Hickory Dickory Dock: A Classic Rhyming Book About a Mouse and Bedtime for Kids

by Keith Baker

Keith Baker displays his trademark flair for color, movement, and rhythm in this vibrant adaptation of the familiar nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock." A companion to his acclaimed Big Fat Hen , this twist on an old favorite features some serious antics on the part of a busy little mouse. As a huge grandfather clock strikes each hour from one o' clock in the afternoon to midnight, a different animal passes by, and the mouse has a funny interaction with each of them.
    
With counting, telling time, and a cozy bedtime ending to engage them, children will be chiming in for repeated readings.

Genres: Picture Books, Nursery Rhymes, Storytime, Childrens, Counting, Animals, Number

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Keith Baker


Keith Baker lives in Seattle. He has written and illustrated many acclaimed picture books for young children, including the New York Times bestselling LMNO Peas; 1-2-3 Peas; Little Green Peas; Hap-pea All Year; LMNO Pea-quel; My Octopus Arms; and No Two Alike.

Reviews

[mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is funny because the only one is going to the game store.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* art
3* rhyme

Like the bold colours and the added action in the nursery rhyme - fun way to count!

[GwendeLynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because I remember reading it when I was younger and enjoyed it then. I found that I still enjoy this book, for similar reasons. This story is about a grandfather clock sitting in a field (not specified) and each time the clock strikes a new time an animal interacts with it. This starts with a mouse running up it and ends with the clock striking midnight after the moon shines upon it and the mouse parachutes from the clock and goes home to sleep in its bed.
I liked this book, it was fun. I liked how the rhyme scheme was consistent throughout the entire story. I also liked how the book flowed from the first page to the very end with the exaggerated Hickory, (next page) Dickory, (final page) Dock. The illustrations were bright, and matched the text. Though I did not like how the illustration and text overlapped on a page, even though it made the story continuous and helped the flow. I just felt that it rushed the story a bit. I would reccomend this book for younger students when introducing them to the concept of time and reading a clock. An activity that could be used as an extention would be giving each student a different time and character (4:00 with the hare, for example) and then having the student to describe what that character did with the clock and the mouse for the hour until the next character came.

[Caitlin McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Hickory Dickory Dock," by Keith Baker is about a clock and all of the things that interact with it each hour. A mouse runs up the clock at the beginning of the story, and as time passes, more creatures pass the clock and do things such as jump over it, wrap around it, or buzz around it. The illustrations go along with the story well. They are not overwhelming, but they are detailed enough to clearly illustrate what is going on. One page shows a bird flying away from the clock along with musical notes because the bird was singing on the previous page. The page next to it shows the large clock with a snake wrapped around the bottom of it. Sitting near the top of the clock is the mouse that ran up it at the beginning of the story. This book would be good for children from ages 3-7. This could be used to teach children how to count and tell time since each page mentions a different time and shows that time on the clock. It could also be used to teach students about different animals/insects since they are shown on each page doing different things.

[Grace Vezina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickory Dickory Dock is a picture book that follows the original children’s nursery rhyme. The book does a good job of helping children learn to tell time with the use of a grandfather clock and animals to help with the concept. Each time the clock changes time, a new animal appears and completes an action, and then disappears when the time changes again. The illustrations go perfectly with the text. On each page you have a huge clock in the center of a field, and the pages are filled with bright and fun colors that help keep the children engaged. The colors begin to darken as the day goes on giving the visual appearance of time passing. This book is a perfect read aloud for younger children who are learning the concept of telling time. It would be very effective in a kindergarten or 1st grade classroom.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hickory Dickory dock is all about the clock strikes a new time and a different animal passes the clock every time it strikes, all the animals have some type of interaction with the grandfather clock. Every page has a big clock on the page, showing something that is climbing or on the clock. The illustrations give you a great visual to see what is going on throughout the book. There isn’t too much on the page so it isn’t too busy to focus on the pictures. Also, the clock is always showing a different time on the clock. This could help kids learn time, it could be a good book to read to your class during a lesson about time. Another thing this could teach is counting you could count how many strikes on each page of the clock. I would recommend this book to 2nd or 3rd grade when they are a bit older and know the time. Also, it is fun to see what happened each time the clock strikes.

[Cayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

K-2

Different animals climb, jump, buzz and more actions around the clock as time ticks.

This story is a great way to teach rhyming and counting at the same time. I like this version because it has to do with different animals and the specific actions that they do in the everyday world.

I would focus on rhyming and counting. Possibly can go into a time telling lesson. I could have my students make up their own animal and action word to go with it and make a rhyme in the tune of hickory dickory dock. For every action the animal does, we can act that out during read aloud for my younger students. For my older students they could read this book independently because it is repetitive and predictable.

[Taylor Rench · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickory Dickory Dock, by Keith Baker, opens up with a grandfather clock sitting in a field. As the day goes on, different animals come to see the clock, but then run off when it hits a certain time, "Hickory dickory dock, some hens pecked at the cock. The Clock struck six...they chased their chicks! Hickory dickory dock. This book helps students learn to tell time on an analog clock by looking at the pictures on each page, and seeing when the hour hand and minute hand are located on the clock face. The pages are full of color and illustrated animals kicking the clock, nibbling on it, or even just sitting on it. This book is best suited for children in kindergarden or first grade.

[Reade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hickory Dickory Dock is a mother goose book that has a lot of fun rhymes in it. Each page has a clock that changes time and has a new rhyme with the time that it is. The book describes the exciting day of two mice and how much fun they have.
3 book topic ideas
1.) This is a good book to work on children's rhymes. It is a good book to read and have students identify the amount of rhymes throughout the book.
2.) This is also a good book to have students work on vocabulary words that they need to work on or don't understand.
3.) Students can create their own book of rhymes that is fun to read.

[Liz Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hickory Dickory Dock written by Keith Baker, is a silly story about the clock striking each hour. An animal of some sort would have an interaction with the clock. I thought the story rhymed very well but other than that, there was not anything super special about it. However, the illustrator did a fantastic job of making the animals from the prior page leave on the left side while the new animal came in on the right side of the page. It was very simple and they all had the same background but the colors of the sky changed with the time of the day, which was eye-catching. This would be a good read for kids ages 2-4, very simple but did not serve to me as educational/ classroom worthy.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The English-language children's nursery rhyme is give nine original verses, teaching counting up 1-to-10.

In the original rhyme, only the number struck by the clock changes in each verse, but in this new adaptation, other animals and actions are introduced. As a reader, I worried that the key to the grandfather clock's case door was never recovered; I hope it wasn't locked.

The written numbers are given in the text, and the numerals are shown on the face of the clock.

The illustrations for this book were done in Adobe Photoshop.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy this book. Keith Baker's, "Hickory Dickory Dock"is a book to make telling time more fun, yet I feel as if the illustrations and the little mouse is more fun than the concept of telling the time. If one were to teach the concept of telling time on a clock face with this book I feel as if you'll really have to point out in the picture what the clock looks like to get your students to see that part of the illustration.

[Hannah Goble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brightly illustrated picture book is a great tool for teaching children how to tell him in early grade school. Baker does a great job on putting a useful spin on a timeless nursery rime with his use of different animals and riming words, teaching a children a variety of different concepts in an effective way. This book would be one I recommend for children 1st through 3rd grade to learn about time and rhyming. It would be best used in a classroom setting or even at home.

[Gwen Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has fun colorful illustrations to go along with the old nursery rhyme. Can be used for counting; something different from other counting books since it goes up to 12. The variety of animals and actions used provides for the opportunity to have readers interact with the story. Those familiar with the nursery rhyme can follow along, it's long enough that those who aren't have time to catch on. Length may limit how engaged readers/listeners are.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations accompany a fun take on an old nursery rhyme. Each hour brings a different animal somehow interacting with the grandfather clock. This one is a bit long for the toddler crowd (I'd just do 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock for them), but the illustrations are so fun and you could get up and sing the song afterward to get out some wiggles. A sold contribution to a counting or animal story time theme.

[Luke Pacifico · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) No awards given.
2) Pre-K - 3
3) The illustrations are simple but incredibly vibrant. This book takes the original nursery rhyme its based on and adds elements of rhyming and counting to its story. The counting goes up to twelve to correlate with the numbers on a clock.
4) It is a well-executed book that will surely help kids with their rhyming and counting skills.
5) This is a great segue into teaching kids how to read analog clocks.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun is flying -- sometimes literally flying -- out of this book.

Epecially enjoyable to this Goodreader is how the pages flow from one to the next. How could anyone stop reading this fresh-fresh-fresh take on an old nursery rhyme?

What a romp! What a lot of animals and action and story all added in, with every bit done so deftly.

FIVE STARS and thanks yet again, superb author and artist Keith Baker!

[Fourth Grade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like this book because they say the same thing every time.I also do not like this book because there was four words on every page.I do not recommend this book unless you like four words on every page or saying the same thing every time or clocks or animals.I recommend this book for ages 4-7.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has the usual clock keeping time with different actions/events at each hour. Many of the verses involve various animals and motions. Each page has a small amount of text with the actions clearly illustrated. It would be nice for introducing time, animals, or nursery rhymes to preschoolers.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this story does use rhyming, it also teaches children how to tell time on a clock. The illustrations through the book flow well together, easily following along to the story and making it come alive. I enjoyed how as the time went on, the sky would get darker in the background showing how the story takes place all day and night long.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

An EXCELLENT story extended from the basic version young children may already know. Illustrations are decent, but the vocabulary and rhyme- make this a high quality book you'll want to have in your classroom or house- highly recommended- I HAD to buy a copy

[Alicia Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this for my Mother Goose storytime. The kids liked that the clock struck up to 12 and enjoyed the different animals throughout the book.

For: Mother Goose fans.

Red flags: characters in peril.

[Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun and cute!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nursery rhyme and picture book, all in one.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bland and didn’t follow the traditional nursery rhyme.

[createitlibrarian (Amanda) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author randomly used passive voice to make the rhyming scheme work.

[Carolyn Jeziorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great expanded version of the nursery rhyme. It goes through 12 hours of different things happening to the clock. The illustrations also show time passing—it gets to evening later in the tale.

[eveltrain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet version of Hickory Dickory Dock. Illustrations are unique. Perfect for bedtime reading.

[Tarawyn Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book! It's cute and simple, helps children learn numbers and tell time, and has a great rhyming pattern for early language learners.

[Libby Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute rendition of the nursery rhyme. Engaging illustrations. One that was requested almost every night we had it.

Highly recommended for 2-5 year olds