10 Best Nursery Rhyme Books for Kids Rated in 2024
Brian Price
We all know them well and they have been around for many, many generations. Nursery rhymes are our beginnings in the world of our verbal and written language. Through simple nursery rhymes, we learn to talk, sing, read, and appreciate colorful illustrations in the books. Most of these nursery rhyme books are for the age range of three-months-old to three-years-old, so your choice will vary according to the intended user. They are all the best-rated and most-purchased items online by buyers who overwhelmingly loved the products and would certainly purchase them again. We highlight them here for your easy shopping experience. Here are the best nursery rhyme books for kids in 2019.
In a Hurry? The test winner after 21 hrs of research
Includes seven nursery rhymes
Contains a music button and movable pieces
Is colorful and bright
Develops many skills and abilities
Has volume controls
10 Best Nursery Rhyme Books for Kids Reviewed
1. VTech Rhyme and Discover
Includes seven nursery rhymes
Contains a music button and movable pieces
Is colorful and bright
Develops many skills and abilities
Has volume controls
Sounds may not be clear as expected
A few buyers had books that did not have sounds long
Discovering the world with your child and watching them discover the world on their own brings so much joy to parents. This book presents a world of discovery through an interactive book featuring nursery rhymes. The book is able to provide your little one with a chance to learn while playing. It presents seven different popular nursery rhymes in a fun interactive way that will have them interacting with the book with joy each time.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
This electronic book of nursery rhymes is great for kids six-months-old to three-years-old and is very colorful and bright. It develops emotional and social skills, cognitive and language abilities, and motor and physical talents. Children can explore the classic nursery rhymes as they twist and slide the fun pieces of the book. An automatic shut-off will save the life of the battery when not in use. The pages turn easily for small hands as the book introduces the familiar sounds and names of animals that kids love. This book has volume controls for quiet-time play and a durable design that will last for many years of enjoyable fun.
Design
An automatic shut-off feature will save on the battery life of this electronic book of nursery rhymes. Kids will always leave toys on and just leave them. They can do that with this book and not run the batteries down.
Entertainment Value
Even children that cannot read yet can enjoy this adorable book of nursery rhymes because of the lovely sounds, music, and buttons. The extra components of this book make it much more enjoyable than a regular hardback book of rhymes.
2. The Real Mother Goose
Includes gorgeous illustrations
Is available in several formats
Popular for over seventy-five years
Known as the standard edition of Mother Goose
Includes many favorite rhymes
Some of the stories do not rhyme
Is an older version that may be seen as outdated
When it comes to classic nursery rhymes books this is the most classic of all classics. It is a book that has been in production for nearly a century. As you enjoyed this book as a child so will your little ones. The book has over 75 years of collections of nursery rhymes that teach children from younger ages to older ages to love the skill of reading. It is a great collection that inspires the whole family.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
The gorgeous illustrations on the cover and inside the book are one of the reasons this book has been so used and well-known for over seventy-five years. It includes such timeless classics as As I was going to St Ives; Barber, barber shave a pig; Bird of a feather flock together; Donkey, donkey, old and gray; Goosey, Goosey, gander; Hey! Diddle, Diddle; Hickory, dickory, dock; Little robin redbreast sat upon a tree; Mary, Mary quite contrary; I do not like the Doctor Fell; Ole King Cole; Old Mother Hubbard; Jack be nimble, Jack be quick; and Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake. It is available in several formats including Kindle, hardcover, paperback, and audiobook editions.
Design
This classic book of nursery rhymes comes in several wonderful formats, so kids can read or listen to them whenever they want. It comes in a regular book format, Kindle version, or an audiobook edition.
Entertainment Value
Preferred and well-liked by adults, The Real Mother Goose Illustrated has been popular for many decades. Children everywhere have learned over the years how to read and rhyme from these simple classics that delight all ages.
3. VTech Musical Rhymes
Contains six nursery rhyme classics
Builds fine motor abilities
Includes over forty songs, sounds, and phrases
Has five piano key buttons
Provides visual enthusiasm
There is no volume control
Songs may not play in order
Learning nursery rhymes and reading with this book with younger readers is easy. The design of the pages is perfect for letting little fingers turn each one of the pages on their own. Inside the book, the little one will find six classic stories each of them as nursery rhymes that you would have also heard as a child. Plus on the side of the plastic designed book, the design included a piano with five colorful keys.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
The star lights up and flashes in coordination with the sounds of the book, and the five piano key buttons introduce instruments and colors. Included are over forty songs, sounds, phrases, and melodies, plus six nursery rhyme classics. It includes large pages that are easy to turn and handle, which along with pressing the big buttons, will build fine motor abilities. Batteries are included but only for the demonstration of the book.
Design
The large pages of this interactive book are easy for little hands to manipulate. This is important as children develop and build their fine motors skills that aid them in such precise tasks.
Entertainment Value
Children will not only learn the nursery rhymes in this charming little book, but they will be exposed to musical instrument names and sounds with the bright colorful buttons they can press. This is much more than just a simple nursery rhyme book.
4. One Fish, Two Fish, Three, Four, Five Fish
Includes five fish beads for counting
Comes in three book formats
Has been safety tested on kids
Contains interactive features and bright colors
Presented in a simple and bold format
Some received damaged books
Is shorter than the original book
Dr.Seuss does not disappoint with this lovely shorter version of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. For babies and toddlers, it is a chance for them to listen and experience rhyming verse while looking at the colorful pictures and fun illustrations.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
It includes five colorful beads for counting on the top of the board book that are shaped like fish. This nursery rhyme book comes in three different formats of hardcover, paperback, and board book. It has been safety-tested on all ages of children for quality and enjoyment value. The material is presented in a simple and bold format and contains interactive elements and bright colors to excite and engage children.
Design
This is a much simpler version that the original One Fish, Blue Fish book of Dr. Seuss. It is perfect for younger kids who are just learning rhyming phrases, colors, reading, and counting.
Entertainment Value
The colorful fish beads on top of the book are just adorable! Toddlers and babies can practice their counting skills with this miniature abacus of fish while parents read them the story.
5. Favorite Nursery Rhymes
Available in hardcover and Kindle versions
Includes forty-five classic nursery rhymes
Made by an award-winning illustrator and author
Illustrations and cover are gorgeous
Builds the imagination, language, and reading skills
The book is really big
Some of the rhymes were long
This is a collection of nursery rhymes that have been authored and illustrated by an awarding winning gentleman that truly makes the stories come off the pages with these dreamy pictures. Each of the 45 traditional stories has been captured through his illustrations allowing your child to listen to each nursery rhyme while looking at the picture to create a wonderful experience. It is also able to provide them with an imagination building activity that will inspire them.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
This book of favorites is available in both hardcover and Kindle versions, so parents have a choice in reading it with them. The illustrations and colors on the cover and the inside pages of the book are gorgeous and well-done. Children will love looking at these glorious pictures as parents read the book to them in their younger ages. Great illustrations make kids understand the stories much better than books without them. They feed the imagination and the mind with wonder and excitement. This treasured book includes forty-five classic nursery rhymes such as Jack Sprat, Little Bo Peep, and The Man in the Moon.
Design
The illustrator and writer of many children’s books is the creator of this version of the Mother Goose rhymes. Scott Gustafson is a talented artist who can both write the words and draw the lovely pictures for kids to look at and enjoy.
Entertainment Value
This is a much shorter version of the Mother Goose classics. However, it does include all of the popular stories that parents will recognize from their own childhood reading adventures.
6. 365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes
Has a story for each day of the year
Wonderfully illustrated
Develops the imagination
Perfect for nap time and bedtime reading
Good for kids with short attention spans
Some parents did not like the mixture of stories and rhymes
Might not have enough illustrations
With a rhyme or story for each day of the year, this wonderfully illustrated book for kids will develop young imaginations and build adventure. These stories are perfect for bedtime reading and even during the day possibly for nap time.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
Children that do not like long stories or those that have trouble sitting still for most stories will love the witty and catchy rhymes and sing-song verse in this wonderful book. This collection includes rhymes, poems, and short stories of no more than four pages in length. Parents can read just one selection a day or use the shorter choices for more than one a night when your child wants to hear one more story. This huge volume makes a terrific gift for birthdays, holidays, and baby showers.
Design
Nursery rhymes and poems like the contents of this book are great for kids with short attention spans or those that do not like long stories. They can still build their reading and listening abilities with these fun rhymes.
Entertainment Value
This is a nice mixture of rhymes, poems, and short stories to read to kids at bedtime. Parents will love the diversity, and children will appreciate that they can hear more than one story in a day.
7. Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose
Many formats are available
Has an index of the first lines
Pages are not cluttered
Perfect for schools and libraries
Is a good book for future generations
Illustrations may be old-fashioned for a few kids
The Kindle version lacked most of the pictures
Mary Engelbreit’s version of the One Hundred Best-Loved Verses of Mother Goose is filled with humor and warmth. It is colorful and bright on the cover and in the interior and is perfect for gifts for new parents, holidays, birthdays, and baby showers.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
Many formats of this book of rhymes are available including Kindle, hardcover, board book, audiobook, and audio CD. It includes in the one hundred selections the popular rhymes of Jack and Jill, Old King Cole, Humpty Dumpty, and Little Bo Peep plus many more. This terrific book features an introduction from Leonard S. Marcus, who is a historian of children’s books, as well as a special message from the author about making the book. Included is an index of the first lines of each rhyme, so readers can find their favorites quickly and easily. This is a wonderful book to hand down to future generations of readers and should be a mainstay in libraries, schools, and personal collections.
Design
The layout of this book is clean and uncluttered because the author limited the number of rhymes on a double-page layout to three. This leaves plenty of space for the gorgeous illustrations that kids love to look at so much while reading.
Entertainment Value
It is a great idea to have an index of these rhymes by the first line only. Favorites can be found easily if the child or adult forgot the title. It can also be a wonderful way to play a game guessing the title from the first lines of the rhymes.
8. Read-Aloud Rhymes
Offered in hardcover and paperback editions
Originally published in 1986
Will develop reading and listening talents
Chosen as a Common Core standard book
Includes beautiful colored-pencil illustrations
Not the best for short attention spans
Some parents were disappointed with some of the rhymes
Meant to be read aloud just like the title states, the rhymes in this fabulous book are accompanied by beautiful colored-pencil illustrations to bring the stories to life. It is offered in hardcover and paperback editions and was originally published in 1986.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
There are over 200 rhymes and poems for kids in this book of rhymes that have been selected as a Common Core standard book for schools and libraries to carry on a regular basis. Children will develop their listening and reading skills when these rhymes are said out loud because they will hear adults sound out the syllables and words in perfect form. This large volume of stories will make a terrific gift for the beginning reader in your family.
Design
With over 200 selections to pick from, children have a large assortment of topics, characters, and story lengths to entertain them. Because of the great variety, they will never be bored with this lovely book of rhymes.
Entertainment Value
This read-aloud rhymes book has been a favorite since its first publication in 1986. At least two generations of kids have enjoyed its many rhymes and colorful pictures at bedtime and story time.
9. The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Offered in several versions for reading and listening
Has great illustrations in watercolors
Is an extended version of the classic
The spider faces exciting new adventures
Makes a fantastic read-aloud book
Some parents did not like the flow of the lines
A few kids were not interested in the book
When you were a child in school the classic itsy bitsy song was something that everyone looked forward too. It provided a musical element that was combined with a series of movements that made the song fun and interactive. This is a spin on the classic story that takes the fun spider on a new adventure. The adventure will be fun and exciting for everyone reading.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
This version of the popular story has the little spider going on new adventures because it is an extended version of the original. Offered in hardcover, paperback, audio CD, and board book editions, this lovely book of rhymes has gorgeous color illustrations in watercolors. The spider faces excitement with a large maple tree, a cat, a rocking chair, a mouse, and a fan in this edition. It is a fantastic read-aloud book because of the sing-song rhyming verse.
Design
Several format options are available with this book, so kids can enjoy it in a few ways. They can listen to the CD as they look at the words in the book, or just enjoy the colorful illustrations as parents read to them.
Entertainment Value
This author takes the classic Itsy Bitsy spider and adds to the adventure of the story. It is a new spin with a lovable character and catchy sing-song rhyme.
10. A Classic Collectible Pop-Up
Classic nursery rhymes book with pop up design
Features stories like; The Jungle Book and Cinderella
Includes book of pop ups and mini book
Each page is full color and beautiful illustrations
Encourages sensory touch stimulation
Contains a lot of stories that make the book appear cluttered
Pages poor quality and tear easily
Reading to your child every day promotes early literacy and while reading is fun, it is also fun to add some interaction with the book to storytime. This is a book full of classic nursery rhymes that also includes pop up pictures to go along with each of the stories. It fun for the kids to have an interactive element that they will love plus fun for the parents to see the level of engagement that this book of classic nursery rhymes will provide.
Read moreSensory Stimulation
Touching is a sensory stimulation that the little ones love engaging in every chance that they get. When they see something that they like their reaction is to typically reach out to feel or grab for it. Touching a book that has an interactive pop-up design allows children to not only engage in a literacy activity but also provides them with a great level of sensory stimulation at the same time.
Design
Each of the full-color pages inside this collection of classic nursery stories is full of words and pictures that will inspire your little one to fall in love with these stories just like you did as a child. It has the same Mother Goose nursery rhymes that you treasured when you were small and now you are able to share those stories with the loves you love with an extra interactive feature that creates a special time for you and your children to share.
Entertainment Value
Storytime is one of the best times of the day. It is when you get to share a story with your little one while creating a bond that will last a lifetime. When you include books that also have pop-ups it allows the children to engage on another level that they will truly learn to love.
Criteria Used for Evaluation
Sensory Stimulation
If your child is not reading yet and you read the nursery rhymes to them, they are actively looking at the pictures and taking in every word you say. Eventually, they will connect your verbal words with the printed words they see on the pages and begin to read on their own. These books provide exercise in such abilities as listening, reading, and motor skills in turning the pages. The electronic versions of the nursery rhyme books from Fisher-Price and Vtech also develop cognitive abilities of colors, numbers, and phrases with colorful buttons and audio sounds.
Design
These fabulous books are all well-illustrated with colorful drawings and graphics that will delight and excite your child as you read the nursery rhymes aloud to them. Children love looking at pictures in storybooks because they help them understand what is going on. As the pictures help the story, the story also helps the pictures as the child connect the two and learns how to read. Nursery rhymes are the best way to learn how to read because they are interesting and fun. The words are also simple to learn and the sing-song verse is easy to remember.
Entertainment Value
Each nursery rhyme book contains the classic rhyming words that we all know and love so well. Most of the books are collections of many rhymes, but a few of them have just several rhymes to entertain kids. The Mother Goose collections have some of the more extensive amounts of rhymes, but other such as 365 Bedtime Stories and Read-Aloud Rhymes have many selections to choose from.
Sensory Stimulation Design Entertainment Value 
Purposes of nursery rhymes for kids:
They make kids better readers in future years with other topics.
They help exercise an idea of community and promote valuable social skills.
They open the world of reading all books for kids.
They develop early language skills.
They are perfect story firsts for babies and toddlers.
Purposes of nursery rhymes for kids:
They are exciting and enjoyable fun for families.
They enhance coordination and fine motor talents when they are read out loud.
They join and reconnect us with the past.
They invite kids to be creative with the lovely illustrations.
They increase and begin vocabularies when children listen to the rhymes.
Other Factors to Consider
Educational Value
These sing-song phrases seem so childish and unimportant, but they are the foundations of our budding knowledge of reading, writing, listening, and understanding. While there are hundreds of these often witty stories in enjoyable rhyme, some of them are timeless classics that will never go out of style. The Mother Goose versions contain most of these treasures, and we highlight several that have varying numbers of the rhymes. Each is different in the illustrations as well as the rhyming content. Some of these books even the smallest of kids can enjoy because they are electronic versions that read the rhymes out loud to the child. They also have big colorful buttons that also explore numbers, colors, and letters for the child to learn.
Frequently Asked Questions
q: What is the difference in the various Mother Goose nursery rhyme books? Are these all the same?
A: Each one of these Mother Goose books has a varied selection of nursery rhymes in them. One has well over two hundred while another has one hundred and the other has fifty rhymes. It was the choice of the author in the selections as well as the differing illustrations and sizes of the books.
q: Why are several of these books extended versions? Do they not contain the original story too?
The author of these extended versions decided to take the well-known classics a bit further to entertain kids with additional plots. They do not contain the original story.
q: Which of these books are kid-friendly?
The Fisher-Price book, the two Vtech books, and the Hickory Dickory Dock books are all kid-friendly because they are very durable with thick pages that cannot be torn and will keep a child interested all by themselves.
q: Which books can toddlers and babies use by themselves without tearing the pages?
The Hickory Dickory Dock book, the two Vtech books, and the Fisher-Price book can all be used by very young kids without harm coming to the book itself. The pages are sturdy and thick, so they cannot be torn.
q: Do the electronic version books have more than just nursery rhymes?
Yes, these give kids practice with letters, numbers, colors, and phrases too. The nursery rhymes are audible, so the child can follow along in the book and say them out loud too.
q: Which of these books has longer stories as well as the nursery rhymes?
The 365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes book has plenty of rhymes, poems, and stories to keep children interested in reading and listening to the content. All of the other selections we highlight have just nursery rhymes in them.
q: What skills do kids learn from nursery rhyme books?
There are many talents that children need and learn from listening to these books read out loud and then eventually reading the books themselves when they have the skills. In the beginning, while listening, they are taking everything in from the tone of your voice to the words as they are spoken. The rhyming verses keep them entertained, as do the colorful graphics on the pages. All of the picture details are noticed by even the smallest of children as they try to follow the story with the pictures and your voice. Once they can read on their own, the words then help them to decipher the details in the pictures that they possibly did not understand before. It is at this point that the reading, language, and visual abilities merge into one understanding of the whole story. When they begin to flip through the pages on their own, fine motor skills will begin to develop too.
Sources
- , WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TO TEACH RHYMING, Online Article
- , Teach EFL Using Nursery Rhymes, Online Article
- , Why do kids need nursery rhymes? (10 reasons!), Online Article
- , Teaching Nursery Rhymes to Pre-readers, Online Article
