The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes

By Peter Opie and Iona Opie

Book Overview

Here is a brand new edition of the classic anthology of nursery rhymes--over 500 rhymes, songs, nonsense jingles, and lullabies traditionally handed down to young children. Included are all of your favorites, ranging from "Yankee Doodle Came to Town" and "A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go" to "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," Jack and Jill" and "Old Mother Hubbard." And complementing the rhymes are nearly a hundred illustrations, including reproductions of early art found in ballad sheets and music books, which highlight the development of children's illustrations over the last two centuries.

With each piece, Iona and Peter Opie introduced a wealth of information, noting the earliest known publications of the rhyme, describing how it originated, illustrating changes in wording over time, and indicating variations and parallels in other languages. Moreover, in the general introduction, the Opies discuss the different types of rhyme and the earliest published collections, and they address such questions as who was Mother Goose and whether or not individual rhymes originally portrayed real people. For this second edition, the notes have been updated and extended in light of recent scholarship, providing an unrivaled wealth of literary and bibliographic information.

The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes is now more than ever an indispensable reference source for scholars and book collectors as well as a volume to be treasured by parents and children alike.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198600887
• ISBN13: 9780198600886
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.8" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Simply wonderfull!

It's simply wonderfull! More than 500 nursery rhymes, lullabies and riddles with great and interesting notices about origin.

Simply wonderfull!

It's simply wonderfull! More than 500 nursery rhymes, lullabies, riddles with intresting notices about origin. A real treasure for me and for my site: www.filastrocche.it.

A must for anyone interested in NRs and their origin

This is the seminal publication on nursery rhymes, IMO. The Opies have been collecting information about nursery rhymes for more than 50 years. The second edition of their OD of NR was published last year (1997) and is greatly updated on the first. It includes indepth analysis of over 550 nursery rhymes. I've been unable to find a NS of my knowledge that isn't included in there.It makes a great present for a new-born, or his/her parents more like!