Audiobook · read by volunteers
Ring o' Roses: A Nursery Rhyme Picture Book
L. Leslie Brooke (1862–1940)
Read by Larysa Jaworski · 3 chapters · 8 min
About the book
Here is a small picture book of nursery rhymes, drawn and gathered by L. Leslie Brooke, the English illustrator who made a name for comic animals and gentle humor. Many of the verses are familiar, a few are less so, and all are simple, rhythmic and easy for young children to follow and to remember. In this short recording, three brief chapters are read by a LibriVox volunteer, so that the rhymes can be enjoyed by ear, with a clear voice and a playful beat. It lasts only a few minutes, which makes it perfect for a bedtime moment, a car ride or a first introduction to the pleasures of poetry for the smallest listeners. A cheerful and gentle companion for the youngest listeners, it can be enjoyed again and again, and it will remind older ones of their own first favorite rhymes.
Introduction
Leonard Leslie Brooke (1862 to 1940) was an English artist and illustrator whose picture books for children became classics. He is perhaps best known for Johnny Crow's Garden, a cheerful tale in rhyme about a crow and his animal visitors, and for his illustrations to the nursery rhymes of the Mother Goose tradition. Ring o' Roses, which appeared in 1922, is one of his collections of such verses, with pictures that add to their charm.
Nursery rhymes have passed from voice to voice for centuries, and many of their origins are now lost. Their sounds, rhythms and refrains remain easy to remember, and they are often the first poetry a child learns. This collection brings together some that everyone knows and some that may be new, and it presents them with the kind of friendly spirit that Brooke gave to his drawings.
Because this is an audio recording, the pictures cannot be seen, but the rhymes themselves are enough. Their music, their repetition and their little twists of language are well suited to being heard. The recording is divided into three parts and is read by a volunteer of LibriVox, and the total running time is only a few minutes.
Parents, grandparents and teachers may find it useful as a short program for young listeners, and anyone with a fondness for nursery rhymes will enjoy a few moments of nostalgia. It is a small book, but a happy one. Nursery rhymes also help children to learn the sounds of their language, to enjoy rhythm and to remember. A book of this kind is therefore both a delight and a useful first lesson. Brooke's affectionate approach adds to the warmth of the whole.
Public domain
L. Leslie Brooke died in 1940: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text