Nursery Rhymes & Lullabies Coloring Index

Samples from this collection of classic nursery rhymes, poems and lullaby coloring pages.

       A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the late 18th/early 19th century. In North America the term Mother Goose Rhymes, introduced in the mid-18th century, is still often used.

      The oldest children's songs of which we have records are lullabies, intended to help a child sleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from "lu, lu" or "la la" sounds made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and "by by" or "bye bye", either another lulling sound or a term for good night. Until the modern era lullabies were usually only recorded incidentally in written sources. The Roman nurses' lullaby, "Lalla, Lalla, Lalla, aut dormi, aut lacta", is recorded in a scholium on Persius and may be the oldest to survive.

      Many medieval English verses associated with the birth of Jesus take the form of a lullaby, including "Lullay, my liking, my dere son, my sweting" and may be versions of contemporary lullabies. However, most of those used today date from the 17th century. For example, a well known lullaby such as "Rock-a-bye, baby on a tree top", cannot be found in records until the late-18th century when it was printed by John Newbery (c. 1765).

The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary
 author of a collection of fairy tales and
nursery rhymes. Read more...

       In the early 19th century printed collections of rhymes began to spread to other countries, including Robert Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826) and in the United States, Mother Goose's Melodies (1833). From this period we sometimes know the origins and authors of rhymes—for instance, in "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" which combines the melody of an 18th-century French tune "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" with a 19th-century English poem by Jane Taylor entitled "The Star" used as lyrics.

      There have been several attempts, across the world, to revise nursery rhymes (along with fairy tales and popular songs). Even in the late 18th century we can sometimes see how rhymes like "Little Robin Redbreast" were cleaned up for a young audience. In the late 19th century the major concern seems to have been violence and crime, which led leading children's publishers in the United States like Jacob Abbot and Samuel Goodrich to 'improve' Mother Goose rhymes.
      It has been argued that nursery rhymes set to music aid in a child's development. Research also supports the assertion that music and rhyme increase a child's ability in spatial reasoning, which aid mathematics skills.

• Who Was Mother Goose?
• Little Songs and Poems
• Why Little Children Love Poetry

       I have restored the following illustrations and simplified some of them for little ones to color. I will include the nursery rhymes along with the coloring pages so that parents or teachers may read or sing the words aloud to their children as they color. Please read and agree to the Terms of Use before downloading, printing and coloring these resources.

1. Watch Mother Goose Fly!
2. Color Little Miss Muffet and The Spider
3. Sleep, Baby, Sleep
4. The Gingham Dog and Calico Cat Still in A Spat!
5. Little Jack Horner Character Coloring Page
6. Little Mary Quite Contrary Coloring Page
7. Casting Nets In the Land of Nod 
8. Old Mother Hubbard and Her Poor Dog
9. Handy Spandy Jack-a-Dandy!
10. A Misty Moisty Morning Coloring Page
11. "J is for Jack and Jill" alphabet coloring page
12. Jack Sprat and His Wife 
13. "There was a crooked man..." coloring page
14. Hey Diddle Diddle!
15. Old Mother Hubbard 
16. "P is for pumpkin pies for sale" alphabet coloring page
17. Color Old Mother Goose
18. Color Peter, The Pumpkin Eater 
19. Humpty Dumpty Coloring Sheets
20. Color Little King Boggen 
21. Color "Three Wise Men of Gotham" three pages 
22. "I had a little hen..." coloring page
23. "Ring around the roses, a pocket full of posies
24. Color a Thought by Robert Lewis Stevenson 
25. Another Jack and Jill coloring page
26. Three Little Kittens Coloring Page 
27. Color Three Ships by Walter Crane
28. Color "Hot Cross Buns" by Walter Crane
29. Color Mistress Mary by Walter Crane
30. "I have a little sister..." coloring page
31. Color the little boy and his hobby horse
32. Color a crooked man and a crooked stile...
33. Color The Man of Thessaly
34. Color this baby's Good Night
35. Mother is singing "Rock-a-bye Baby"
36. She's dreaming of Mother Goose 
37. "Little Tom Tucker" coloring page
38. Pat-a-cake coloring page 
39. The Queen of Hearts 
40. "Old King Cole" nursery rhyme
41. "Barber Shave a Pig" coloring page
42. "A Dog and A Cat" Rhyme to Color 
43. Color Good King Arthur
44. Color Cock-a-doodle-doo! 
45. Punch and Judy coloring and rhyme
46. "Pretty Little Girl in A Round-Eared Cap" coloring page  
47. Color Mary and her little lamb...
48. Color the Rhyme "Bye Bye Baby Bunting" 
49. Pussy-Cat, Pussy-Cat Rhyme and Color
50. Color Humpty Dumpty and Read his rhyme... 
51. Color Diddle, Diddle Dumplin 
    
52. Little Bo-Peep coloring page...
53. Color Goosey Gander...
54. Little Betty Blue coloring page...
55. Color Three Wise Men of Gotham
    

More Coloring and Crafting Nursery Rhymes:

• Mother Goose Rhymes - mini coloring book, paper cuts and party ideas