Honey for You, Honey for Me: A First Book of Nursery Rhymes

By Author / Illustrator

Michael Rosen, Chris Riddell, Michael Rosen

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Walker Books Ltd

ISBN

9781406374636

Format

Hardback

Published

03-09-2020

Synopsis

From Children's Laureates Michael Rosen and Chris Riddell, the bestselling team behind A Great Big Cuddle, comes a first book of nursery rhymes.

Flying pigs, wobbling plates of jelly and a giant who trembles whenever he meets a mouse: welcome to the topsy-turvy world of nursery rhymes. Inspired by his lifelong fascination with these peculiar poems, Michael Rosen has placed familiar playground songs alongside forgotten gems for a seminal new collection.

Brought to vivid life by Chris Riddell's magnificent pictures, expect familiar faces, from little Jumping Joan to Miss Mary Mack - but also plenty of surprises... With forty rhymes to choose from, this book is sure to prove a bedtime favourite.

\"Huggable and exuberant ... makes you want to smile and stomp to the rhythm.\" - The Sunday Times on A Great Big Cuddle

Reviews

Two ex-children's laureates collaborating in one volume: we are spoilt! Riddell's vibrant illustrations are the perfect foil for Rosen's thoughtful compilation of nursery rhymes.

It's well worth reading Rosen's insightful introduction about the importance of nursery rhymes and the ways in which singing them and / or adding actions support children's feeling for the rhythm and feelings in the rhymes. He explains that he has chosen some with which we may be familiar and others which may be new to us. Whether familiar or not, Riddell's illustrations offer a new lens with which to enjoy them.

The opening rhyme, 'Engine, Engine, Number Nine', sports a huge American style train chuffing its way across the double page spread. What a wonderful way to draw children straight in. And then over the page, there's a prancing, somewhat confused elephant making its way backwards and forwards across the pages between Wibbleton and Wobbleton. Each double page spread delights, whether its to make the reader laugh, pause for thought ('Baby and I' p. 32), or even have an 'Aaah!' moment ('Little Jumping Joan'(p.37).

The importance of rhyme in young children's lives cannot be overestimated and this fabulous book is a must for every early years' setting. Like its predecessor, A Great Big Cuddle, Poems for the Very Young, this comes in a large format so it's perfect for sharing and poring over.

80 pages / Ages 2-6 years / Reviewed by Alison Kelly, consultant