Nursery Rhyme Classics

by Kate Greenaway

Victorian-style illustrations accompany more than one hundred traditional nursery rhymes

Genres: Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Kate Greenaway (Catherine Greenaway) (1846-1901) was a children's book illustrator and writer. Her first book, Under the Window (1879), a collection of simple, perfectly idyllic verses concerning children who endlessly gathered posies, untouched by the Industrial Revolution, was a best-seller. The Kate Greenaway Medal, established in her honour in 1955, is awarded annually by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in the UK to an illustrator of children's books. New techniques of photolithography enabled her delicate watercolors to be reproduced. Through the 1880s and 90s, in popularity her only rivals in the field of children's book illustration were Walter Crane and Randolph Caldecott, himself also the eponym of a highly-regarded prize medal. Amongst her other works are: A Day in a Child's Life (1881), Mother Goose; or, The Old Nursery Rhymes (1881), Little Ann (with Ann Taylor & Jane Taylor) (1883), Marigold Garden (1885), A Apple Pie (1886), Pied Piper of Hamelin (1888) and Kate Greenaway's Book of Games (1889).

Reviews

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

My version was copyrighted by Century Hutchinson Ltd 1988 and first published in 1988 by Cornstalk Publishing (an imprint of CollinsAngus*Robertson Publishers Ptd Limited) but I believe the original collection was published in 1882. By putting this collection together in their own way they are able to copyright it so it stands as a 'new' collection.

[Colleen Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This anthology is best for a very young preschool audience of 3-4 year olds. It is divided into sections: strange and wonderful, birds and beasts, words of advice, little boys and little girls, and babies. It includes the old fashioned rhymes such as "Little Miss Muffet", "Incy Wincy Spider, Climbing up the Spout", and "The Grand Old Duke of York". Each rhyme is written in small writing with a colorful sketch above that pertains to the story. This anthology seems very dated to me; the rhymes that it includes are very old and can be difficult to relate to for a young child in today's society. Because of the older language the children may not know what the rhyme is trying to say. Also, many of the stories concern activities that may not be safe to be promoting to children, such as walking alone; again, this is an example of the content that is unsuitable for today's youth. Short rhymes from this anthology could be used in a kindergarten or grade 1 classroom to assist in transition times like lining up; a teacher could use one of the 1-2 line rhymes as a cue to initiate tasks. In addition it could be used for down time activities such as rest to provide soothing sound and encourage relaxation.

[Gabrielle Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book of Nursery Rhymes. I love all the Nursery Rhymes in this book!