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What Are Little Boys Made Of?

A nursery rhyme retold from The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes by Walter Jerrold and Charles Robinson

This reader is based on a traditional nursery rhyme collected in The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes by Walter Jerrold and Charles Robinson, first published in the early twentieth century. The rhyme playfully imagines what little boys and little girls are 'made of,' using images from everyday life—snails, puppies, sugar, and spice. It invites a young child to think about who they are and what makes them special, while celebrating the wonder of childhood. This text reflects its era.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5

Length

short · about 370 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, Walter Jerrold and Charles Robinson

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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