Collections of nursery rhymes

12 Great Books of Nursery Rhymes for Kids

Nursery Rhymes for Babies, Nursery Rhymes for Toddlers

Bookshops and libraries were once full of books of nursery rhymes for kids. I have a lovely collection of books of nursery rhymes which dates back to the years when my children were small and their dad and I have lots of beautiful memories of reading those poems and rhymes with our three little ones.

But finding a good book of nursery rhymes these days can be surprisingly hard.

Why is this?

I’m not sure I have the answer but I wonder if it’s simply a case of supply and demand. With all the options available to parents these days, both in terms of books and in terms of entertainment generally, perhaps our awareness of – and interest in – nursery rhymes has just fallen away.

Why do nursery rhymes matter?

I don’t really know why interest in nursery rhymes seems to have waned in recent years but, as a teacher, I do know that nursery rhymes and poems continue to play an important role in the learning-to-read journey of our kiddos.

There’s actually lots of research around this. Did you know that, as well as being great fun to share, nursery rhymes contribute to the development of a rich vocabulary? They’re also great stimulators of phonological awareness, a critical pre-reading skill which starts developing at birth (possibly even before birth).

Reading aloud – whatever you read – is known to stimulate the development of phonological awareness but the research shows that reading rhymes and poems is especially powerful. This means that it’s a great idea to begin reading nursery rhymes aloud right from your baby’s earliest days.

Choosing a Book of Nursery Rhymes

When I was creating my Nursery Rhyme Gift Basket for little ones, I went hunting for the best books of nursery rhymes for babies and young children. This was a surprisingly difficult task. I found quite a few books with cartoon-type illustrations (as a rule, I don’t like these) and a few based on characters like Peter Rabbit but, overall, there weren’t many books of nursery rhymes in the shops.

I persevered with my research (OK, I really love doing this kind of thing so it wasn’t a chore) and my top 12 books are reviewed below.

These nursery rhyme books can be roughly divided into three groups:

bigger, hardcover books (with paper pages) containing a wide collection of nursery rhymes;
smaller board books containing a small selection of nursery rhymes;
books about nursery rhymes which contain excerpts of nursery rhymes or which feature well-known characters from nursery rhymes. We can probably call these nursery rhyme-themed books;

The hardcover books are great to share with children at story time while the smaller board books can also be carried around and ‘read’ by your little ones themselves. My daughter did this for ages, from the time she was about two.

If you’re looking at buying books of nursery rhymes for kids, I recommend buying one big hardcover book and a couple of smaller board books for your baby’s library. Books of nursery rhymes for babies also make wonderful baby shower gifts, new baby gifts and, of course, birthday gifts for small humans.

1. The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes

The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes is a large-format, hardcover book (22cm x 29cm) containing 250+ nursery rhymes for babies and young children. Illustrated by Raymond Briggs, this is a lovely book to give as a gift or to buy for your own family.

2. A Child’s Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

A Child’s Treasury of Nursery Rhymes is a large hardcover book (23cm x 28cm) containing over 75 classic nursery rhymes and songs divided into four sections: Welcome, Little Baby; Toddler Time; In the Schoolyard; and All Join In. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous.

3. The Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes

The Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes is a larger book (25cm x 27cm) containing 75 of the most popular nursery rhymes for kids. The illustrations are quite traditional and very cute.

4. Usborne Illustrated Nursery Rhymes

Usborne Illustrated Nursery Rhymes is a beautifully-illustrated collection of 100 nursery rhymes in a medium-format book (17cm x 22cm). It has a beautiful padded cover which makes it a lovely book to give as a gift. This is one of the books included in our Nursery Rhyme Gift Basket.

5. The Usborne Nursery Rhyme Picture Book

The Usborne Nursery Rhyme Picture Book is a beautiful large-format board book (24cm x 26cm) which features one nursery rhyme and an illustration on each double-page spread. 13 of the most popular nursery rhymes are included and the large tabs make it easy for small hands to find a favourite rhyme. This is probably one of the best nursery rhyme books for toddlers.

6. Eric Carle’s Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Other Nursery Rhymes

This larger-format board book (21cm x 21cm) is a 2021 release and it’s very cute. It’s a lift-the-flap book which older babies and toddlers really love and Eric Carle’s instantly-recognisable illustrations are a delight. The book features five nursery rhymes, with the last line being hidden behind a flap for little ones to discover. The nursery rhymes in this book are: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Hickory Dickory Dock, The Itsy-Bitsy Spider and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

7. Lucy Cousin’s Nursery Rhymes

Lucy Cousins’ Nursery Rhymes is a gorgeous, bright little board book (15cm x 18cm) which makes a wonderful introduction for babies into the world of nursery rhymes. If the illustrations look familiar, Lucy Cousins is the creator and illustrator of the Maisy books.

8. Clare Beaton’s Nursery Rhymes

Clare Beaton’s Nursery Rhymes is a chunky board book (17cm x 16.5cm) which is perfect for little ones to read on their own. There are seven nursery rhymes in total, with each double-page spread featuring one rhyme or song. Clare Beaton has created a series of these little nursery rhyme board books and each book is delightful.

9. Clare Beaton’s Action Rhymes

Clare Beaton’s Action Rhymes is a chunky little (16cm x 17cm) board book containing a selection of seven popular nursery rhymes for kids with easy-to-follow actions to help build movement, co-ordination and language skills.

10. Each Peach Pear Plum

Each Peach Pear Plum is hands-down one of my favourite nursery rhyme books for babies and young children. This charming board book is really a rhyming game of I Spy where little ones are invited to find their favourite characters from popular nursery rhymes until, at the end, all the characters are found having a picnic together. The illustrations by Janet and Allan Ahlberg are delightful and the rhythm and rhymes are lovely to read aloud. This was one of my own children’s favourite books when they were small and I can still recite the whole book by heart!

11. Good Night, Sleep Tight

Good Night, Sleep Tight is a lovely board book (18cm x 19cm) written by Mem Fox. It’s the story of Bonnie and Ben whose favourite babysitter recites nursery rhymes to them before they go to bed.

12. Bonnie and Ben Rhyme Again

Bonnie and Ben Rhyme Again is a sequel to Mem Fox’s popular Good Night, Sleep Tight, about a brother and sister and their babysitter, Skinny Doug. In this book, the trio go off on an adventure, rhyming as they go. Illustrated by the wonderfully-talented Judy Horacek (see the green sheep on the cover?) this book is great fun for 1-5-year-olds. Even better, it’s now available in a board book (I love board books).

Shop Art, Books & Collectibles - Curated Collections

View all

Signed Books

Whitmore Rare Books, Inc. -- ABAA, ILAB

73 items

Film Ephemera

Royal Books, Inc., ABAA

204 items

Fantasy

Jim's Books

60 items

Movements (Abstract Expressionism)

LEFT COAST BOOKS

139 items

French Manuscripts

Les Enluminures (ABAA & ILAB)

5 items

Luggage Labels

Picture This (ABA, ILAB, IVPDA)

23 items

View all 37 Collections

View all

Counterculture

Attic Books (ABAC, ILAB)

6 items

Bibliography

Attic Books (ABAC, ILAB)

74 items

Transportation (Automotive)

old imprints ABAA/ILAB

31 items

Foreign Language

old imprints ABAA/ILAB

6 items

Dr Seuss Books

Linda's Rare Books

7 items

Autobiography

Linda's Rare Books

5 items

View all 384 Collections

View all

Book Arts

W. C. Baker Rare Books & Ephemera, ABAA

19 items

Book Arts

Tree Frog Fine Books and Graphic Arts

90 items

Lithographs-Woodcuts Etchings Gravure

A Biblio-omnivore-Harvey Lev

15 items

Drawings

Royoung Bookseller, Inc. ABAA

5 items

Art-Etchings

Bauer Rare Books

22 items

Lithographs-Woodcuts Etchings Gravure

A Biblio-omnivore-Harvey Lev

15 items

View all 773 Collections

View all

Magazines (Comics Scene)

Joseph M Zunno

21 items

Comics

JARBOOKSELL

5 items

Cartoons

Nerman's Books & Collectibles

28 items

Cartoons, Children

2nd Hand Books

9 items

Marvel Comics

Books from the Crypt

136 items

Marvel Comics

Firefly Bookstore

91 items

View all 337 Collections

View all

Comic Books, Comic Art & Graphic Novels

Ira Joel Haber - Cinemage Books

173 items

Graphic Novels

Lou Manrique - Antiquarian Bookseller

6 items

Young Adult (Manga)

BookMarx Bookstore

141 items

Manga

Inquiring Minds

7 items

View all 143 Collections

View all

Broadsides

Bert Babcock - Bookseller, LLC, ABAA

32 items

Broadsides

Riverrun Books & Manuscripts, ABAA

25 items

Postcards & Ephemera

Ryan O'Horne Books

24 items

Travel Literature & Ephemera

Antiquarius Booksellers

42 items

Early Printing & Manuscripts

Antiquariaat FORUM BV

125 items

Ephemera and Manuscripts

Interquarian

5 items

View all 598 Collections

View all

First Editions

143 sellers

44641 items

Modern First Editions

109 sellers

37152 items

Literary First Editions

Tennyson Williams Books and Fine Art

43 items

Literary first editions

Jason Burley, Camden Lock Books, IOBA

24 items

Modern First Editions & General Literature

Plane Tree Books

814 items

Modern First Editions

Neil Pearson Rare Books

35 items

View all 171 Collections

View all

Vintage Magazines

32. 1 Rare Books + Ephemera, IOBA

53 items

Vintage Magazines

Brenner's Collectable Books ABAA, IOBA

25 items

Periodicals

Black Sheep Books

92 items

Periodicals

SCENE OF THE CRIME ®

59 items

View all 161 Collections

View all

Atlases

Rooke Books PBFA

16 items

China (Atlases)

Asia Bookroom ANZAAB/ILAB

5 items

Cartography

Sequitur Books

213 items

Cartografie (Cartography)

Von Meyenfeldt, Slaats & Sons

19 items

Maps of South East Asia

Asia Bookroom ANZAAB/ILAB

30 items

BRITISH ISLES Original Antique MAPS, County Maps, Old UK maps arranged by county (SUSSEX Original.

Lindisfarne Prints

7 items

View all 695 Collections

View all

Art (Prints, Photographs)

! Turtle Creek Books !

6 items

Photographs (Celebrity)

Wittenborn Art Books

29 items

View all 82 Collections

View all

Antiquarian

Peter Foster Books - PBFA

11 items

Antiquarian & Rare

Turn The Page Books

7 items

Fine Bindings

Come See Books Livres

78 items

Fine Bindings

Medium Rare Books

13 items

Fine Press

Peter Foster Books - PBFA

6 items

Fine Press

Bookworks [MWABA, IOBA]

38 items

View all 754 Collections

View all

Association Copies

Letters Bookshop

59 items

Association Copy

Charles Parkhurst Rare Books, Inc. ABAA

31 items

Signed Photobooks

2 sellers

290 items

Limited Signed Editions

2 sellers

271 items

Inscribed & Signed Books

Brick Row Book Shop, ABAA

5 items

Signed & Inscribed

Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA

24 items

View all 183 Collections

View all

Music (Vintage Sheet Music 1940s)

! Turtle Creek Books !

95 items

Music (Vintage Sheet Music 1920s)

! Turtle Creek Books !

90 items

View all 14 Collections

View all

Agatha Christie

Julian Roberts Fine Books ABA ILAB PBFA

12 items

Agatha Christie

Alpha 2 Omega Books BA

216 items

Detective Fiction

Alkahest Books

10 items

Detective Fiction

THE BOOK VAULT

30 items

Crime Fiction

92 sellers

11749 items

Crime & Mystery Fiction

2 sellers

1513 items

View all 1,311 Collections

View all

Board Books

Never Too Many Books

9 items

CHI Board Books

The Book Merchant, LLC

19 items

Children's Illustrated Books

Northern Lights Rare Books

60 items

Children's illustrated

Libris

284 items

Australian Literature (Children's Picture Books)

Wormhole Books

26 items

Children's Picture Books

Fallen Leaf Books

197 items

View all 483 Collections

View all

Arkham

Crossroads Books

6 items

H.

P. Lovecraft

Terence McVicker, Rare Books

6 items

Horror

282 sellers

27494 items

Fiction (Horror)

27 sellers

2372 items

Horror & Ghost Stories

The Book Nest Ltd

19 items

Ghost Stories

Rooke Books PBFA

26 items

View all 65 Collections

View all

Fantasy

Robinson Street Books, IOBA

45 items

Dark Fantasy & Horror

Black Cat Hill Books

12 items

Science Fiction

Bloomsbury Books

54 items

Science Fiction

J. C. Burris, Bookseller

53 items

View all 658 Collections

View all

Adventure Fiction

Biblio Pursuit

17 items

Fiction (Adventure Fiction)

Bookmarc's

34 items

Asian & Asian-American Literature

Bungalow Books, ABAA

5 items

American Literature

Lycanthia Rare Books

13 items

Photo Award Winners

Postcard Finder

209 items

Noble Prize Winners

MDS BOOKS

39 items

View all 979 Collections

View all

Regency Romances

7 sellers

275 items

Romance (Contemporary)

4 sellers

271 items

Harlequin

Minotavros Books, ABAC/ILAB

10 items

Harlequin Romances

June Samaras

13 items

Victorian Historical Romance

Robinson Street Books, IOBA

5 items

Historical Romance

Vada's Book Store

540 items

View all 72 Collections

View all

Arts & Architecture

Zamboni & Huntington

204 items

Art Antiques Orient China Japan Asia Archaeology Architecture Chinese Costume Fine Arts Furniture

Charles Lewis Best Booksellers

9 items

Art Books

Poor Yorick Bookseller

5 items

Art Books

Beyond Baroque

15 items

Art History, European Decorative Arts

Post Road Gallery

6 items

Art History

Post Road Gallery

12 items

View all 2,179 Collections

View all

Biographies

Lake Country Books and More

97 items

Biographies

Antiquariaat Parnassos vof

401 items

Memoirs

Russian Hill Bookstore

7 items

Military (Memoirs)

Chapter 1

5 items

View all 212 Collections

View all

Accounting

Alpha 2 Omega Books BA

10 items

Economics , Ec History, Accounting & Statistics

Goulds Book Arcade, Sydney

395 items

Business

virtualrarities

5 items

Business

Eagle Eye Books

400 items

Money Management & Investment Strategies

Kenneth A. Himber

109 items

Management & Leadership

Robinson Street Books, IOBA

146 items

View all 687 Collections

View all

Gift Suggestions (Cookbooks)

Antiquarian Bookshop

7 items

Cookbooks & Entertaining (Cakes & Decorating)

Bookmarc's

6 items

Diet

Book Nook

43 items

Diet, Food & Drink

Kadriin Blackwell

6 items

Food Writing

Old Scrolls Book Shop

8 items

Food Writing

Inquiring Minds

22 items

View all 560 Collections

View all

Antiques

DBookmahn's Used and Rare Military Books

10 items

Chinese Antiques Snuff Bottles Auction

Charles Lewis Best Booksellers

29 items

Gardening

Lady Lisa's Bookshop

24 items

Gardening

Tall Ships Gallery

113 items

Hobbies And Crafts

14 sellers

456 items

Crafts And Hobbies

26 sellers

4185 items

View all 1,579 Collections

View all

American History

Eastleach Books

34 items

American History

Fallen Leaf Books

88 items

Ancient History

Edmonton Book Store

527 items

Ancient History

Great Expectations Rare Books

42 items

Modern European History

Book Stall of Rockford, Inc.

67 items

European History

Wordbank Books

22 items

View all 1,872 Collections

View all

Bibliography

Leopolis

869 items

Bibliography

BiblioFile

17 items

Dictionaries

Sapphire Books

14 items

Dictionaries

Blacks Bookshop CABS 2017, SIBA, ABA

22 items

Directories

Lloyd Zimmer, Books and Maps

21 items

Directories

William Reese Company - Americana

44 items

View all 1,664 Collections

View all

Bible Studies

Mythos Center Books

38 items

Bible Study

Agape Love, Inc

33 items

Buddhism

Dromanabooks

46 items

Buddhism

beat book shop

38 items

Religion-Hinduism

Ageless Pages

11 items

Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism

gearbooks

20 items

View all 2,821 Collections

View all

Agriculture & Farming

Pella Books

67 items

Agriculture

A Biblio-omnivore-Harvey Lev

26 items

Astronomy

Reading Habit

17 items

Astronomy & Space

Kuenzig Books ( ABAA / ILAB )

16 items

Biology

Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc.

5 items

Biology

Eureka Books

121 items

View all 2,125 Collections

View all

Dreams

Weiser Antiquarian Books, Inc.

13 items

Dreams

Lady Lisa's Bookshop

6 items

Hypnosis

Veronica's Books

127 items

Hypnosis

Lady Lisa's Bookshop

6 items

New-Age & Witchcraft

Q's Books Hamilton

39 items

New Age

AAABOOKS (Authors & Artists)

34 items

View all 683 Collections

Humanities

The Roving Eye

14 items

Arts & Humanities

My Father's Books

17 items

Legal, Jurisprudence, Government

Easy Chair Books

222 items

Politics

R. W. Forder

18 items

New Age

Fleur Fine Books

50 items

New Age

Weiser Antiquarian Books, Inc.

137 items

View all

Travel & Adventure

The Book Shed

30 items

Travel & Adventure (Special Interest Travel)

Bookmarc's

6 items

Travel (Africa)

Trumpington Fine Books Limited

12 items

Travel (Africa)

Eastleach Books

52 items

Travel (Asia)

Lawrence Jones Books

9 items

Travel (Asia)

Tangible Tales

5 items

View all 362 Collections

Browse and shop books and collectibles ranging from vintage paperbacks and signed first editions to antique maps and art and photography.

Collection of children's songs. Songs online

A collection of children's songs to listen to online and download. Children's songs with lyrics and backing tracks.

Songs from cartoons
Lullabies Songs
Songs for kids
New Year's songs
Songs about mom
Songs about dad
Songs about grandmother
Musart
WWIC SLOW
Sounds of nature for children
Cold heart
Cold heart 2
Bremen musicians
Classical music
Russian folk songs
Cheburashka
Cartoons
9000
Logorotmika
9000 9000 9000 9000
Ladybug and Super Cat
Rapunzel
Barboskins
Four hedgehogs
Autumn playlist
Mary Poppins, goodbye!
Mermaid
Birthday disco
Lullabies Banilac
King Lev
Aladdin
ASSOUT NOTOMS
MONSTER HAI
LOOPLE LOOPOLDA
9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 Girls from Ecvesters: Rain
Adventure Electronics
May Little Pony
Shichida Meditation and Practice Music
Gravity Falls
Blue Puppy
Kindergarten and Graduation Songs
Lullabies for Years
Lullabies from Around the World
Rock and Roll Lullabies
English Baby Songs60
Choir of large families of Moscow
Dunno
Songs for March 8
English New Year songs
New Year's playlist

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14,0003
15
16
9000
19
20,0003
21
22
23
24

2 26 9000 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26

29
30
31
32
9000 34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
9000 9000 9000
9000 51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
67
006
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96 9000
97
98
99
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
9000 134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146 9000
147
9000 2 148
149
150

Listen to children's songs comfortably

Children's songs are easy to listen to online on our website. On the page with the song you will find a convenient player that allows you to listen to your favorite melody as many times as you like.

Sing children's songs

Are you organizing a children's party? Want to sing karaoke? Download the backing tracks of songs for children or sing along right on the site!

Lyrics for children

Need to brush up on the words to your favorite children's songs? No problem! Each song has original lyrics.

Notes for children's songs

The section of Soviet children's songs provides up-to-date information for educators and teachers teaching kids to play the piano. Sheet music in pdf format can be downloaded for free.

🎸 Collection of children's songs - Children's Songs

Attention! You have AdBlock ad blocker enabled

If the AdBlock plugin is enabled, we cannot guarantee the correct operation of all site services

Track list

Title

Album

Duration

Song of the Sheep