There is a long history behind the seemingly nonsensical childhood rhymes, handed down for centuries, that we pass on to our children without questioning their original message. This book is the American version of a popular English title delving into the often speculative history behind many of these rhymes. There are competing claims to the origins of most. Not surprisingly, many have tawdry elements. The history and politics behind these messages, as well as the reasons for disguising some rather radical slogans, is well covered in this book. ( )

"The seamy and quirky stories behind favorite nursery rhymes." Also includes a glossary of "English terms." This was very interesting, even though the writing was a bit jolty... ( )

A lot of the material here is highly speculative. Also, the nursery rhymes whose origins Roberts sets out to find end up feeling more like segues to essays on British history. In other words, I didn't like this as much as I thought I would. For straight nursery-rhyme reference material, I recommend Iona and Peter Opie's The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. ( )

This was a delightfully informative and humorously written little book that fleshes out the nursery rhymes that most of us grew up with. There are several rhymes in here that I was unfamiliar with and they are most likely more popular in England than they are here. It's a fascinating history lesson that draws several connections to many more contemporary political events. Some of this I already knew, but many of the explanations for nursery ditties and nonsense poems were real eye openers for me. I've been reading this book in bits and pieces for a while, it being one I carried in my handbag and read in odd moments. It's a good book for that sort of reading, since the reader can start and stop as needed. I enjoyed it a great deal. ( )

Enjoyed Roberts' tour through history as he explains inspiration for so many popular and less known nursery rhymes. It is interesting that the original audience for what we affectionately refer to as 'nursery rhymes' did not see them as tales for children. Peppered with allusions that Gen X readers will recognize. ( )