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

PreS--Rosen, writing about what drove him to put together this collection, looked back on all the anthologies he's collected, and wanted the less familiar nursery rhymes to have their day. So readers who know "Hickory, dickory, dock," may be glad to come across "Here am I, Little Jumping Joan; When nobody's with me, I'm all alone." Or "Jerry Hall, He is so small, A rat could eat him, Hat and all." And "Polly, Dolly, Kate and Molly, All are filled with pride and folly. Polly tattles; Dolly wriggles; Katy rattles; Molly giggles." Riddell's illustrations, in soft lines and confetti colors, are a pure celebration of stuffed animals, dolls, tiny beings and large face-offs (Jerry Hall and the rat). The problem may be that the joy of nursery rhymes is in their familiarity and how they have been passed to readers, through adults harking back for sources of entertainment, or in preschool games. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider resonates for children because of the finger game that goes with it. Ring-Around-the-Rosy makes sense because of the playground game that can be as complicated or simple as the players wish. VERDICT A sterling collection, these exist as archaic bits of language that we save which are no longer attached to a meaning. Important to the canon, this may have a home on reference shelves more than in picture book collections.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Rosen (The Missing), who also contributes a thoughtful foreword, compiles a solid mix of nursery rhymes, mixing old favorites ("Miss Mary Mack") and genuine head scratchers--at least for U.S. audiences ("Hab can nab/ The two-pound crab"). Typography occasionally receives a playful treatment, as with ever-shrinking type for a telescoping perspective of "This is the key of the kingdom." Warmhearted, unfussy presentations by Riddell (Pirate Stew) feature lots of gallivanting animals (anthropomorphized and otherwise) and an inclusive cast of children in settings that range from white space to landscapes to sunny domestic interiors. One of the loveliest treatments is given to "Rain on the Green Grass," which finds a bear cub snuggled cozily in bed while a gray- and rose-colored shower falls on timber-framed houses outside the window. There may be more rousing treatments of individual rhymes out there, but in terms of foundational texts for youngest children, this one should elicit as many smiles as "honey for breakfast, honey for tea." Ages 3-7. (Mar.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Warmhearted, unfussy presentations by Riddell (Pirate Stew) feature lots of gallivanting animals (anthropomorphized and otherwise) and an inclusive cast of children in settings that range from white space to landscapes to sunny domestic interiors...in terms of foundational texts for youngest children, this one should elicit as many smiles as "honey for breakfast, honey for tea."
—Publishers Weekly

This is not your average book of nursery rhymes. This illustrated collection consists of verses sourced from historical anthologies and therefore contains poems that many Americans have most likely never encountered before.. a thoughtfully curated and entertaining read for devotees of English and Anglo-American children's verse or for adults looking to expose their children to nursery rhymes they may not otherwise hear. An unusual, lively collection of nursery rhymes sourced from historic texts.
—Kirkus Reviews