PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme by Betsy Bird & Andrea Tsurumi

POP! GOES THE NURSERY RHYME

written by Betsy Bird, pictures by Andrea Tsurumi

Union Square Kids, 2025

ISBN: 978-1-4549-6046-1

Source: purchased 

Ages 4-8

All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this laugh-out-loud spin on a classic nursery rhyme collection, a feisty weasel continuously interrupts the narrator’s carefully prepared recitation—adding exuberant mischief to the timeless rhymes we all know and love.The sensible Secretary Bird wants nothing more than to get on with their job of properly narrating a classic nursery rhyme book. But something is afoot in the orderly land of nursery rhymes . . . a zippy little Weasel has entered the scene! As the Secretary Bird tries to get through the rhymes—from Little Miss Muffet to Jack and Jill—the Weasel bursts in, throwing everything into a comical tailspin. Can the Secretary Bird put an end to the chaos?In Pop Goes the Nursery Rhyme, influential children’s librarian Betsy Bird and acclaimed illustrator Andrea Tsurumi remix beloved nursery rhymes, serving up a classic-in-the-making packed with hilarious surprises that will have little listeners riveted.

REVIEW

Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme makes for a delightful read aloud. Not only does the book introduce or remind children of nursery rhymes, at least some of which they should be familiar with, but it provides plenty of surprises. And from a librarian's perspective, those surprises make the book especially fun to read. This is not at all surprising though as the author is a librarian herself with lots of experience reading stories to children. By the time the book is halfway completed young listeners will have figured out the pattern and will be eager to help shout out, "POP! goes the weasel". And yet, the author and illustrator still have further surprises for both reader and listener. The illustrations provide an interesting twist on the old fairy tales by making all the characters animals. Little Miss Muffet is a bodybuilding mouse, Jack and Jill prove to be coatis (I think) climbing a sandcastle, and the character objecting to the weasel's interference? A secretary bird, of course. A delightfully fresh new take on the very old concept of nursery rhymes. The care taken in including appropriate versions of the nursery rhymes is explained in the author's note at the end. A winning title all around. Highly recommended.

NOTE: The only problem I ran into sharing this with kindergarteners? They started shouting Pop! as I read the book creating lots of noise and laughter.