Nursery Rhymes

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Barbara J. Feldman

Mother Goose was first mentioned in Charles Perrault's 1697 collection of fairy tales that included "Sleeping Beauty" and "Little Red Riding Hood," but her exact history is unknown. Over the years, she became known in both Europe and America as a country woman closely associated with children's nursery rhymes. In honor of Mother Goose Day (May 1st), I've rounded up the Web's best nursery rhymes collections.

Mama Lisa's House of Nursery Rhymes

4 stars

Mama Lisa's House of Nursery Rhymes is easy to navigate, with six dozen rhymes listed alphabetically down the left side. Some have illustrations and funny hidden sounds, the rest are simply text. Other worthwhile clicks are the poems of Eugene Field (such as "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and "The Duel") and Mama Lisa's collection of international folk children songs. "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night / Sailed off in a wooden shoe / Sailed on a river of crystal light / Into a sea of dew."

Nursery Rhymes, Lyrics, Origins

4 stars

For those fascinated with literary history, this British site provides insight into what many nursery rhyme lyrics actually mean. "Two examples of these types of nursery rhymes origins are 'Ring a Ring o Rosies' which refers to the Bubonic plague and 'Remember Remember' nursery rhymes which allude to Guy Fawkes' foiled attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament!" In addition to lyrics and history, the site offers a fifteen-question Nursery Rhyme Quiz.

Webbing into Literacy: Rimes and Rhymes

5 stars

Featuring thirty nursery rhymes that include 500 words from Murphy's list of "1437 words commonly spoken by children in primary grades," these weekly lessons include illustrated rhymes, rhyming cards, and five days of lesson plans. All the downloads are in PDF format, making them easy to print and share. When asked why she uses nursery rhymes to teach phonetic awareness, Dr. Laura Smolkin responds "the first answer that always comes to my mind is simply that the rhymes are fun."