You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tails to Read Together (Performance)

Hoberman, Mary A. You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tails to Read Together. Ill. by Michael Emerley. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005. ISBN 9780316207157

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tails to Read Together is book three in the You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series by Mary Ann Hoberman. In it classic Mother Goose rhymes are turned on their heads with silly rhymes that are more fun when read by two. Many of the poems will leave readers in peals of laughter, especially when the time is taken to act out the outrageous situations of the characters like Peter the Pumpkin Eater and Humpty Dumpty. Strong rhythm and rhyming patterns in every poem make this book perfect for younger children. Cheerful cartoon characters illustrate the poems and give students learning English hints to possibly unfamiliar words such as “lean” and “fiddle”.

Present Hoberman’s “Little Miss Muffet” after exploring the classic Mother Goose nursery rhyme. Post Hoberman’s version so that everyone has viewing access to the poem. Read the poem aloud to students, giving them the chance to listen, enjoy, and read along. After students begin to feel comfortable with the poem, encourage them to read along in chorus,  joining the part of either Miss Muffet of Mrs. Spider. After several readings, allow the students to make puppets for the two characters. Possible supplies might include construction paper, markers, glue, pipe cleaners, wiggly eyes, and popsicle sticks. Students may then wish to reenact the poem in pairs or individually. Some students may even enjoy recording themselves reading and acting out the play!

excerpt from Little Miss Muffet

I’m Little Miss Muffet.
I’m here on my tuffet.
             And I am a spider
             Now hanging beside her.
             Pray, what is a tuffet,
             Dear Little Miss Muffet?
A tuffet’s a mound
Where I sit on the ground.
             And what do you eat
             When you sit on your seat?
Why, I eat curds and whey.
They’re my breakfast today.
             I do not know those words.
             What is whey? What are curds?
They are made from milk.
             How?
You must go ask the cow.
             May I sit on your tuffet
             Beside you, Miss Muffet,
             And take a short rest?
             I will be on my best.
If my tuffet were wider,
You might, Mrs. Spider;
But as you can see,
It will seat only me.


Use this poem within a larger unit on farms for a fun extension. As a field trip, visit a farm or a dairy factory to learn where milk comes from and how it gets made into cheese curds and other dairy products. If a field trip is not possible, try a virtual tour, such as the one of Wensleydale Creamery at http://www.wensleydale.co.uk/virtual-tour/.