Rhyming Books

Whether or not you're a fan of Dr. Seuss, you aren't likely to forget his books for one simple reason—they rhyme. Each line carries a cadence that drives the sing-song deep into the memory where it survives and prospers, and it does this most effectively in the minds of children. The rhythms of language impart a love of words kids are unlikly to abandon when they're older.

It's pretty common to equate "rhyme" and "poetry." There are a couple things wrong with this assumption: not all poetry rhymes, and poetry is more about meter than it is about vowel-chime. Meter is the beat of each line, the "da-da-da-da-da-da" that makes poetry distinct from prose. Rhyming books aren't necessarily poetry (at least, not in the Robert Frost or John Milton sense), but they are incredibly musical.

Kids aren't born automatically in love with language. If their first encounters with reading (either being read aloud to or learning how to read themselves) throw them into contact with primarily dull books, there's a good chance they'll grow up with a distaste for words. Even if they encounter brilliant writing later, they're already predisposed to reject it, largely because they don't understand it or have the tools to appreciate it.

Rhyming books are a great place to start to help raise readers who are entranced by well-constructed sentences. If you suppose someone like Bill Peet is a shoddy craftsman because he writes relatively simple narratives for kiddos, you need to re-read The Caboose Who Got Loose. Writers who can create fun stories using a form as difficult as metered couplets deserve not only our admiration, but our readership.

We love words here at Exodus Books. We love the way the printed page looks. We offer many first-rate titles. Peruse them when you're feeling idle.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
62 Items found Print
Active Filters: Hardcover
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
"There are Rocks in my Socks!" Said the Ox to the Fox
by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
¡Pío Peep!
by Alice Schertle, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy
Bilingual from Rayo
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Rhyming Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by Dr. Seuss
15th printing 1967 from Vanguard Press
Rhyming Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Big Book of Nursery Rhymes
Calla Editions
by Charles Robinson
Calla from Dover Publications
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 1st-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Cat in the Hat Comes Back
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Fish Out of Water
by Helen Palmer
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Fly Went By
by Mike McClintock
from Random House
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Fly Went By
by Mike McClintock, illustrated by Fritz Siebel
from Random House
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Foot Book
Bright & Early Books
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Foot Book
Bright & Early Books
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (4 in stock)
Frogs and Toads All Sang
by Arnold Lobel, illustrated by Adrianne Lobel
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Hand Rhymes
by Marc Brown
from Dutton Children's Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hooper Humperdink...? Not Him!
by Dr. Seuss writing as Theo LeSieg, illustrated by Scott Nash
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hop on Pop
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Preschool-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Horton Hatches the Egg
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
read-aloud poetry picture book for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Horton Hears a Who!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
How Sweet the Sound
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
from Atheneum
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Christmas Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
by Theo. LeSieg
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
If Jesus Came to My House
by Joan Gale Thomas
from HarperCollins
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
In a People House
by Theo. LeSieg, illustrated by Roy McKie
from Random House
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Is Your Mama a Llama?
by Deborah Guarino, Illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
It's Not Easy Being a Bunny
by Marilyn Sadler
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Madeline Treasury
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Reissue from Viking Press
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$35.00
Madeline's Book Collection
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Marguerite de Angeli's Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Doubleday & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1955 Caldecott Honor Book
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.00 (5 in stock)
Michael Hague's Mother Goose
by Michael Hague
Reissue from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Michael Hague's Mother Goose
by Michael Hague
Reissue from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Mother Goose
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
Mother Goose
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch
by Graeme Base
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
My Very First Mother Goose
by Iona Opie
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Now We Are Six
by A. A. Milne
from Dutton Children's Books
Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Now We Are Six
by A. A. Milne
from Dutton Children's Books
Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Oh Say Can You Say?
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Old Hat New Hat
Bright & Early Books
by Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
One Small Blue Bead
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Put Me in the Zoo
by Robert Lopshire
from Random House
for 1st-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Random House Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever
by Richard Scarry
50th Anniversary Edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$16.99
Ring O' Roses Treasury: Nursery Rhymes and Stories
Calla Editions
by L. Leslie Brooke
from Dover Publications
for Nursery-6th grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
Rocket Book
by Peter Newell
from Tuttle Publishing
for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Science Verse w/audio CD
by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith
from Viking Press
Silly Science Rhymes for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Slant Book
by Peter Newell
from Tuttle Publishing
Humorous Rhyming Books for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Snow
by Philip.D. Eastman, Roy Mc Kie
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Stop that Ball!
by Mike McClintock, illustrated by Fritz Siebel
Reissue from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Summer
by Alice Low
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
The Lorax
by Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
There's a Wocket in my Pocket
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Wacky Wednesday
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
What Did You Do Today?
by Whitney Antis, illustrated by Hana Augustine
from Whitney Antis
for Nursery-1st grade
in Emotions for Kids (Location: BIB-CHEM)
$17.99
When We Were Very Young
by A. A. Milne
from Dutton Juvenile
Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Wild About Books
by Judy Sierra, Marc Brown
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
by Dr. Seuss
First Edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99