The Usborne Nursery Rhyme Songbook

by Caroline Hooper, Emma Danes (Editor), Radhi Parekh (Illustrator)

Presents a collection of forty-one nursery rhymes along with piano arrangements, guitar chords, and illustrations.

Genres: Childrens

47 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 1995

Reviews

[Ray]

The Usborne Little Book of Nursery Rhymes has not recieved any awards, and is appropriate for a kindergarten classroom. It is a collection of 52 common nursery rhymes for kids, and is a smaller book, which helps younger students hold and handle it more easily. The cover is also padded, not hard, which can also help young readers begin to grasp principles of literacy and learn to properly handle books, even before they can actually read the words on the page. Teachers can use this book in read-alouds or hand it out for idependant reading due to the familiar nature of the nursery rhymes in the book, which will make it easy for kids to understand and start to read.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title: The Usborne Little Book of Nursery Rhymes
Editor: Caroline Hooper, Emma Danes
Illustrator: Radhi Parekh
Genre: Nursery Rhymes
Theme(s): Rhyme; Playing; Song
Opening line/sentence:
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
Brief Book summary: This book contains over 50 nursery rhymes, including classics such as Humpty Dumpty. There are also games that go along with the rhymes.
Professional Review 1:
"A tendency towards longer versions of these well known rhymes, and a very easy to grab pocket size format, made this the book of rhymes that we read the most to our daughter in the first few months." - Chris Baker (Goodreads)
Professional Review 2(An excerpt, I wrote the blog title below):
"Having had no experience of nursery rhymes for the past 20 years, I was secretly pleased to receive a book packed with those rhyming tales. Not only does it give me a window to the past, but it allows me to swot up prior to us going to any baby classes. How cool will I be and how envious will the other parents be when I can recite all the verses to Little Bo-Peep without the use of any visual aids?! Very, is the answer you’re looking for." - Dave (Route to Reading's Baby Book Club - Month 1, The Dadventurer
Response to Professional Reviews:
It was incredibly difficult for me to find professional reviews of this book, but many parents had good things to say. I thought this book seemed outdated and old. However, I can see why the parents reviewed it well. It is small, easy to carry, and full of stories so that children don't get bored with the same one.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
These nursery rhymes are classics, which is why the tone of the book is less happy and cheery that today's children's literature. The first story is Humpty Dumpty, which sets the mood for the entire book as he falls and breaks apart. The images are also dated and could be more colorful to brighten up the mood.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book would be great in a preschool setting, where students could act out certain rhymes and play the games. Teachers could allow students to create their own dramatic play that tells the story with their own twist. For older students, this book would work well in a poetry unit where students would then create their own nursery rhymes.

[Elizabeth]

Title: The Usborne Little Book of Nursery Rhymes
Author: Caroline Hooper
Illustrator: Radhi Parekh
Genre: Nursery Rhymes
Theme(s): Rhyme, Playing, Music
Opening line/sentence:
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Brief Book Summary:
This book is full of many nursery rhymes. One rhyme is Humpty Dumpty as well as others like The cow jumped over the moon. There are games to go along with the rhymes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Waterstones.come
Every child's favourite nursery rhymes wrapped up in the perfect bedtime format, with a luxurious padded cover. An excellent gift, featuring all the classics: Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, and many, many more. Also includes games and actions to complement and enhance the rhymes.
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 9780746064634

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Usborne Children’s books
My son & I love this book
We received this book as a gift & we read it nearly every night. The pictures are great to go along with the nursery rhymes. A wonderful way to spend some great cuddle time before sleepy time!
Petula, 3rd December 2010

Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews note how this book is excellent for bed time story telling. The pictures are great and it includes games and actions that enhance the rhymes.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book is designed so that after reading the rhymes multiple times the kids know them and can sing along and participate in activities related to the rhymes.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I think that this book is much better for at home use. I think that it has a nice engagement for a parent and child before bed. However, if I were to use it in my classroom I would definitely use a young age group, probably preschool and would read them maybe to start the day off and get the children engaged.

[Chris Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tendency towards longer versions of these well known rhymes, and a very easy to grab pocket size format, made this the book of rhymes that we read the most to our daughter in the first few months.