Books with title My Nursery Rhyme Pop-up Book

To read the old Nursery Rhymes brings back queer lost memories of a man's own childhood. One seems to see the loose floppy picture-books of long ago, with their boldly coloured pictures. The books were tattered and worn, and my first library consisted of a wooden box full of these volumes. And I can remember being imprisoned for some crime in the closet where the box was, and how my gaolers found me, happy and impenitent, sitting on the box, with its contents all round me, reading.

*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the author). *An active Table of Contents has been added by the publisher for a better customer experience. *This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errors.This publication contains original illustrations by Leonard Leslie Brooke.TO read the old Nursery Rhymes brings back queer lost memories of aman's own childhood. One seems to see the loose floppy picture-books oflong ago, with their boldly coloured pictures. The books were tatteredand worn, and my first library consisted of a wooden box full of thesevolumes. And I can remember being imprisoned for some crime in thecloset where the box was, and how my gaolers found me, happy andimpenitent, sitting on the box, with its contents all round me,reading.There was "Who Killed Cock Robin?" which I knew by heart before I couldread, and I learned to read (entirely "without tears") by picking outthe letters in the familiar words. I remember the Lark dressed as aclerk, but what a clerk might be I did not ask. Other children, who arelittle now, will read this book, and remember it well when they haveforgotten a great deal of history and geography. We do not know whatpoets wrote the old Nursery Rhymes, but certainly some of them werewritten down, or even printed, three hundred years ago. Grandmothershave sung them to their grandchildren, and they again to theirs, formany centuries. In Scotland an old fellow will take a child on his kneefor a ride, and sing-- "This is the way the ladies ride, Jimp and sma',--"a smooth ride, then a rough trot,-- "This is the way the cadgers ride. Creels and a'!"Such songs are sometimes not printed, but they are never forgotten.About the people mentioned in this book:--We do not exactly know who OldKing Cole was, but King Arthur must have reigned some time about 500 to600 A.D. As a child grows up, he will, if he is fond of poetry, readthousands of lines about this Prince, and the Table Round where hisKnights dined, and how four weeping Queens carried him from his lastfight to Avalon, a country where the apple-trees are always in bloom.But the reader will never forget the bag-pudding, which "the Queen nextmorning fried." Her name was Guinevere, and the historian says that she"was a true lover, and therefore made she a good end." But she had agreat deal of unhappiness in her life.I cannot tell what King of France went up the hill with twenty thousandmen, and did nothing when he got there. But I do know who Charley wasthat "loved good ale and wine," and also "loved good brandy," and wasfond of a pretty girl, "as sweet as sugar-candy." This was the banishedPrince of Wales, who tried to win back his father's kingdom more than ahundred years ago, and gained battles, and took cities, and would haverecovered the throne if his officers had followed him. But he was asunfortunate as he was brave, and when he had no longer a chance, perhapshe _did_ love good ale and wine rather too dearly. As for the prettygirls, they all ran after him, and he could not run away like GeorgeyPorgey. There is plenty of poetry about Charley, as well as about KingArthur.About King Charles the First, "upon a black horse," a child will soonhear at least as much as he can want, and perhaps his heart "will beready to burst," as the rhyme says, with sorrow for the unhappy King.After he had his head cut off, "the Parliament soldiers went to theKing," that is, to his son Charles, and crowned him in his turn, but hewas thought a little too gay. Then we come to the King "who had adaughter fair, and gave the Prince of Orange her."

The babes of former generations were certainly lucky, for they possessed quite the best book of nursery rhymes which has ever been published. "The Nursery Rhyme Book" by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke is a complete collection of the old nursery rhymes which have delighted so many generations, adorned with attractive pictures and accompanied by a preface written in one of Mr. Lang's most engaging moods. The preface, of course, is not for the little ones, but for the mothers, whose duty it is to read the rhymes- and show the pictures. We do not know [says Mr. Lang] what poets wrote the old nursery rhymes, but certainly some of them were written down, or even printed, three hundred years ago. Grandmothers have sung them to their grandchildren, and they again to theirs, for many centuries. We did not know till we studied Mr. Lang's table of contents that nursery rhymes may be divided into fourteen different kinds ; but they may, and Mr. Lang gives them all and discourses sweetly on many of them. No nursery which respects itself should be without this fascinating book.