H.A. Rey: Mary Had a Little Lamb and other Nursery Songs

This charming children’s picture book, “Mary Had a Little Lamb and other Nursery Songs,” was illustrated by none other than H.A. Rey, the co-creator of Curious George.

Published in England as #91 in Penguin’s first series of children’s books, the Puffin Picture Books, and sold back in 1951 for “two shillings and sixpence,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb and other Nursery Songs” is a songbook. Each nursery rhyme is offered up in straightforward traditional piano/vocal arrangement, but on each facing page said nursery rhyme comes to life in an illustrated sheet music vignette.

Here’s an example of what H.A. Rey made of “Hey, Diddle Diddle”; even the runaway dish and spoon make an appearance, dashing away in the upper right corner.

And notice the little cows trotting along the staff (and jumping over the moon). Another playful detail of this collection is how every song comes with a key to explain which figures stand in for the usual symbols for quarter notes and eighth notes.

The treble clefs are also customized to suit each song’s story. See if you can figure out which illustration goes with which rhyme. There are ten songs in all, including “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” “Little Miss Muffet,” “Humpty Dumpty,” and “Hey, Diddle, Diddle.”

The book is adorable — the irrepressible spirit of Mary’s lamb as it capers into a classroom, a cluster of friendly mushrooms smiling while nearby a spider takes its hat off and says hello to Little Miss Muffet. But be forewarned that a couple of the illustrations bring to life the more dire aspects of nursery rhyme content… I think it’s “Ding, Dong, Bell” that had me wincing, although the cat in question is portrayed as cheerful while it “swims” back to the surface of the well after being “rescued by Tommy Stout”.

As I researched this post I encountered websites and societies dedicated to the august history of Penguin Books. And I learned about the impact of visionary book designer, author, and publisher Noel Carrington, who was instrumental in the creation of the Puffin Picture Books series, which Penguin Books initially launched during World War II to provide informative and engaging books for children living during wartime. Indeed, the earliest Puffin books focused on explaining aspects of the war to children, like “War at Sea” (#2), “War in the Air” (#3), and even a 1941 volume about “The Battle of Britain” (#21).

The Puffin imprint still exists today, though its scope has expanded from the original series, which focused more on nonfiction subjects like “Flowers of the Field and Hedgerow and Their Garden Cousins” (#6), “A Book of Trains” (#10), and “Butterflies of Britain” (#29), along with a few storybooks like “Hamish: The Story of a Shetland Pony” (#13) and even activity books such as “Paper Birds” (#52) and the tantalizing “Electric Models from Odds and Ends” (#83).

I happened upon my worn slim paperback copy of “Mary Had a Little Lamb and other Nursery Songs” at a library bookshop, but in general, I’d guess that seeking out this collection takes you more into the realm of antiquarian booksellers.

Where to find it: “Mary Had a Little Lamb and other Nursery Songs”
by H.A. Rey; edited by Noel Carrington

VINTAGE CHILDREN'S BOOK: search for the rare illustrated children's songbook by H.A. Rey at antiquarian booksellers Type Punch Matrix or Stella & Rose's Books, or on AbeBooks, on Biblio.com, on eBay, or Amazon UK.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (Puffin Picture Books) (1951)
Status (2024): Out of Print

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION:
- The Penguin Collectors Society
- Penguin First Editions: Puffin Picture Books - history of the Puffin Picture Books series, from an online guide to Penguin Books
- The Penguin Checklist Project: Puffin Picture Books
- Design for Today: “Noel Carrington, Nothing Need Be Ugly”
- Artistic Horizons: Noel Carrington
- Stella & Rose’s Books: Puffin Picture Books Index
- Drawn Direct to the Plate: Noel Carrington and the Puffin Picture Books (book by Joe Pearson)
- PulpLibrarian on Twitter: A brief history of Puffin Books
- Bedford School: “The OB Behind Puffin Books”
- Wikipedia: Puffin Books