Limericks
By Lee Bennett Hopkins

One of the oldest and most perfect limericks comes from Mother Goose:

Hickory, dickory, dock
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one –
The mouse ran down –
Hickory, dickory, dock.

The limerick form consists of five lines built on two rhymes with an a-a-b-b-a beat. The third and fourth lines are shorter than lines one, two and five.

No one is quite sure how the limerick form began. The popularity of reading and writing limericks soared with the publication of Edward Lear's The Book of Nonsense in 1846. Lear's nonsense verse has been read and chuckled over for more than 150 years. Who could resist:

There was a young lady whose chin,
Resembled the point of a pin.
So she had it made sharp,
And purchased a harp,
And played several tunes with her chin.

Nonsense verse
While having fun with limericks, you might like to acquaint students with the life of Lear (1812-1888). One of 21 children, he was born in Holloway, England. In addition to his limericks, he created a host of wondrous nonsense verses including, "The Quangle Wangle's Hat," "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "The Jumblies." These and others appear in many single, picture book editions.

Be sure to also share with your students J. Patrick Lewis' compilation of 16 poems, Boshblobberbosh (The Creative Company, 1998). The poems that are loosely based on biographical facts are gems.

Reference shelf
Uncle Switch: Loony Limericks by X.J. Kennedy (McElderry Books, 1997). Uncle Switch, a most eccentric character, is portrayed in a host of zany situations in limerick form. The switch is, he does everything topsy-turvy!

Lots of Limericks by Myra Cohn Livingston (McElderry Books, 1991). A lot of limericks indeed! A total of 210 comprise this volume of verse by past-masters Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll and contemporary authors Lillian Moore and William Jay Smith. The book is divided into 11 sections that include "Peculiar People," "Odd Numbers and Outer Space" and "Happy Holidays." Enjoy!

Lee Bennett Hopkins is a celebrated poet and anthologist. His recent book of original poems is Alphathoughts: Alphabet Poems (Boyds Mills Press, 2003).

January, 2004, Vol.34, No.4