Reviews for No Hickory No Dickory No Dock: Caribbean Nursery Rhymes

The average rating for No Hickory No Dickory No Dock: Caribbean Nursery Rhymes based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-05-03 00:00:00 Steven Crawford This is a collection of poems, which as the name implies is different to traditional poetry books. The Caribbean authors have given a fresh spin to some traditional poems. There are alternatives to familiar rhymes and characters plus some Caribbean ones drawn from the poets� own childhood memories of Guyana. The book contains a contents page with a list of all the available poetry from which children will be able to recognise some of the more familiar poems such as �London Bridge� and �Humpty Dumpty�. The language used in this poetry book is traditional for Caribbean poetry but children may not be familiar with the grammar difference from the kind of written English they are used to seeing and hearing. For example, in the poem �No hickory no dickory no dock� phrases such as �I didn�t run up no clock� is common parlance in the Caribbean, however, in England it is grammatically incorrect. The majority of the poems have accompanying pictures, which also reflect the cultures and traditions some of the poems refer to. Children will enjoy looking at these pictures as it brings the poem to life and adds interest. The language used is warm and friendly and many of the poems rhyme and have rhythmic structures, which the children will enjoy listening to, or reading. This book is suitable for Key stage 2 children and is a valuable resource, especially useful for increasing the variety of poetry books available for children and their knowledge of other cultures and traditions.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-11-23 00:00:00 Alan Roach This was a great favourite in my classrooms in Tottenham, Islington and Walthamstow. The well-known and well-respected poets John Agard and Grace Nichols have referred to their childhoods in Guyana to not only collect nursery rhymes from the Caribbean, but also to give a Caribbean flavour to traditional British nursery rhymes. My two favourites are John Agard's re-telling of "Tom Tom the Piper's Son", called "A-So She Say", with the cynical refrain of "A-So Dem Say" running throughout the account of Tom running away with the pig, and the teacher correcting the grammar of the nursery rhyme. The last four lines were my classes' favourites: and my teacher does talk sweet and my teacher does write neat and my teacher don't like pig meat A-SO SHE SAY They loved joining in the refrain and learned the rhyme off by heart. "No More Latin" reminds me of the end of term at my own primary school days, when we didn't learn Latin or French, or sit on the old school bench. The Caribbean version has a second verse: No more licks To make me cry No more eyewater To come out me eye I had this book in my book corner for children to read during independent reading time, and I would often read nursery rhymes from it to my classes, Y2-Y5. I would certainly use it in lessons to compare poems and rhymes from the oral tradition from different cultures. Highly recommended.