Nursery rhymes

Nursery rhymes are poems or songs that use rhyme and rhythm to help children learn and keep them amused. They are particularly helpful in teaching infants and toddlers the sounds of their culture’s language and assist with their language acquisition. Authorship of most nursery rhymes, which are also called Mother Goose rhymes in some countries, is unknown because they arose in various cultures centuries ago.

Nursery rhymes have value well beyond helping infants and children learn. The verses often have cultural significance and sentimental value because they are shared by parents with babies. Singing and reciting nursery rhymes to infants also helps parents and babies bond. Among slightly older children, nursery rhymes help develop and refine social skills.

Background

Traditional nursery rhymes arose through folklore and the oral tradition and were shared through the generations. They were not often written or published, and in fact in Western cultures reading was a skill meant to be applied to Bible study rather than for pleasure. Books for children were seen as unnecessary.

The first picture book for children, Orbis Pictus, was published in 1658 and represented the start of a new way of looking at reading for children. In 1693, British philosopher John Locke proposed teaching children to read for pleasure, making learning to read more like a game, and providing children with books that were enjoyable and had pictures. His educational theories, however, did not advocate for escapist literature, because he believed that children’s books should be educational.

Locke’s ideas were widely disseminated and discussed, and children’s literature slowly began to develop during the eighteenth century. Acceptable books for children contained morals or lessons. For example, the plot of The History of Little Goody Two Shoes, published in 1765, involves Margery Meanwell’s efforts to teach her peers to spell while setting a good example.

It was out of this developing interest in books for children that publishers began printing nursery rhymes. The first notable collection of traditional rhymes in English was published in London in 1744 as Tommy Thumb’s Song Book, a two-volume work containing such classics as “Little Tom Tucker” and “Sing a Song of Sixpence.” Another influential publication from the early eighteenth century, a French collection of fairy tales by Charles Perrault, was translated into English with its subtitle, Contes de ma mere l’Oye, translated as Tales of Mother Goose. Over time people associated the fictional Mother Goose with nursery rhymes.

Some rhymes have very long histories. For example, a version of the educational rhyme “Thirty days hath September,” which teaches children about the months, was published in French in the thirteenth century. Others were written when children’s literature was becoming an established genre. Relative newcomers include “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by Ann and Jane Taylor, published in 1806, and Sarah Josepha Hale’s “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” which dates to 1830.

Overview

Nursery rhymes typically contain strong syllabic stresses, which help children learn the patterns of their culture’s language. Many English-language nursery rhymes use the same strong-stress meter found in Old English and Middle English poetry. This form counts only the stresses, while the number of unstressed syllables varies. This is seen in such rhymes as “Hick-o-ry, Dick-o-ry, Dock, / the mouse ran up the clock,” where the number of stressed syllables matches but the unstressed syllables count does not.

Educators say the rhythm, rhyme, and repetitive nature of nursery rhymes help prepare infants and young children to read, and assist with their development of reading comprehension skills. Familiarity with sounds helps children later connect them with letters. Researchers say children who have memorized several nursery rhymes by the time they start school often learn to read more quickly. They believe the rhymes of words such as hop and top help children recognize common words when they are exposed to them because they understand the word patterns.

The benefits of sharing nursery rhymes with children are well-known among educators. World Nursery Rhyme Week, which takes place annually in November, turns a spotlight on the role of nursery rhymes in early childhood education. The observance targets children to age seven and asks parents, educators, and caregivers to focus on teaching or reinforcing knowledge of nursery rhymes.

Nursery rhymes may be divided into many categories. These include lullabies, songs, and ballads; riddles and games; finger-plays and counting-out rhymes; and nonsense rhymes. For example, “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” is both a song and finger-play. Some rhymes are mostly for amusement, while others, such as those that help children learn to count, are educational. Many provide children with opportunities to follow directions or be active, such as “I’m a Little Teapot.”

Some rhymes exist in similar form in multiple countries. For example, “Humpty Dumpty” and “Ladybug, ladybug,” which in Europe is “Ladybird, ladybird,” have been common in many European countries for centuries. While researchers have not found definitive proof of a common origin, parallels are obvious when comparing an American version of “Eeny, meeny, miny, mo” with lines that children chant in Zimbabwe:

“Eeny, meeny, miny, mo / Catch a tiger by the toe / If he hollers, let him go / Eeny, meeny, miny, mo.” FPOextract

“Eena, meena, ming, mong / Ting, tay, tong, / Ooza, vooza, voka, tooza, / Vis, vos, vay.” FPOextract

As they are shared and passed down, rhymes are often altered or lengthened. For example, the first stanza of “Jack and Jill” is “Jack and Jill went up the hill / To fetch a pail of water; / Jack fell down and broke his crown, / And Jill came tumbling after.” These lines were first published in the eighteenth century, but as publishing longer poems became popular, nineteenth-century publishers printed as many as fifteen stanzas.

Often, scholars try to find meaning in rhymes, looking for figures in history who might have been referenced such as in “Old King Cole.” Many researchers have claimed that “Ring around the Rosie” is about the Black Plague in Europe, but no proof has been found. This origin theory does not fit the many versions of the song, which often accompany a dancing game. The first evidence of the song appeared almost two centuries after the Great Plague of London (1665-1666).

Bibliography

Bennett, Claire. “Blog: The Importance of Nursery Rhymes in Early Childhood.” Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, 29 Oct. 2019, www.pacey.org.uk/news-and-views/pacey-blog/october-2019/the-importance-of-nursery-rhymes-in-early-childhoo/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021.

Bowman, Vicky. “8 Creative Ideas to Help Your Child Learn New Words.” National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2017, www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/literacy/learn-new-words. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021.

Gillespie, Linda Groves. “Rocking and Rolling. Reading with Babies Matters!” National Association for the Education of Young Children, July 2019, www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/jul2019/reading-with-babies-matters. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021.

“Nursery Rhymes: Not Just for Babies!” Reading Rockets, www.readingrockets.org/article/nursery-rhymes-not-just-babies. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.

Opie, Iona, and Peter Opie, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford UP, 1998.

Pinkerton, Byrd. “Through the Looking Glass: How Children’s Books Have Grown Up.” National Public Radio, 10 May 2016, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/05/10/476490413/through-the-looking-glass-how-childrens-books-have-grown-up. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.

“Time to Rhyme.” Scholastic, www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/reading-resources/developing-reading-skills/time-to-rhyme.html. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021.

Tearle, Oliver. “A Short Analysis of the ‘Jack and Jill’ Nursery Rhyme.” Interesting Literature, 2017, interestingliterature.com/2017/05/a-short-analysis-of-the-jack-and-jill-nursery-rhyme/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021.

“What Is World Nursery Rhyme Week?” World Nursery Rhyme Week, 2021, https://www.worldnurseryrhymeweek.com/about-wnrw/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2021.

Winick, Stephen. “Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason.” Library of Congress, 24 July 2014, blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/07/ring-around-the-rosie-metafolklore-rhyme-and-reason/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.