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Catch Me & Kiss Me & Say It Again
Thirty-two rhymes for the very young including counting rhymes, lullabies, and games.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
89 people want to read
About the author
Clyde Watson
27 books7 followersClyde Watson is a children's book author. She is the daughter of Nancy Dingman Watson and Aldren A. Watson and the sister of Wendy Watson.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 2, 2008
This is the best book of nursery rhymes I have ever seen. The verses are original and get you through an entire day with a toddler or preschooler, and the illustrations of two little kids and their harried parents are charmingly old-fashioned. From waking up in the morning to going to sleep at bedtime -- it is all covered here. A bonus -- a this-little-piggy rhyme with lines for all 10 toes! My children are all grown up and yet I can recite it still. My old paperback is in shreds and when I recently found a like new, not ex-library, SIGNED edition for $50 on Alibris, you can bet I bought it! Please, someone -- republish this masterpiece!
December 7, 2015
I'm giving this book 1099 stars, thereby erasing any bad reviews that will ever come its way.
At the same time agreeing with those negative reviews. Both the content and illustrations in this book would be unacceptable to modern kid-lit reader (a demographic diminishing so rapidly, I doubt the kid-lit publishing industry notices it anymore).
My kids are in their twenties. The only reason I'm now thinking of this book is that I was recently talking to someone about poems we have memorized. I told her I don't have any poems memorized. But after some thought, I realized, that isn't quite true. Not that there's a lot of Keats or Elliot or Plath running around in my brain. But I do remember The Owl and the Pussycat, a fair amount of Milne, and this:
Handy dandy, maple candy,
which hand do you choose?
Hand with something in, you win;
the other hand you lose.
Handy dandy, maple candy,
Which hand do you pick?
Dilly dally, shilly shally,
Choose on and be quick!
No AP English test bribed me to remember this. It just stuck in my head. The words sound good. And introduces little kids to the idea that, sometimes, the hand you pick is going to be empty. You're going to get it wrong. You're not always going to get the candy. You're going to have to deal.
Unfortunately / fortunately, when I KonMaried my stuff last year, I lost this book. Holding it actually did give my a "frisson of joy," but I also figured this was a book that should go to actual children. So I gave it away.
But I'm still messing with my brain, trying to pull up poems. Here's one I only partially remember:
Once upon a time there was an old goat.
He found a silver dollar in the lining of his coat.
He went to the store, just to see what he could find,
and he hemmed, and he hawed, till he made up his mind.
At last he chose a silver cup,
and a nipper of nance to fill it up.
But as he carried it to his chair,
he tripped and went flying down the stairs.
No more chair,
no more cup;
silver dollar
all used up.
No more money
left to spend.
No more story left.
The end!
Some of this is wrong, I'm sure of it. The part about the stairs especially, eeeeesh... The "carried it to his chair" bit is definitely wrong. I was wracking my brain to pull up even this much!
Maybe it went more like:
But as he brought it up to bed,
He tripped and he fell and he broke his head.
Yes. Yes, I'm pretty much sure that's at least closer. I remember there being at least one line that was pretty damn violent.
Anyway, whatever the wording, it was a marvelous poem. We remembered it. Some poor schmuck had a lucky turn, but ended up badly, through no earthly fault of his own.
Do poems need to teach? Even in the case of children's poems, I don't think so. But if these poems teach anything, it's that life isn't fair. If I ever taught my children anything, I hope that was it.
At the same time agreeing with those negative reviews. Both the content and illustrations in this book would be unacceptable to modern kid-lit reader (a demographic diminishing so rapidly, I doubt the kid-lit publishing industry notices it anymore).
My kids are in their twenties. The only reason I'm now thinking of this book is that I was recently talking to someone about poems we have memorized. I told her I don't have any poems memorized. But after some thought, I realized, that isn't quite true. Not that there's a lot of Keats or Elliot or Plath running around in my brain. But I do remember The Owl and the Pussycat, a fair amount of Milne, and this:
Handy dandy, maple candy,
which hand do you choose?
Hand with something in, you win;
the other hand you lose.
Handy dandy, maple candy,
Which hand do you pick?
Dilly dally, shilly shally,
Choose on and be quick!
No AP English test bribed me to remember this. It just stuck in my head. The words sound good. And introduces little kids to the idea that, sometimes, the hand you pick is going to be empty. You're going to get it wrong. You're not always going to get the candy. You're going to have to deal.
Unfortunately / fortunately, when I KonMaried my stuff last year, I lost this book. Holding it actually did give my a "frisson of joy," but I also figured this was a book that should go to actual children. So I gave it away.
But I'm still messing with my brain, trying to pull up poems. Here's one I only partially remember:
Once upon a time there was an old goat.
He found a silver dollar in the lining of his coat.
He went to the store, just to see what he could find,
and he hemmed, and he hawed, till he made up his mind.
At last he chose a silver cup,
and a nipper of nance to fill it up.
But as he carried it to his chair,
he tripped and went flying down the stairs.
No more chair,
no more cup;
silver dollar
all used up.
No more money
left to spend.
No more story left.
The end!
Some of this is wrong, I'm sure of it. The part about the stairs especially, eeeeesh... The "carried it to his chair" bit is definitely wrong. I was wracking my brain to pull up even this much!
Maybe it went more like:
But as he brought it up to bed,
He tripped and he fell and he broke his head.
Yes. Yes, I'm pretty much sure that's at least closer. I remember there being at least one line that was pretty damn violent.
Anyway, whatever the wording, it was a marvelous poem. We remembered it. Some poor schmuck had a lucky turn, but ended up badly, through no earthly fault of his own.
Do poems need to teach? Even in the case of children's poems, I don't think so. But if these poems teach anything, it's that life isn't fair. If I ever taught my children anything, I hope that was it.
October 22, 2014
A perfect companion to the classic A Child's Garden of Verses, Catch Me & Kiss Me & Say It Again will have you and your child, heck, your whole family, sing-songing throughout the day. It's simply a joy to read and share. No longer in print, which is a travesty, it's no surprise that copies are hard to come by - they're happily ensconced on bookshelves years and years after children have flown the nest.
This book needs a reissue campaign, I think I'll write the publisher today! :)
This book needs a reissue campaign, I think I'll write the publisher today! :)
January 27, 2015
I got this from the lib because it was recommended in Under the Chinaberry Tree (great book recommending titles to read to young children). My daughter and I weren't into it. Thought it was weird. The rhymes just seemed outdated and not relatable to a child today (the book is out of print I believe). One strange illustration of a man in a turban and an anatomy-revealing skintight bodysuit offering candy to children. Um.
December 1, 2011
I discovered this book when my children were small and it was one of our favorite books. The illustrations are delightful, the poems in rhyming meter and easy to learn and fun to repeat. I have given many copies of Catch Me & Kiss Me & Say it Again as gifts to friends with children - highly recommended!
September 14, 2016
BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK EVER!
July 30, 2023
This book was created by a sister duo - one wrote the rhymes and the other illustrated it. That’s pretty sweet!
I liked the original rhymes about every day life for a tot. And the pictures (which are on every page spread) are charming.
A good little book to read through in a night or two with your little.
Ages: 3 - 7
Cleanliness: three illustrations show a child’s backside - easy to marker in panties.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
I liked the original rhymes about every day life for a tot. And the pictures (which are on every page spread) are charming.
A good little book to read through in a night or two with your little.
Ages: 3 - 7
Cleanliness: three illustrations show a child’s backside - easy to marker in panties.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
October 23, 2018
Personally I don't care for the artwork at all. But these are rhymes that will be easy to memorize and entertain each other with at all the appropriate moments in the day. There's even a rhyme to use while getting the kids to sit still to get their nails clipped!
Also, I could've used the below umpteen times over my kids' childhoods:
One for me & one for you
If there's one left over then what'll we do?
Take up a knife and cut it in two
So there's one for me & one for you.
Also there's:
Jagged light, blue & bright
Flashes in the air
Rumble bumble, crash book
What's going on up there?
The Man in the Moon is having a party
Fireworks burst & fly
As wild drums & dancing fee
Echo through the sky.
And of course:
All tucked & roasty toasty
Blow me a kiss good-night
Close your eyes till morning comes
Happy dreams & sleep tight.
Also, I could've used the below umpteen times over my kids' childhoods:
One for me & one for you
If there's one left over then what'll we do?
Take up a knife and cut it in two
So there's one for me & one for you.
Also there's:
Jagged light, blue & bright
Flashes in the air
Rumble bumble, crash book
What's going on up there?
The Man in the Moon is having a party
Fireworks burst & fly
As wild drums & dancing fee
Echo through the sky.
And of course:
All tucked & roasty toasty
Blow me a kiss good-night
Close your eyes till morning comes
Happy dreams & sleep tight.
July 29, 2019
Well, I like it better than Father Fox's Pennyrhymes, but I still found a few of the rhymes a bit clunky.
I think this would be best for the parent of a baby or one or two year old who could memorize some of the rhymes and recite them playfully to the child while performing the daily actions they describe, such as pulling a shirt over the child's head. For my three year old granddaughter, I just don't think she'd have the patience to listen. It might also work to read with an older child to guess and discuss how the words refer in a riddle-like way to the activity being described (and illustrated in the accompanying drawing).
I think this would be best for the parent of a baby or one or two year old who could memorize some of the rhymes and recite them playfully to the child while performing the daily actions they describe, such as pulling a shirt over the child's head. For my three year old granddaughter, I just don't think she'd have the patience to listen. It might also work to read with an older child to guess and discuss how the words refer in a riddle-like way to the activity being described (and illustrated in the accompanying drawing).
May 21, 2021
I really did not like it
that much.
I really did not even
like the illustrations that much--
actually not at all.
I was just amazed that other
people liked it so much. But
chacun a son gout.
that much.
I really did not even
like the illustrations that much--
actually not at all.
I was just amazed that other
people liked it so much. But
chacun a son gout.
Read
January 26, 2009Wonderful rhymes and illustrations to compliment them.
Read
November 30, 2009Cute, cute book.
March 21, 2010
A very favorite I read to my kids, who are all grown up now. Love the illustrations.
June 13, 2017
A book of rhymes for the whole day long. Fun illustrations and fun rhymes.
This book was given to my husband when he was two. I'm so glad to have it to read to my own children!
This book was given to my husband when he was two. I'm so glad to have it to read to my own children!
May 27, 2016
Quaint and unique by today's standards of a children's nursery rhyme book. Very fun.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews