This Little Puffin

by Elizabeth Mary Matterson, Claudio Muñoz (Illustrator)

No parent, teacher or nursery group should be without this classic treasury. There are songs, rhymes and games for every occasion, all chosen for their proven popularity with young children. Collected from all over Britain, the contents reflect the cultural diversity of the nation, making it an outstandingly rich and stimulating collection. Since the first edition of This Little Puffin was published over thirty years ago, it has been revised and updated, allowing it to remain the most invaluable book of its kind.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, Novels, Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 1970

Reviews

[Kyle King · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book includes a vast amount of poetry collected over different generations that will be helpful for children, and adults, at different ages and stages of development to help self guided and group involved learning. Using brilliantly crafted written language, with different structures and acting/singing prompts. It includes play, nursery rhymes and song to help shape the poetry towards enjoyable learning and exploration. The use of repetition, powerful vocabulary and word combinations creates a perfect mix of experiences while reading through the different forms of poetry in this book. My overall experience was that I was actively and creatively engaged with the open ended poetry in this book.

[Kalaycia Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is has a great variety of rhymes, games and poems for children who are older and in early years settings, this will also help the children to recognise words, sounds and language formations. I also liked how each poem had a different theme which made it interesting.

[Hannah Parson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For year one. An extensive variety of songs and games which are good for language development. Simple to follow, particularly liked the safety section as this information is more likely to be retained if done in a fun format. Could be used to help with phonics and pronouncing words in reading.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of nursery rhymes, songs and games for children. These activities claim to provide excellent speech practice and voice control and can benefit children with speech difficulties.
Good range of nursery rhymes that can be used with babies and younger children with accompanying instructions for parents as to how to act as they are saying them e.g. point to child’s toes or tap head. There are also different variations of more traditional nursery rhymes with different options for either babies or older children keeping the tunes engaging for any age group. There is also a good range of different songs for different situations or times e.g. birthdays, Christmas, bedtime etc. The songs have music notes alongside to follow and some have images to show what you should do with your hands during them e.g. to clap.

[Ms. Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frankly, I think it's time for another update sooner than later. But I love this book and would give up a limb to be part of that editorial group. This book represents and invaluable resource for coming up with a lot of songs quickly. I use them to prepare for Storytime livestreams which heavily feature silly little songs and stories.

This is not a book to read through once but a true reference book. I go back often for more songs based on themes but I do find myself make a lot of changes. I tend to update the songs to make the language more understandable for today's children and to soften and refine certain lessons. Some of the book is a bit dated, but it's certainly workable.

If there's another book you like more please tell me, because it's hugely helpful for me and more resources like it would be excellent!

[Emily Shilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

'This Little Puffin' is a collection of songs, poems, rhymes and games. It features some classic nursery games such as 'Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn around'. This book seems to be a classic book for young children, parents, and teachers, because there is a good wide range of poems for different age groups and readers. This wide range can be particularly appealing to parents of young children, because the poems are accompanied with instructions for parents as to how to act when saying the words. I also imagine this will be very useful for teachers who perhaps want to introduce a song to children, because the book supplies the piano music and any actions for the songs which comes in very handy.

[Carla Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book as it full of such a variety of different things including, nursery games, finger plays and poetry. This book is perfect to have if your a teachers particularly in ks1 as there’s lots of ways to get children engage in the poetry. For example on page 99 there’s a poem about five little moneys that’s suggest using for fingers to help count as the monkeys leave so this could even be helpful for using within maths.

Overall I cant fault this book as it’s it’s had great poetry which quite often rhymes which makes the poems more fun to read and it also had fun hand games that you can play.

[Libby Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a collection of rhymes, poems and songs which I feel would be perfect for Reception/Year One children. The poems/rhymes themselves were simple to rad and follow, and a lot of them were nonsensical which makes it more friendly for children.

However I don’t think that this book could be used for KS2 as a lot of the poems and rhymes were quite childish and too easy for the older children

You could use this in a literacy lesson to promote language development, and to support the children with their phonics and reading aloud.

This could also be used in a PHSE lesson as a lot of the rhymes talk about road safety which is a really important subject to discuss with children

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst this book and the games and songs it contains are very dated, I do accept that these are songs that particularly young children still sing today. I enjoyed some of the variations of traditional songs and liked the concept of adaptation to fit a specific class/age group. The concept of highlighting the importance of songs and games such as these is very helpful especially when considering it as a tool to integrate new students and give the class a sense of identity. Even in older classes, singing (not necessarily these traditional rhymes) can be a powerful tool.

[Simon Till · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of pure fun and energy. A wide array of modern and classic puffin nursery rhymes to please all. The odd illustration here and there to help with visualization, but the book could potentially do with a few more. There are cheery rhymes; emotional rhymes; rhymes about food; rhymes about animals – it’s got it all. The rhymes are easy to follow but not in the most user-friendly way with the small text. Despite this, the content is still superb and it is well worth the purchase. Great for groups of children to read and sing-along too.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the 1991 edition.
This book contains a wide variety of nursery rhymes from over the years. The rhymes are split into different chapters with a clear list at the start of each, making it easy for the reader to find their desired rhyme. I like how this book gives instructions on how to perform these rhymes whether with an individual child or in a group. The book also provides some sheet music.

[Abi Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect collection of songs, rhymes and musical poetry for young children, more suited to EYFS and KS1. I love the actions and music notes that are included. There is a great variety of rhymes, songs and games for the children working on their language, co-ordination and confidence. Most of all the children will really enjoy singing along and doing the actions to these new and classic rhymes and songs.

[Abi Calcutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A traditional treasury of nursery rhymes, songs and games. This includes some classics and is more suited to younger children in reception/year 1. There are some nice songs in here that could be learnt together as a class. There are also some great singing games in here to help with the idea of rhyme recognition.

[Immy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of music and rhyme which is perfect for early years teaching, encouraging music and English for even the youngest of students.

Even if you are not the most experienced musician this book has been made incredibly accessible and easy to understand.

[Charlotte Hanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good nursery rhymes book to read a few to the child each night before bed. This is because it had little acting out parts to play too as well as them being short rhymes to keep up with and rhyming too making them easier to act the actions out.

[Hannah Bainbridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/10.
This book contains songs, rhymes, poems and other interactive readings for children.
This book is a must have as it is suitable for all age ranges from baby right up to 11. I would recommend that this book is one that is on every book self in every classroom.

[Annie Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is filled with songs, rhymes and games for every occasion. It would make a great book for a teacher to have under the desk. There are lots of actions and notes included to bring the songs and rhymes alive.

[Natasha Kindred]

EYFS / KS1

Lots of different nursery rhymes/poems which are interactive with actions etc. This is great for childrens memory and can help get them set up ready for leaning if using the song of sounds phonics scheme and learning songs which help with 'tricky words' or maths.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful selection, great instructions, but including the music to some of the rhymes and songs is gold.

[Maddie Deacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

this could be used in a variety of lessons for year groups 4/5

[Jack Farnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extensive variety of songs, poems, rhymes and games which are helpful for language development.

[Lottie Botterill]

- Mix of songs, rhymes and games
- Contains all the traditional nursery rhymes

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for children in their first few years at school. This book contains and beautiful collection of songs, poems, and games designed to help with children’s development of speech and phonics.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a good, wide range of poems for both older and younger readers. The poems within this anthology range from different poets who all write in different poetic forms.

As well as poems, there are various nursery games and rhymes for the early years settings to use and give inspiration for any follow-up activities. Each poem or rhyme is different with a different theme or format giving them all individuality and maintaining the reader’s interest.

[Mercy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a treasure chest of rhymes, songs and games. It contains rhymes, games and songs set around various themes and children will enjoy it, especially, KS1. The content brings to the for cultural diversity, making it enriching and stimulating.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful source of rhymes and songs for storytimes, replete with written music.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource of all those songs and rhymes for younger children that you have forgotten with (so importantly!) the music alongside so that you can remember the tune.

[Jordan]

This is a treasury of classic songs, rhymes and games. It is aimed at children aged eight to eleven, each one chosen due to their popularity within this age group. It can be used in any and every occasion and is very useful to anyone caring for young children as it is engaging, calming and intellectual.

[Briony Bastin]

-Takes popular tunes and changes the words so that they make chores more interesting to children.
-Adds verses to nursery rhymes (can be adapted for different age groups)
-Children like to make up their own words