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:

Meet the illustrator Jackie Morris

Jackie Morris is a picture book author and illustrator you are sure to fall in love with. Her art is sophisticated and rich. I was not surprised to read her list of favourite things:

Blue, cats, the smell of honeysuckle, rose petals, birds, words, fires, good books, crayons and paint, the smell of a new book, polar bears, moonlight and moonshadows, stars, sunrise, sunset, dew on the grass, poetry, red, random acts of kindness, long gold grass of late summer, the sound of the wind in the trees, the brush of a butterfly’s wings, the fragility of bone, wasp’s nests, washing on a line blowing in the wind on a sunny winter’s day, the patterns the sea draws on a beach each day and night. Jackie Morris

The two books at the top of this post are Lord of the Forest and The Snow Leopard. You can see more of her art in this gallery. 

Back in the not so distant past when we could still visit bookshops (yes there is a covid lock down in my city) I spied this beautiful Nursery Rhyme book with illustrations by UK author and illustrator Jackie Morris. This book is a reprint of a book originally published in 2011 with the title The Cat and the Fiddle: A treasury of nursery rhymes. I added new edition to my shopping list and some weeks later I placed an order with a discount book seller. Now, after nearly four months, the book has finally arrived. 

Inside this book you will find some familiar rhymes along side many which you may not know. This book would make a lovely gift for a new baby or perhaps for a new grandparent. Jackie reads her book in this video. 

The entire book has a dream-like, timeless quality to it thanks to the exquisite watercolour paintings that grace every spread. Red Reading Hub

Jackie has a beautiful website which is to be expected given her artistic style. I have mentioned Jackie Morris in a previous posts

The White Fox

I also mentioned her famous book, winner of the 2019 Greenaway medal, The Lost words in this post.

Here are some more books by Jackie:

Here is a list of some other books to explore. I am very keen to source a copy of The Wild Swans which is one of my favourite fairy tales. I have put the original cover here. A new edition, with a different cover, will be available later this year.

The Seal Children (2004)

Can You See a Little Bear (2005) with James Mayhew

Illustrations in Little One, We Knew You'd Come (2006) by Sally Lloyd-Jones

The Snow Leopard (2007)

Illustrations in Singing to the Sun (2008) by Vivian French

Tell Me a Dragon (2009)

The Ice Bear (2010)

The Cat and the Fiddle: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes (2011)

Queen of the Sky (2011)

I am Cat (2012)

Song of the Golden Hare (2013)

East of the Sun, West of the Moon (2013)

Illustrations in Starlight Sailor (2013) by James Mayhew

Little Evie in the Wild Wood (2013) illustrated by Catherine Hyde

Something About a Bear (2014)

The Wild Swans (2015)

Cat Walk (2015)

The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow (2016)

The White Fox (2016)

The Lost Words (2017) with Robert Macfarlane

Illustrations in Walking on Water: Miracles Jesus Worked (2017) by Mary Hoffman

Illustrations in Lost and Found: Parables Jesus Told (2017) by Mary Hoffman

Mrs Noah's Pockets (2018) illustrated by James Mayhew

The Secret of the Tattered Shoes (2019) with Ehsan Abdollahi

The Lost Spells (2020) with Robert Macfarlane

I am also keen to read the books about Mrs Noah written by Jackie Morris and illustrated by James Mayhew.