Review: The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes

Yeah, I bet you all can figure out what unit I just finished with my Children's Lit course. Before you judge me, just remember that once upon a time, we all thought nursery rhymes were the greatest things in existence.

The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes is definitely a more complete version for me. In comparison to the book I had when I was little (I think I still have it somewhere, hiding off in the depths of my closet), this one was jam packed. However, against other versions, it might be itty bitty. Who knows? Not me.

Though I recognized many of the rhymes, there were still dozens more that were new to me, which was quite exciting. Or, they were extensions of the versions that I was already familiar with. The one where the Knave of Hearts steals the Queen's tarts was four or five pages long! I had no idea. Another interesting tidbit was I discovered that there are about seven different versions of Humpty Dumpty. They all seemed to start with, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall..." but not all of them resulted in him having a great fall. I found that to be quite fascinating.

You know that little voice you hear inside your head when you're reading something? There were a great number of rhymes that when I read them, suddenly, that little voice changed into my great gram's. At some point, I must have heard my great gram ramble off a bunch of them, even though I have no recollection.

There was one particular rhyme that I was hoping I'd come across, and I was very happy when I did. But, there's a slight catch with this rhyme: I can never for the life of my remember how it goes. I only know that it's one that I thoroughly enjoy when I come across it. I know, I know, you think I'm crazy. Well here's the thing. This piece was in my childhood nursery rhyme book. Even though I can't recall the last time I saw this book, I can still see the picture that goes with the rhyme perfectly. The background is dark, and there's a man on a rooftop hiding behind a chimney. There are rooftops everywhere, and it's night. The man looks like he could be a beggar or robber, with his filthy dark clothes, and equally dark and filthy cap. He's looking for something, but as for what, your guess is as good as mine... Well, taken straight from The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes, here's the poem that goes with the picture in my head:

There was a man and he had nought,

And robbers came to rob him;

He crept up to the chimney top,

And then they thought they had him.

But he got down on the other side,

And then they could not find him;

He ran fourteen miles in fifteen days,

And never looked behind him.

And now I'm happy to have the piece to go with the picture.

Should you want to relive your childhood with nursery rhymes, this book will definitely do. After all, it's opening rhyme is:

We wish you health,

We wish you wealth,

We wish you gold in store.

We wish you may enjoy this book,

What could we wish you more?