The Silly Parade and Other Topsy-Turvy Poems

CONTENTS

For Zachary ~ Anne

Text by Anne Dwyer Copyright © 2016 Illustrations by Nikolay Popov Copyright © 2016 Rovakada, LLC Copyright © 2016 All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. www.rovakada.com ISBN 978-0-9845867-6-9 $19.95 Library of Congress Control Number 2016939006 Publisher: Rovakada Publishing Manufacturing location: Shenzhen, China Production date: September, 2016 Materials used in this publication are tested according to The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)

Nursery Rhymes Jack’s Car 4 Magic Carpet 7 Goose’s Spree 8 The Well 10 Old Man Igor 12 The Silly Parade 14 The Owl 16 The Steed 17 Pig-in-a-puddle 18 The Sparrow 19 Animal Dance 20 The Speckled Hen 22 The Rooster 23 An Unusual Relationship 24 The Bridge 25 Rain, Rain, Please Don’t Stop! 26 A Pot of Borsht 28 Rain, Rain, Stay Away! 29 Rain, Rain, Pour Down on Me 30 Sunshine 32 Simple Simon 34 The Big City 35 Watermelon 36

Tongue Twisters Nettles in a Kettle 38 Four Brave Beavers 40 The horse’s step 41 Poor Polikarp 41

Lullabies Rock-a-bye Baby 42 Hush, Little Baby 43 Rooster, Go Back to Bed! 44 Sandman 47

Th e S I LLY

PARADE

and OTHE R T o p s y-T u r v y PO E M S

Russian folk nursery rhymes, tongue twisters, and lullabies retold by Anne Dwyer and illustrated by Nikolai Popov

Rovakada Publishing San Francisco 2016

Goose’s Spree

Chick-chick-chickadee,

Goose is going on a spree.

Duck takes trumpet for a jog,

Chicken travels on her log.

Rabbit rides his wheelbarrow,

8  Nursery Rhymes

And the little boy his dog.

9

Goose’s Spree

Chick-chick-chickadee,

Goose is going on a spree.

Duck takes trumpet for a jog,

Chicken travels on her log.

Rabbit rides his wheelbarrow,

8  Nursery Rhymes

And the little boy his dog.

9

The Owl

The Steed

A round-eyed owl sat in a tree, Turned her large head so she could see.

“Hoo-hoo,” she said, “So who are you?

Whatever you may wish to do, Don’t pull my ears, or I’ll go BOO!”

The stately steed walks by the stream, Raven-black against the green.

His head he tosses to and fro, His sable mane shakes all aglow.

His golden harness jingles jangles, Little bells go ring-ring-ring, Gold and shiny, ding-ding-ding.

16 Nursery Rhymes

17

The Owl

The Steed

A round-eyed owl sat in a tree, Turned her large head so she could see.

“Hoo-hoo,” she said, “So who are you?

Whatever you may wish to do, Don’t pull my ears, or I’ll go BOO!”

The stately steed walks by the stream, Raven-black against the green.

His head he tosses to and fro, His sable mane shakes all aglow.

His golden harness jingles jangles, Little bells go ring-ring-ring, Gold and shiny, ding-ding-ding.

16 Nursery Rhymes

17

Animal Dance Taram-tatam! Taram-taray!

The animals at Daniel’s place Have gathered all to dance and play!

Tap-tap-tap— Sheep are prancing on the tubs.

Tum-tum-tum— Roaches banging on the drums.

Buzz-buzz-buzz— Mosquitos playing pots and pans.

20 Nursery Rhymes

Maa-maa-maa— Goat might just stand on his hands.

Too-too-too— Duckies on their trumpets blow.

And cranes are pointing their long toes!

Taram-tatam! Taram-taray!

The animals at Daniel’s place Have gathered all to dance and play!

Come join the song, and sing along!

21

Animal Dance Taram-tatam! Taram-taray!

The animals at Daniel’s place Have gathered all to dance and play!

Tap-tap-tap— Sheep are prancing on the tubs.

Tum-tum-tum— Roaches banging on the drums.

Buzz-buzz-buzz— Mosquitos playing pots and pans.

20 Nursery Rhymes

Maa-maa-maa— Goat might just stand on his hands.

Too-too-too— Duckies on their trumpets blow.

And cranes are pointing their long toes!

Taram-tatam! Taram-taray!

The animals at Daniel’s place Have gathered all to dance and play!

Come join the song, and sing along!

21

Rain, Rain, Please Don’t Stop Rain, rain, please do stay, Our harvest is not far away.

The fields around us brim with hops.

Rain, rain, please don’t stop!

We’ll have wheat as white as snow, Rye and lentils, too, will grow.

26 Nursery Rhymes

Leek and beans are in our garden, Berries, mushrooms grace the woods.

27

Rain, Rain, Please Don’t Stop Rain, rain, please do stay, Our harvest is not far away.

The fields around us brim with hops.

Rain, rain, please don’t stop!

We’ll have wheat as white as snow, Rye and lentils, too, will grow.

26 Nursery Rhymes

Leek and beans are in our garden, Berries, mushrooms grace the woods.

27

Sunshine

Oh, Little Miss Sunshine,

Climb down your ladder.

Come sit on our tree stump, And let’s have some tea!

32 Nursery Rhymes

33

Sunshine

Oh, Little Miss Sunshine,

Climb down your ladder.

Come sit on our tree stump, And let’s have some tea!

32 Nursery Rhymes

33

Nettles in a Kettle

Ned came— The nettles in the kettle boiled.

It nettled Ned that come or go, The nettles in the kettle boiled.

Ned went— The nettles in the kettle boiled.

38  Tongue Twisters

39

Nettles in a Kettle

Ned came— The nettles in the kettle boiled.

It nettled Ned that come or go, The nettles in the kettle boiled.

Ned went— The nettles in the kettle boiled.

38  Tongue Twisters

39

Rooster, Go Back to Bed!

Rooster, Rooster, go back to bed!

The moon is still shining, And Vanya’s still sleeping.

Your clock must be broken, Go back to bed!

44  Lullabies

Rooster, Go Back to Bed!

Rooster, Rooster, go back to bed!

The moon is still shining, And Vanya’s still sleeping.

Your clock must be broken, Go back to bed!

44  Lullabies

Sandman

Sandman tiptoes round the house, Sleep peeks through the curtain seams, Making sure that all is quiet, All are dreaming happy dreams.

47

Sandman

Sandman tiptoes round the house, Sleep peeks through the curtain seams, Making sure that all is quiet, All are dreaming happy dreams.

47

Anne Dwyer is a Russian professor at Pomona College and mother of a toddler living in Claremont, California.

She was inspired by the book art of Nikolai Popov to recast Russian children’s folklore in a language she hopes will be appealing to children of all ages and places.

Nikolai Popov is a well-known Russian visual artist and illustrator. He has won multiple gold medals and Grand Prix at international exhibitions of children’s book illustration.

Popov has had personal exhibitions in many cities of the world, including Moscow, Tokyo, Rome and Venice. He is an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.

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