Bounce Me, Tickle Me, Hug Me: Lap Rhymes and Play Rhymes from Around the World

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Is your baby starting to blow cold on “Peas Porridge Hot?” Does yet
another round of “This Little Piggy?” make him/her go “Wee, wee,
wee!” all the way to the bottom of the playpen? Then you may be in the
market for some new material. If you are not a natural poet yourself,
why not try something imported? In Jamaica, parents say this to their
babies: “Mama buy bread, give baby none. Baby get vex, throw himself
down. Clap hands, clap hands, till mama come home.” In Hong Kong, they
say, “Little monkey in a tree, looks so hungry, chee, chee, chee!
Maybe he will jump down to me? No, he can’t. Chee, chee, chee. Toss
him a banana—wheee! Back it comes, Chee, chee, chee. Little monkey in
a tree, are you playing games with me?”

You can find these two rhymes and 28 other international play rhymes in
this delightful book. All of them involve a rhyming chant and usually
some bouncing, tickling, or other type of parent/baby play. Both the
original verses and an English adaptation are provided.

While the rhymes are fun, the book itself could use a couple of
improvements: spiral binding (it is virtually impossible to hold a book
open and read while juggling a bouncing baby) and a different cover
color (the Day-Glo orange looks like regurgitated yam, something most
parents do not associate with fun). Recommended.