene! As the Secretary Bird tries to get through the rhymes from Little Miss Muffet to Jack and Jill the Weasel bursts in, throwing everything into a comical tailspin. Can the Secretary Bird put an end to the chaos? In POP! Goes the Nursery Rhyme, influential children s librarian Betsy Bird and acclaimed illustrator Andrea Tsurumi remix beloved nursery rhymes, serving up a classic-in-the-making packed with hilarious surprises that will have little listeners riveted.

Check out this review too.

“My new favorite nursery rhyme book. Find a kid. Read this out loud to them. And it will be your favorite too. Kid comedy gold!” —Jon Scieszka, Best-selling author of The True Story of The Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

You might like to take a look at the imprint page for Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme. I was surprised to read this book uses seven different fonts and keep your eye out for the twin 'icy poles'. Just in case you need to know the rhymes are: Mulberry Bush, Mary had a little lamb, Jack and Jill, Roses are red, Little Miss Muffet, Patty cake Patty cake, Twinkle Twinkle, and One two buckle my shoe. 

This is a book that is sure to be one you read 'on repeat'. 

Here are a few other books illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi: