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There Was a Little Man

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

This nursery rhyme comes from The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, compiled by Walter Jerrold and illustrated by Charles Robinson, first published in 1903. The rhyme itself is much older, from the eighteenth or early nineteenth century. It is a playful, silly verse that children have enjoyed for generations because of its cheerful rhythm and surprising ending. This retelling gives the rhyme a story shape so young listeners can picture the characters and imagine what happened. This text reflects its era.

Band

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

Length

short · about 378 words in 4 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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