Animal Crackers: Nursery Rhymes

Animal Crackers

by Jane Dyer

A collection of nursery rhymes from Dyers anthology, includes such titles as "Little Jack Horner," "Sing a song of sixpence," "Baa,baa, black sheep," and "Polly, put the kettle on"

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, Nursery Rhymes, Picture Books

16 pages, Board Book

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Jane Dyer has been illustrating children's books for over a decade. Publishers Weekly described her art for Talking Like The Rain: A Read-to-Me Book of Poems, selected by X. J. and Dorothy Kennedy, as "unusually striking... vibrantly coloured, splendidly detailed illustrations [which are] some of this gifted artist's finest work."

Ms. Dyer lives and works in a 100 year-old brick house in Northampton, Massachusetts and has two grown daughters, Brooke and Cecily.

Reviews

[Anishka Maia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I am still too young for this book. I am not that familiar with some of the rhymes first and some of them are long so I get bored and just want to turn the page.

*20 months old*

[Lara Ivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through child-friendly illustrations, Jane Dyer captures the innocence of childhood. This collection of nursery rhymes, poems, and lullabies is organized in a very clear manner…concepts, seasons, food, animals, nursery rhymes, playtime, and lullabies.

•Page 13 has an ABC poem about an Apple Pie. Try writing your own poem with a different topic…maybe even an object that isn’t food.
• Page 62—A Verse for the Night Before the Birthday…great poem to share the night before your child’s birthday as you can add in how old they are tonight and what they will be when they wake up.

Movement: Page 50—Bow-Wow, Says the Dog…Act out the poem. Choose your favorite entry and create movements with your child. Try the poem/lullaby again.
Art: Choose your favorite entry and make a new illustration to go with it. Make an illustration to go with your new poem.

Music: In the “Playtime” section, consider singing the rhymes.

Math: Make a simple kite…talk about symmetry when coloring/decorating the kite.

Science: Talk about how plants grow. Consider planting a small garden or even a “garden in a glove.” Using a clear plastic glove, place a moistened cotton ball into seeds. Now wet with water and covered with a few seeds, place it into one of the fingers. Choose several different seeds to attempt to grow. Once they have sprouted, move them to continue growing by following the directions on the seed packages.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a collection of illustrated Mother Goose rhymes, lullabies, and contemporary verses for bedtime. Some of them are:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...
Little Jack Horner
Hey, Diddle, Diddle
1, 2, Buckle my Shoe
To Market, To Market...
Little Bo-Peep
Sing a Song of Sixpence
How many days has my baby to play
Pat-a-cake
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Ladies and Gentlemen
I eat my peas with honey
Polly, put the kettle on
There was a little girl

Animal Crackers - Animal Friends

Animal Crackers - christopher Morley
Bow-Wow, says the dog
Poem - William Carlos Williams
Cock-a-doodle-doo
Old Noah
The Zoo in the Park
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
The wise cow enjoys a cloud - Nancy Willard
Cradle song of the elephants - Adriano del Valle Translated by Alida Malkus
Ride a Cockhorse
This Little Piggy
Seven blackbirds in a tree
All asleep - Charlotte Pomerantz

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute illustrated nursery rhyme book. Although we were familiar with most of these rhymes, there were a couple that were new to us, like eating peas with a knife. My son found that one particularly funny.

[Aleya Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read to young children. It had a lot of interesting nursery rhymes. This would be good because it would teach the children about rhyming. The illustrations were done very well. I think that this would be a good book a good book to read to kindergarten or 1st grade children.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love, love, love this artist's illustrations! :)

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of traditional nursery rhymes. Some well known and some lesser known.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely perfect little collection of nursery rhymes.