PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_cvr.

qxd 12/12/07 11:07 AM Page 1

Series Editor:
Cliff Moon

Big Book Big

of Rhymes A Book of

L E
Big Cat is the only reading series for grades K–2
that combines fantastic books from the best children’s
Rhymes
P
authors and illustrators with the careful structure and
support that young readers need.

M
A
The Big Cat Big Book of Rhymes A offers a wonderful selection

A
of poems to share with children in the classroom. Lively use
of rhythm and rhyme makes every poem fun to read aloud

S
with your class, and develops vital literacy skills.
This Big Book includes: John Foster
• Rhythmic rhymes to read aloud, action rhymes to move to,
patterned poems to chant, and nursery rhymes to join in.
• Rhymes especially written for Big Cat by poets John Foster,
Judith Nicholls, Kaye Umansky, and many more.
• Engaging illustrations that closely support each poem.
• Ideas to help you use this Big Book in the classroom.

PL 7174
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_cvr.qxd 12/12/07 11:07 AM Page 3

Here Comes Rhyme with Show an understanding of elements You can use this rhyme to introduce
the Giant! predictable of stories, e.g., main character; Goldilocks and the Three Bears by looking at
(pages 10–11) and patterned Read and recite rhymes with how Goldilocks reacts to the bears.
language predictable and repeated patterns
You can also use this rhyme to introduce
Funny Fish (First Grade). Children can later
contrast the reaction of the two children when
they meet a giant.

The Bird Action rhyme Make a collection of words linked This rhyme can be used to introduce The Oak
(pages 12–13) to a particular topic Tree, with a discussion about different types of

E
bird. Ask the children to identify the names of
the three types of birds in The Oak Tree: crow,

L
woodpecker, owl.

P
Raindrops Counting Read on sight a range of familiar You can use this to introduce Pirates. Both
(pages 14–15) rhyme words, e.g., number words involve counting words from one to five (one
to ten in Raindrops).

M
Ten Tubby Teddies Rhyme with a Read on sight a range of familiar You can use this to introduce Cars, and its

A
(pages 16–17) predictable words, e.g. color words; focus on color words. Ask the children to look
and patterned Read and recite rhymes with out for color words when reading the book
structure predictable and repeated patterns together.

S
© 2008 Pacific Learning
© 2005 Written by John Foster
Series editor Cliff Moon
Story and design © HarperCollinsPublishers Limited 2005 Alphabet Rhyme Chanting Link sounds to letters, naming and You can use this to introduce Cats and its
Designers Rachel Hamdi/Holly Mann
Illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi (cover, pp. 6, 7, 10); Joanne Stone (pp. 4, 5, 22); Sami
(pages 18–19) alphabet sounding out the letters of the subject of cats, including big cats.
Sweeten (pp. 2, 16, 20); Joanne Partis (pp. 8, 14); Cecilia Johannson (pp. 12, 18) rhyme alphabet
Poetry by: “Shake Your Leg,” “Hippo! Hippo!,” and “Alphabet Rhyme” by John Foster,
You can use this to revise the alphabet before
copyright © John Foster 2005; “Can You Find the Tiger?” and “The MOQ Cat” by Jan Pollard, reading Hands (First Grade), which includes a
copyright © Jan Pollard 2005; “Splash!” by Judith Nicholls, copyright © Judith Nicholls 2005; plenary activity to find words which begin with
“Caterpillar, Caterpillar” by Brenda Williams, copyright © Brenda Williams 2005; “Here
Comes the Giant!” by Ivan Jones, copyright © Ivan Jones 2005; “The Bird” by Tony Mitton,
each letter of the alphabet.
copyright © Tony Mitton 1996; “Raindrops” by Marian Swinger, copyright © Marian Swinger
2005; “Ten Tubby Teddies” by Kaye Umansky, copyright © Kaye Umansky 1999; “Big Cat
Says” by Richard Caley, copyright © Richard Caley 2005.
Big Cat Says Action rhyme; Respond to rhythm and music by You can use this to introduce Cat and Dog.
DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of any material in this book. (pages 20–21) chant means of gesture and movement When you recite the rhyme together, focus
Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publishers. on the movement words run, jump, hop,
John Foster asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work. reach as these will be useful when the
children retell the story.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any You can also use this to introduce Dance
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. to the Beat (First Grade) and its topic of
This Americanized Edition of Big Book of Rhymes A, originally published in England in 2005, is movement and dance.
published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Limited.

12 11 10 09 08
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The MOQ Cat Rhyme giving Read and follow simple instructions; You can use this rhyme to introduce Cats,
(pages 22–23) instructions Make collections of words linked to which shares the same topic. You can also use
Published by a particular topic this to introduce instruction texts, e.g., How to
Pacific Learning
P.O. Box 2723 have a Party (First Grade), Dance to the Beat
Huntington Beach, CA 92647-0723 (First Grade), with its use of instructional
www.pacificlearning.com language to direct a child in a simple task.
ISBN: 978-160457250-6
PL-7174

Printed in the United States.

PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 1

Contents
Shake Your Leg 2
Hippo! Hippo! 4
Can You Find the Tiger? 5
Girls and Boys 6

E
Splash! 7

P L
Caterpillar, Caterpillar 8

M
Here Comes the Giant! 10

A
The Bird 12

S
Raindrops 14
Ten Tubby Teddies 16
Alphabet Rhyme 18
Big Cat Says 20
The MOQ Cat 22
Ideas for Using This Big Book 24
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 2

Shake Your Leg

Shake your leg, Clap your hands,

E
spin around, clap, clap!

L
tap your feet Snap your fingers,
on the ground. snap, snap, snap!

MP Flap your elbows

A
like a hen.
Once, twice, Shake your hips,

S
again and again. spin like a top,
dance, dance,
then come to a stop!
John Foster

l v i n g m o v i n g p a r t s of t h e b o d y
2 A cti o n i nv o 3
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 4

Hippo! Hippo!
Hippo! Hippo! I told you so.

E
We’ll never make this see-saw go.

L
Hippo! Hippo! Why can’t you see?
You’re too heavy to play with me!

P
John Foster

S A M Can You Find the Tiger?

Tiger, tiger, orange and black,
with stripes all along his back.
In the forest, dark and green,
the striped tiger can’t be seen.
Jan Pollard

me
4 M od er n rh y h a f a m i l i a r th em e ( an i m als ) 5
P oem w it
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 6

Girls and Boys

Girls and boys, come out to play.

E
The moon is shining

L
as bright as day.
Leave your supper

P
and leave your sleep,
and join your playmates
in the street.

M
Anon

S A Splash!
Boys and girls, come out to play.
Pull on your boots and run this way!
Jump in a puddle
and splash your gran,
then run away as fast as you can!
Judith Nicholls

rhym e
6 T r a d it i o n a l v e r s i o n o f t r a d i ti on al r hyme 7
M o d er n
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 8

Caterpillar, Caterpillar

E
Caterpillar, caterpillar,

L
crawling up a tree. Caterpillar, caterpillar,
when you awake,

P
give your wings a gentle shake.

S A M Caterpillar, caterpillar,
how tired you must be.

Caterpillar, caterpillar,
don’t be shy.
Now you are
a butterfly!
Brenda Williams

e ; p o e m w i t h a s i m il ar th e m e ( a n i m a
8 A cti o n rh y m ls ) 9
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 10

Here Comes the Giant!

Here comes the giant. He’s in a bad mood.

E
Thump! Grump!

L
Thump! Grump!
Thump! Grump!

MP
I hear a rumble from his
tum!

A
Tum!
He’s dragging his sack.

S
Tum!
Bump!
Bump!
Time to get away!
Bump!
Run!
Run!
Run!
Ivan Jones

p r ed i c t a b l e a n d p a t t e r n e d l a n g u a g e
10 R h ym e w i t h 11
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:15 PM Page 12

The Bird

P L E
M
Here are the legs Here are the wings
that walk along. that flap and spread.

S A Here is the beak

that sings a song.
And here is the bird
above my head.
Tony Mitton
e ; p o e m w i t h f am i l i a r t h e m e ( a n i m a l s
12 A cti o n rh y m ) 13
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:21 PM Page 14

Raindrops

E
One drop, two drops, Eight drops, nine drops,

L
three drops, four, ten drops. Plop!
five drops, six drops, It’s raining, it’s pouring.

P
seven drops, more. When will it stop?
Marian Swinger

S A M
y me
14 Co u n t i n g r h 15
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:21 PM Page 16

Ten Tubby Teddies

Ten tubby teddies They jumped so high,

E
on a trampoline. they were so keen.

L
Jump, teddy, jump! Jump, teddy, jump!
Jump, teddy, jump! Jump, teddy, jump!

MP
S A
Their coats are red,
their hats are green.
Jump, teddy, jump!
Jump, teddy, jump!
They made a hole
in the trampoline.
Thump, teddy,
thump,
thump,
thump!
Kaye Umansky

p r ed i c t a b l e a n d p a t t e r n e d s t r u c t u r e
16 R h ym e w i t h 17
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:21 PM Page 18

Alphabet Rhyme

a b c d e f g o p q r s t u

L E
How many birds are in the tree? How many lions are in the zoo?

MP
A
h i j k l m n v w x yz

S
How many cats are in the den? How many teddies can you see?

John Foster
y m e ; p o e m w i t h a f a m i l i a r t h e m e ( al p
18 Ch a n t i n g r h h abet) 19
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:21 PM Page 20

Big Cat Says

Big Cat says,

E
“Turn around.” Big Cat says,

L
Big Cat says, “Jump up high.”
“Touch the ground.” Big Cat says,

P
“Reach for the sky!”

M
Big Cat says,

A
“Skip, hop.”

S
Big Cat says,
“Run, stop!”
Big Cat says,
“Try your best.”
Big Cat says,
“Take a rest.”
Richard Caley

e ; chant
20 A cti o n rh y m 21
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:21 PM Page 22

The MOQ Cat

L E
Make an M

P
f o r h i s e a rs .

S A M Draw
roun d

Put
a n
h

d
a
i

t
n

y
s

h
o
f
d

e
u
a

m
f

h
c

o
l

a
e

n
a

v
,
t

e
a
.

Q
m a d e a c a t !
Pu t

Add l
t w
fix a sm
o
o

t
to make a h
Jan Pollard
s
d
il
o
o
e
f
t
i
s

l
n
i
a
f

n
p
o
p
e
r
l
s
p
a

y
h

f
c
i

o
f
s
e.
r
a
e

w
c
y

e
h
!
e s

i
,

s k er s

d i n g s i m p l e i n s t r u c t io n s
22 R h ym e i n c l u 23
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_bk.qxd 12/12/07 4:21 PM Page 24

Ideas for Using This Big Book

Title and Genre/ Learning opportunities Ideas for using with
page number text type Big Cat titles
Shake Your Leg Action rhyme Make collections of words linked to You can use this rhyme to introduce The
(pages 2–3) particular topics; Robot by focusing on words describing
Read and recite rhymes with predictable different parts of the body.
and repeated patterns
You can also use this to introduce
Dance to the Beat (First Grade). There
are many shared words and a similar
topic, e.g., shake, around, clap, dance,
hand, feet, and stop.

Hippo! Hippo! Modern rhyme Show an understanding of the elements You can use this to introduce the

E
(page 4) of stories, e.g., character, events story The See-saw with the same main
character facing a similar problem.

P L
Can You Find Animal rhyme Make a collection of words linked to You can use this to introduce the topic
the Tiger? a particular topic; of cats with the nonfiction text Cats.
(page 5) Find out about, and identify, some
features of living things the

M
children observe

A
Girls and Boys Traditional Listen to favorite nursery rhymes You can use this rhyme to introduce the
(page 6) rhyme and songs; nonfiction recount In the Dark. You
Blend phonemes in words with clusters could also focus on the word street,

S
for reading which appears in both the poem and
the guided reading text.

Splash! Modern version Practice grapheme/phoneme You can use this rhyme to introduce The
(page 7) of a traditional correspondences, e.g., sh; Big Splash!, which has a related theme.
rhyme Recite stories and rhymes with You could focus on the five phonemes
predictable and repeating patterns, that spell out the title word (the word is
and experiment with similar bolded in the poem for emphasis) and
rhyming patterns ask children to think of other words that
end with sh.

Caterpillar, Action rhyme Recognize critical features of words You can use this rhyme to introduce
Caterpillar (and poem (e.g., words within words); Look Out, Butterfly!, which covers the
(pages 8–9) with a similar Find out about, and identify, same topic of butterflies.
theme) some features of living things
the children observe “Caterpillar, Caterpillar” focuses on the
life cycle of the butterfly. It also
supports What’s Inside?, which has two
pages about butterflies and pupae.

This rhyme also supports The Oak Tree,

which includes a page about
caterpillars. Ask the children to find
shorter words within the words
caterpillar and butterfly.
PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_cvr.qxd 12/12/07 11:07 AM Page 3

Here Comes Rhyme with Show an understanding of elements You can use this rhyme to introduce
the Giant! predictable of stories, e.g., main character; Goldilocks and the Three Bears by looking at
(pages 10–11) and patterned Read and recite rhymes with how Goldilocks reacts to the bears.
language predictable and repeated patterns
You can also use this rhyme to introduce
Funny Fish (First Grade). Children can later
contrast the reaction of the two children when
they meet a giant.

The Bird Action rhyme Make a collection of words linked This rhyme can be used to introduce The Oak
(pages 12–13) to a particular topic Tree, with a discussion about different types of

E
bird. Ask the children to identify the names of
the three types of birds in The Oak Tree: crow,

L
woodpecker, owl.

P
Raindrops Counting Read on sight a range of familiar You can use this to introduce Pirates. Both
(pages 14–15) rhyme words, e.g., number words involve counting words from one to five (one
to ten in Raindrops).

M
Ten Tubby Teddies Rhyme with a Read on sight a range of familiar You can use this to introduce Cars, and its

A
(pages 16–17) predictable words, e.g. color words; focus on color words. Ask the children to look
and patterned Read and recite rhymes with out for color words when reading the book
structure predictable and repeated patterns together.

S
© 2008 Pacific Learning
© 2005 Written by John Foster
Series editor Cliff Moon
Story and design © HarperCollinsPublishers Limited 2005 Alphabet Rhyme Chanting Link sounds to letters, naming and You can use this to introduce Cats and its
Designers Rachel Hamdi/Holly Mann
Illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi (cover, pp. 6, 7, 10); Joanne Stone (pp. 4, 5, 22); Sami
(pages 18–19) alphabet sounding out the letters of the subject of cats, including big cats.
Sweeten (pp. 2, 16, 20); Joanne Partis (pp. 8, 14); Cecilia Johannson (pp. 12, 18) rhyme alphabet
Poetry by: “Shake Your Leg,” “Hippo! Hippo!,” and “Alphabet Rhyme” by John Foster,
You can use this to revise the alphabet before
copyright © John Foster 2005; “Can You Find the Tiger?” and “The MOQ Cat” by Jan Pollard, reading Hands (First Grade), which includes a
copyright © Jan Pollard 2005; “Splash!” by Judith Nicholls, copyright © Judith Nicholls 2005; plenary activity to find words which begin with
“Caterpillar, Caterpillar” by Brenda Williams, copyright © Brenda Williams 2005; “Here
Comes the Giant!” by Ivan Jones, copyright © Ivan Jones 2005; “The Bird” by Tony Mitton,
each letter of the alphabet.
copyright © Tony Mitton 1996; “Raindrops” by Marian Swinger, copyright © Marian Swinger
2005; “Ten Tubby Teddies” by Kaye Umansky, copyright © Kaye Umansky 1999; “Big Cat
Says” by Richard Caley, copyright © Richard Caley 2005.
Big Cat Says Action rhyme; Respond to rhythm and music by You can use this to introduce Cat and Dog.
DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of any material in this book. (pages 20–21) chant means of gesture and movement When you recite the rhyme together, focus
Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publishers. on the movement words run, jump, hop,
John Foster asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work. reach as these will be useful when the
children retell the story.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any You can also use this to introduce Dance
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. to the Beat (First Grade) and its topic of
This Americanized Edition of Big Book of Rhymes A, originally published in England in 2005, is movement and dance.
published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Limited.

12 11 10 09 08
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The MOQ Cat Rhyme giving Read and follow simple instructions; You can use this rhyme to introduce Cats,
(pages 22–23) instructions Make collections of words linked to which shares the same topic. You can also use
Published by a particular topic this to introduce instruction texts, e.g., How to
Pacific Learning
P.O. Box 2723 have a Party (First Grade), Dance to the Beat
Huntington Beach, CA 92647-0723 (First Grade), with its use of instructional
www.pacificlearning.com language to direct a child in a simple task.
ISBN: 978-160457250-6
PL-7174

Printed in the United States.

PL-7174_BigCat_Rhymes_A_cvr.qxd 12/12/07 11:07 AM Page 1

Series Editor:
Cliff Moon

Big Book Big

of Rhymes A Book of

L E
Big Cat is the only reading series for grades K–2
that combines fantastic books from the best children’s
Rhymes
P
authors and illustrators with the careful structure and
support that young readers need.

M A
The Big Cat Big Book of Rhymes A offers a wonderful selection

A
of poems to share with children in the classroom. Lively use
of rhythm and rhyme makes every poem fun to read aloud

S
with your class, and develops vital literacy skills.
This Big Book includes: John Foster
• Rhythmic rhymes to read aloud, action rhymes to move to,
patterned poems to chant, and nursery rhymes to join in.
• Rhymes especially written for Big Cat by poets John Foster,
Judith Nicholls, Kaye Umansky, and many more.
• Engaging illustrations that closely support each poem.
• Ideas to help you use this Big Book in the classroom.

PL 7174