Hickory Dickory Duck: A Book of Funny Mixed Up Nursery Rhymes and Picture Puzzles

Linda Perry is a senior policy analyst with the Ontario Ministry of
Colleges and Universities.

This book provides just what its title promises. It comprises 12 rhymes.
Beginning traditionally, each takes off in a witty direction, and ends
with a challenge to solve a puzzle in the accompanying illustration. The
answers are provided at the end.

It is a book to be read to children rather than by them. In fact, by
the time they are old enough to read it themselves, they will likely be
too old to enjoy it. The puzzles require children to count as high as
24, a task beyond many preschoolers. The vocabulary—which incorporates
low-frequency words like “knave,” “cockleshells,” and
“sixpence”—may require some explanation. The rhyming format,
however, facilitates memorizing the text so that children familiar with
it can soon “read” it for themselves with the picture cues.

The illustrations are charming and the puzzles cunning, often with a
trick twist. This book requires active involvement—listening,
following instructions, counting, comparing, thinking, and problem
solving.