The Nursery Rhyme Book Read online

  The Nursery Rhyme Book

  Illustrated by Anne Anderson

  and Lisa Jackson

  Compiled by Helen Cumberbatch

  MICHAEL O’MARA BOOKS LIMITED

  Copyright Information

  First published in Great Britain in 2008 by

  Michael O’Mara Books Limited

  9 Lion Yard

  Tremadoc Road

  London SW4 7NQ

  This electronic edition published 2010

  ISBN 978-1-84317-591-9 in ePub format

  ISBN 978-1-84317-592-6 in Mobipocket format

  ISBN 978-1-84317-307-6 in print format

  Copyright © Michael O’Mara Books 2008

  All rights reserved. You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Illustrations by Anne Anderson and Lisa Jackson

  Cover design by Zoe Quayle

  Cover image by Paul Moran

  Edited by Philippa Wingate

  www.mombooks.com

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Information

  Contents

  The Illustrators

  Introduction

  Oranges And Lemons

  Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

  Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

  Bobby Shafto

  Lucy Locket

  Rain, Rain, Go Away

  Humpty Dumpty

  Little Bo-Peep

  Pop Goes The Weasel

  The Grand Old Duke Of York

  Ladybird, Ladybird

  Rock-A-Bye, Baby

  Aiken Drum

  Hey Diddle, Diddle

  Old Mother Hubbard

  Jack Sprat

  London Bridge Is Falling Down

  For Want Of A Nail

  Cock A Doodle Doo!

  Jack And Jill

  The Big Ship Sails On The Ally-Ally-Oh

  A Wise Old Owl

  Old King Cole

  The Queen Of Hearts

  As I Was Going To St. Ives

  Pease Pudding Hot

  Sing A Song Of Sixpence

  What Are Little Boys Made Of?

  Incy Wincy Spider

  Who Killed Cock Robin?

  Little Polly Flinders

  Hickory, Dickory, Dock

  See-saw, Margery Daw

  Star Light, Star Bright

  The Owl And The Pussy-Cat

  Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

  I Had A Little Nut Tree

  Christmas Is Coming

  Sleep, Baby, Sleep

  Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

  Mary Had A Little Lamb

  Georgie Porgie

  Come, Follow

  Jack Be Nimble

  The North Wind Doth Blow

  Ride A Cock-Horse

  To Market, To Market

  There Was An Old Woman

  The Lion And The Unicorn

  Carrion Crow

  Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling

  Three Children Sliding

  Two Little Dicky Birds

  When The Snow Is On The Ground

  Ding, Dong, Bell

  Jenny Wren

  There Was An Old Lady

  Little Tommy Tucker

  My Pretty Maid?

  Goosey, Goosey Gander

  Hot Cross Buns

  If All The Seas Were One Sea

  Horsey Horsey

  Little Robin Redbreast

  Ring-A-Ring O ’ Roses

  Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat

  There Was A Little Girl

  This Is The House That Jack Built

  Old Father Long-Legs

  Once I Saw A Little Bird

  Little Boy Blue

  Curly Locks

  I Had A Little Pony

  One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

  One, Two, Three, Four, Five

  Cry Baby Bunting

  Solomon Grundy

  Whistle, Daughter, Whistle

  Dame Trot

  Boys And Girls Come Out To Play

  Three Little Kittens

  Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

  Three Blind Mice

  The Cock Crows

  Rub-A-Dub-Dub

  Hark, Hark, The Dogs Do Bark

  Little Miss Muffet

  Simple Simon

  Where Are You Going To, Sleepyhead?

  Higgledy, Piggledy, My Black Hen

  Wee Willie Winkie

  Pat-A-Cake, Pat-A-Cake

  This Little Piggy

  Polly Put The Kettle On

  There Was A Crooked Man

  Little Jack Horner

  Monday’s Child

  Doctor Foster

  The Illustrators

  Anne Anderson (1874 – 1930) spent much of her childhood in Argentina. In 1912, she married the painter Alan Wright and they worked on several children’s books together.

  Anne became a hugely popular illustrator. She was equally confident working in watercolour and black-and-white line artwork. Her pictures in this book are taken from Old English Nursery Songs.

  Lisa Jackson was born in Dublin and grew up in County Wicklow, Ireland. She studied classical animation for four years at Senior College Ballyfermot, then went on to work in graphic design and comic books.

  Lisa now concentrates on children’s book illustration, creating her work with a mix of traditional and digital media. She currently resides in Dublin.

  Introduction

  The long-established tradition of reading or singing nursery rhymes to young children is a delightful pastime. It has also been proven to help improve the development of children’s language and reading ability, their memory, vocabulary and communication skills.

  Featuring many much-loved rhymes – from Humpty Dumpty to Little Bo-Peep, Jack And Jill to Wee Willie Winkie – this book will take you on a nostalgic trip to the days of your youth. It will bring back fond recollections of the memorable and often quirky verses learned from your parents and grandparents, which you can now share with your own children.

  Oranges And Lemons

  Oranges and lemons,

  Say the bells of St. Clement’s.

  You owe me five farthings,

  Say the bells of St. Martin’s.

  When will you pay me?

  Say the bells of Old Bailey.

  When I grow rich

  Say the bells of Shoreditch.

  When will that be?

  Say the bells at Stepney.

  I do not know,

  Says the great bell at Bow.

  Here comes a candle

  To light you to bed,

  Here comes a chopper

  To chop off your head.

  Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

  Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,

  Had a wife and couldn’t keep her.

  He put her in a pumpkin shell,

  And there he kept her very well.

  Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,

  Had another, and didn’t love her;

  Peter learned to read and spell,

  And then he loved her very well.

  Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

  Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

  How does your garden grow?

  With silver bells and cockle shells,

  And pretty maids all in a row.

  Bobby Shaf
to

  Bobby Shafto’s gone to sea,

  Silver buckles on his knee;

  He’ll come back and marry me,

  Bonny Bobby Shafto!

  Bobby Shafto’s fat and fair,

  Combing down his yellow hair;

  He’s my love for evermore,

  Bonny Bobby Shafto!

  Lucy Locket

  Lucy Locket lost her pocket,

  Kitty Fisher found it;

  Not a penny was there in it,

  Only ribbon round it.

  Rain, Rain, Go Away

  Rain, rain, go away,

  Come again another day.

  Rain, rain, go to Spain,

  Never show your face again!

  Humpty Dumpty

  Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

  Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

  All the king’s horses,

  And all the king’s men,

  Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

  Little Bo-Peep

  Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep,

  And doesn’t know where to find them;

  Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,

  Bringing their tails behind them.

  Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,

  And dreamt she heard them bleating;

  But when she awoke, she found it a joke,

  For they were still all fleeting.

  Then up she took her little crook,

  Determined for to find them;

  She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,

  For they’d left their tails behind them.

  It happened one day, as Bo-peep did stray

  Into a meadow hard by,

  There she espied their tails side by side

  All hung on a tree to dry.

  She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,

  And over the hillocks went rambling,

  And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,

  To tack again each to its lambkin.

  Pop Goes The Weasel

  Half a pound of tuppenny rice,

  Half a pound of treacle.

  Mix it up and make it nice,

  Pop goes the weasel!

  Up and down the City Road,

  In and out the Eagle,

  That’s the way the money goes,

  Pop goes the weasel!

  The Grand Old Duke Of York

  Oh, the grand old Duke of York,

  He had ten thousand men;

  He marched them up to the top of the hill,

  And he marched them down again.

  And when they were up, they were up,

  And when they were down, they were down,

  And when they were only half-way up

  They were neither up nor down.

  Ladybird, Ladybird

  Ladybird, ladybird,

  Fly away home,

  Your house is on fire

  And your children all gone.

  All except one

  And that’s little Ann

  And she has crept under

  The frying pan.

  Rock-A-Bye, Baby

  Rock-a-bye, baby, on the tree top ,

  When the wind blows the cradle will rock;

  When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,

  And down will come baby, cradle, and all.

  Aiken Drum

  There was a man lived in the moon,

  lived in the moon, lived in the moon.

  There was a man lived in the moon,

  And his name was Aiken Drum.

  Chorus:

  And he played upon a ladle, a ladle, a ladle,

  And he played upon a ladle,

  And his name was Aiken Drum.

  And his hat was made of good cream cheese,

  of good cream cheese, of good cream cheese,

  And his hat was made of good cream cheese,

  And his name was Aiken Drum.

  Chorus

  And his coat was made of good roast beef,

  of good roast beef, of good roast beef,

  And his coat was made of good roast beef,

  And his name was Aiken Drum.

  Chorus

  And his buttons were made of penny loaves,

  of penny loaves, of penny loaves,

  And his buttons were made of penny loaves,

  And his name was Aiken Drum.

  Chorus

  And his breeches were made of haggis bags,

  of haggis bags, of haggis bags,

  And his breeches were made of haggis bags,

  And his name was Aiken Drum.

  Hey Diddle, Diddle

  Hey diddle, diddle,

  The cat and the fiddle,

  The cow jumped over the moon;

  The little dog laughed

  To see such fun,

  And the dish ran away with the spoon.

  Old Mother Hubbard

  Old Mother Hubbard

  Went to the cupboard,

  To get her poor doggie a bone;

  But when she got there

  The cupboard was bare

  So the poor little doggie had none.

  Jack Sprat

  Jack Sprat could eat no fat,

  His wife could eat no lean,

  And so betwixt the two of them

  They licked the platter clean.

  Jack ate all the lean,

  Joan ate all the fat.

  The bone they picked it clean,

  Then gave it to the cat.

  Jack Sprat was wheeling,

  His wife by the ditch.

  The barrow turned over,

  And in she did pitch.

  Says Jack, ‘She’ll be drowned!’

  But Joan did reply,

  ‘I don’t think I shall,

  For the ditch is quite dry.’

  London Bridge Is Falling Down

  London Bridge is falling down,

  Falling down, falling down,

  London Bridge is falling down,

  My fair lady.

  Build it up with wood and clay,

  Wood and clay, wood and clay,

  Build it up with wood and clay,

  My fair lady.

  Wood and clay will wash away,

  Wash away, wash away,

  Wood and clay will wash away,

  My fair lady.

  Build it up with bricks and mortar,

  Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,

  Build it up with bricks and mortar,

  My fair lady.

  Bricks and mortar will not stay,

  Will not stay, will not stay,

  Bricks and mortar will not stay,

  My fair lady.

  Build it up with iron and steel,

  Iron and steel, iron and steel,

  Build it up with iron and steel,

  My fair lady.

  Iron and steel will bend and bow,

  Bend and bow, bend and bow,

  Iron and steel will bend and bow,

  My fair lady.

  Build it up with silver and gold,

  Silver and gold, silver and gold,

  Build it up with silver and gold,

  My fair lady.

  Silver and gold will be stolen away,

  Stolen away, stolen away,

  Silver and gold will be stolen away,

  My fair lady.

  Set a man to watch all night,

  Watch all night, watch all night,

  Set a man to watch all night,

  My fair lady.

  Suppose the man should fall asleep,

  Fall asleep, fall asleep,

  Suppose the man should fall asleep,

  My fair lady.

  Give him a pipe to smoke all night,

  Smoke all night, smoke all night,

  Give him a pipe to smoke all night,

  My fair lady.

  For Want Of A Nail

  For want of a nail the shoe was lost,

  For want of a shoe the horse was lost,

&nb
sp; For want of a horse the rider was lost,

  For want of a rider the battle was lost,

  For want of a battle the kingdom was lost,

  And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

  Cock A Doodle Doo!

  Cock a doodle doo!

  My dame has lost her shoe,

  My master’s lost his fiddling stick,

  And knows not what to do.

  Cock a doodle doo!

  What is my dame to do?

  Till master finds his fiddling stick

  She’ll dance without her shoe.

  Cock a doodle doo!

  My dame has found her shoe,

  And master’s found his fiddling stick

  Sing doodle doodle doo.

  Cock a doodle doo!

  My dame will dance with you,

  While master fiddles his fiddling stick,

  For dame and doodle doo.

  Jack And Jill

  Jack and Jill went up the hill,

  To fetch a pail of water;

  Jack fell down and broke his crown,

  And Jill came tumbling after.

  Up Jack got, and home did trot,

  As fast as he could caper;

  He went to bed and bound his head

  With vinegar and brown paper.

  The Big Ship Sails On The Ally-Ally-Oh

  The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh.

  Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh, on the last day of September.

  The captain said it will never, never do, never, never do, never, never do.

  The captain said it will never, never do, on the last day of September.

  The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea.

  The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea, on the last day of September.

  We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea.

  We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea, on the last day of September.

  A Wise Old Owl

  A wise old owl lived in an oak;

  The more he saw the less he spoke;