Lavender's Blue

by Kathleen Lines (Compiler), Harold Jones (Illustrator)

Originally published in 1954, Lavender's Blue was received with immediate acclaim, and was chosen as a runner-up for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Beautifully designed and illustrated by the influential artist Harold Jones, the book never went out of print, and has been
enjoyed by generations of children. This facsimile edition has been lovingly produced to recreate the look and feel of the first printing of this much-loved book. The most definitive collection of nursery rhymes and songs published, it will delight every child in your life, including you.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Nursery Rhymes, Classics, Fiction, 20th Century

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Kathleen Mary Lines was a book critic, editor, anthologist and librarian from Canada. An expert on children's literature, she wrote, compiled, and edited Four to Fourteen (1950) for the National Book League. She also wrote the introduction to the second edition of F. J. Harvey Darton's Children's Books in England (1958) and edited a series of illustrated fairy tale picture books. Artists for the picture books included Edward Ardizzone for the Bodley Head. Lines was also the general editor of the Bodley Head Monographs and edited Lavender's Blue (1954), a selection of classic nursery rhymes illustrated by Harold Jones. The book won a Carnegie special commendation.[2]

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harold Jones' line drawings are exquisite. This is an important record of nursery and playground rhymes. Some you wouldn't want to read to children but lots that are so important to keep alive.

A re-read over the last few days, really enjoyable and many happy memories.

[Armi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such beautiful illustrations by Harold Jones. Loved it!

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good mix of familiar and obscure rhymes. The problem is, it was BORING. Some of the rhymes were extremely stupid and nonsensical. Some were cute. The artwork was ok, nothing spectacular. In fact, it was that artwork that made one of the rhymes make sense.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of nursery rhymes for small children. This is the sort of book that is just not fun to sit and read. It's fun to open it, read one nursery rhyme, maybe two, and close it again. Additionally, you can tell that they really tried to include the best of the old nursery rhymes, however, after reading a few of them in a row you start to question whether or not they are even worth preserving.

I was really hoping to find some forgotten gems in this book. Unfortunately, I instead realized why so many of these are forgotten. Because they just aren't that much fun anymore or aren't relate-able anymore.

Now, this is good for looking up some you liked and are familiar with and actually reading all the lines or realizing you had the words wrong.

Instead of trying to read this whole book to a small child, I would recommend pre-reading the book, marking the good ones and just reading those. My daughter started out enthusiastically listening but it ebbed quickly as I had to explain many of them as they were just so outdated.

We read the first 58 pages over a span of a few weeks, but, then my daughter didn't want anymore of them read to her. I figured I'd better move on to other books before she lost interest in reading.

So, yeah, don't try to just read this one to a small child. Pick out the good ones, read those occasionally and then it could be an enjoyable experience.

[Ellinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavender's Blue is a mixture of different nursery rhymes. I knew lots of these before but I enjoyed the book anyway, especially because of the beautiful pictures. And now I finally understand some of the titles from Agatha Christie novels!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. A wide variety of nursery rhymes and poems. I remembered many of these from spending days at my grandparent’s home as a child. My grandpa attended a rural schoolhouse in northern Maine, before moving to New York. He had a vast memory, and was always singing songs, or quoting poetry or little sayings. I remember my 80 year old grandma sitting at the lunch table and remarking to me, after Grandpa finished a particular poem, that “she had never heard that one before”. I miss him so much, and wish he were still here to sing his songs, play the piano and say his poems to my own girls.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of nursery rhymes and other old poems.

My mom and I had fun flashback time with this. I'd read her the first line of a nursery rhyme I recognized and she'd recite the second line and back and forth. If you grew up with these, it's a fun book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection worth owning for reference. My toddler does not enjoy sitting and looking at this book together. She is developmentally at a stage where she prefers to sing the rhymes together with hand and finger motions. However, I enjoyed looking through it and realized many references my mother (aged 86) and her mother (born in 1906 from English descendants) used during my childhood. I never really thought about where some of those old phrases stuck in my head came from like..."Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home; Your house is on fire, your children are gone!" Geez, no wonder I get anxious sometimes.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like nursery rhymes and this collection has some of the more obscure ones. I've heard bits and pieces from my grandparents. It also has a lot of the more ordinary ones.
I really liked that it contains what the bells of London say.

[Kristal · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Thanks to archive .org for making this available for me to read for my challenge! Admittedly though, if it weren’t for the challenge I wouldn’t have read this book. Here are my thoughts:

-Some rhymes were familiar.
-Some rhymes were familiar but differ from how they are commonly said today, which was interesting
-Some rhymes were fun but are not in common use today.

-Other rhymes were nonsense (in a fun way)
-Others just didn’t make sense at all or were pointless


But a lot of them really bothered me in terms of my morals/values. I’m not trying to be politically correct because one or two poems made me cringe. I expected that the poems were going to be from a time with different values but a lot of them would still be wholesome. Unfortunately:

-many rhymes focused on kids thinking about/planning for marriage- especially men/boys getting a wife (like a piece of property- not like in a partnership). Just let kids be kids!

-several implied references to sexual assault against women. One poem called women who leave the washing til Saturday as sluts(!). I know the meaning of that word has changed, but still- that’s a yikes

-several references to alcohol and smoking

-MANY references of violence, including several references to beating children, violence against animals, death in general, one rhyme was about someone scratching out their eyes, another included hanging a butcher. There was a LOT of violence in this book. It really, really bothered me.

I’m glad a lot of these rhymes aren’t being used today

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on Open Library. Lines' book of nursery rhymes and and one story--The Woman and Her Pig--includes 167 entries; compare this to Marguerite De Angeli's Book of Nursery & Mother Goose Rhymes which has 399 entries. Lines' book has full-color illustrations alternating with black-and-white illustrations on every other page. de Angeli's book has mostly black-and-white illustrations, and a few full-page color illustrations here and there. Lines' book has four pages of suggestions for using some of the rhymes with a baby, or as games with older children. Both are great books in their own ways, but de Angeli's is more comprehensive.

[curiouskat_books · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actively disliked reading this one and had to, at times, skip over certain terminology that was problematic. I know it is an older book, but I don't feel comfortable reading a poem referring to someone as a "slut" to my child. There are quite a few inappropiate poems, and many that were just boring to read. Even the formatting was terrible. Some pages would have several different poems on the page, but it was hard to tell where one stopped and another began. Even the different section's table of contents was set up like it was meant to be read as a poem. Ultimately, I would not recommend this one. There are so many better nursery ryhme books that would be better to pick up.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of these I had never heard before.
Some are no longer appropriate.
My favorite inappropriate one has to be:
"They that wash on Monday
Have all the week to dry,
They that wash on Tuesday
Are not so much awry,
They that wash on Wednesday,
Are not much to blame,
They that wash on Thursday,
Wash for shame,
They that wash on Friday,
Wash in need,
But they that wash on Saturday,
Oh! they are sluts indeed."

[April]

Bags of charm in this collection; I’d like to own a copy.

The nursery rhymes are often slightly off from what your mind knows the words to be, and children are often getting beat, but sort of par for the course for what you would expect.

She gave the some broth without any bread,
Then whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed(!)

Hm!!

[Alice (Children's Books Librarian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A colourful and illustrated collection of some 'old-fashioned' nursery rhymes, some of which are memorable. Others that are included are not used as much now in the 21st century. Would be interesting for someone studying children's literature but the text may go over some younger readers due to the language.

[C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The old-fashioned illustrations are really pretty, and the classic nursery rhymes are mostly sweet … except the ones that are just a bit too old-fashioned (the girl ruins her dress and gets a beating, etc.). I know they're classic, but ...

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great compilation of nursery rhymes both familiar and not. The illustrations were classically beautiful. However, with so many great options out there, I found this book did not appeal to my kids as others have and didn't find the book suited the preschool audience.

[Matt Sheffield · Rating 3 out of 5]

1001 Children's Books To Read Before You Grow Up - #8

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Open Library
Down memory lane with this collection of nursery and childrens rhymes.

[Erica Nicol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the collection of nursery rhymes we have in our home, and is well-loved. It's very comprehensive (my daughter refers to this as "the big book"), well-organized, and we often read/sing several of these rhymes a night. The illustrations aren't quite as bright and engaging as, say, those of Rosemary Wells in My Very First Mother Goose, but they are fun, detailed, and traditional enough that I feel a bit nostalgic whenever we read through this book.

Because the selection of rhymes here is just so big, chances are that your favorite rhymes will be in it. The down side to the large size of the collection, which won't be a down side for everyone, is that it includes rhymes that many parents may not view as appropriate for very young readers because of their content. As these rhymes originated in a very different time and place than our own, it's not surprising to find that several of them mention children being beaten, for example. Again, not surprising, but something to be aware of.

In reading these rhymes with Dot, I find that she is most interested in the ones that we can sing and in the ones that have hand motions. The more interactive our reading, the better.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book (perhaps just this edition?) frustrating. It was divided into sections but they weren't differentiated with a font change on the divider pages. Some of the rhymes were very similar to those I'd heard as a child here in America but others were distinctly different for being English.

The illustrations are pleasing and reflective of an earlier time than the 1950s when it was first published. There is also a section at the end of the book which gives games which can be played with some of the nursery rhymes - a handy tool for folks who may be less familiar with the rhymes and games. There is also an index by first line at the back of the book.

All in all, I wouldn't be inclined to recommend this book except to folks who were specifically looking for Nursery Rhymes, period pieces, and/or British children's materials. The reason being the differences between the traditionally American versions of some of these and the British version in the text and the inconsistency it provides.

[Issa · Rating 4 out of 5]

♫♪ There was a little man,
And he had a little gun,
And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead;
He went to the brook
And he saw a little duck,
And he shot it right through the head, head, head ♪♫

Medieval childhoods must have been intense!

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its not everyday you come across a book for young children with the word "slut" in it. I personally found it to be funny, other parents might not. I feel that if a child gets this far into a kind-of boring book they are entitled to find something hilarious like a naughty word.

This book is a great dictionary of nursury rhymes. In my experience this book is more for adults who care for children, than the children themselves. I find that children enjoy the rhymes more if you memorize them first and then sing them during down time. I haven't found a child yet who tolerates sitting and reading this book for very long.

[Cherene · Rating 1 out of 5]

1001 Children's Books list
Age group: 0-3
Their list: 8/1001
My list: 7/1001

Why they say you should read it? Every child needs a nursery rhyme book and this one is beautifully illustrated.

As a parent, these rhymes and short narratives were nostalgic and enjoyable. I actually spent many an hour singing lavender's blue to my daughter and my nephew - who I consequently nicknamed Dilly from this rhyme.

My kids thoughts? As a three year old boy, my son just didn't care for it. Not only was he not the least bit interested, but he actually asked me to stop reading (which is not a common occurrence in our household).

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lavenders Blue, A book of nursery rhymes by Kathleen Lines and Harold Jones
Cute nursery rhymes that I recall myself. Some my mother taught us with how to demonstrate some of them.
Audio book for children and adults alike. Love the a for apple pie then b bit it, etc all the way through the whole alphabet. House that Jack built is another really good one. Fun games to play also and you are told how to do them.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Emkoshka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a book to read in one sitting, as I did, but one to dip in and out of for nursery rhyme inspiration. What struck me while reading this was how very English and very old the rhymes are if you look at the language and recurring images. It makes me wonder whether today's kids are even taught nursery rhymes anymore?

[Dichotomy Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

My favorite from the book:

"They that wash on Monday
have all the week to dry
They that wash on Tuesday
Are not so much awry
They that wash on Wednesday
Are not so much to blame
They that wash on Thursday
wash for shame,
They that wash on Friday
wash in need,
But they that wash on Saturday,
Oh! they're sluts indeed "

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband has had this since his tiny tot days and I used to love reading his falling apart copy to our kids when they were small. I doubt they were ever into it as much as me, but I love the cross hatch illustrations, the muted palette and the rich, eloquent English in these traditional nursery rhymes.

[Katie K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great collection of children's nursery rhymes. The end also has instructions for games and hand gestures. The nursery rhymes are accompanied by illustrations that give a nice touch to the book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of nursery rhymes, read for the 1001 children's books. Nice illustrations. Many children's rhymes I was familiar with, but many I was not. A few even seemed somewhat inappropriate for children or talked about beating children, so I skipped over those with my daughter.