Consider the Blackbird Book

Laura Huliska-Beith's brightly colored, playful illustrations bring life to this classic nursery rhyme. She includes the full text of Sarah Josepha Hale's poem, including some verses that are rarely found elsewhere:

Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And every where that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go;
He followed her to school one day—
That was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.

And so the Teacher turned him out,
But still he lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear;
And then he ran to her, and laid
His head upon her arm,
As if he said—“I’m not afraid—
You’ll keep me from all harm.”

“What makes the lamb love Mary so?”
The eager children cry—
“O, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
The Teacher did reply;—
“And you each gentle animal
In confidence may bind,
And make them follow at your call,
If you are always kind.”

(text found at: )

Huliska-Beith's expressive illustrations will help children understand the meaning of some of the more difficult words and phrases. "A Note about the Poem" on the last page of the book explains the controversy over whether the poem was originally written by Sarah Joseph Hale or adapted by her, based on a 12-line poem by John Roulstone. A woman named Mary Sawyer Tyler claimed that Roulstone originally wrote the poem about her when she was a little girl who actually had a pet lamb that followed her to school.