Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Beatrix Potter |
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| Illustrator | Beatrix Potter |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Frederick Warne & Co. |
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Publication date
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October 1917 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Preceded by | The Tale of Pigling Bland |
| Followed by | The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse |
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes is a collection of nursery rhymes written and illustrated by the famous author Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1917. Beatrix Potter loved rhymes her whole life. She first thought of making a book of short verses called Appley Dapply way back in 1902, after her popular book The Tale of Peter Rabbit came out.
At first, her publisher, Warne, wasn't very keen on the idea. They preferred her original stories more than her rhymes. So, the Appley Dapply book was put aside for other projects. However, in 1917, the publishing company faced some problems. They asked Potter for a new book to help them out. Potter didn't want to start a completely new book, as it took a lot of hard work. Instead, she suggested they use the ideas and drawings from the Appley Dapply book she had started years ago. Seven rhymes with their pictures were chosen and published as Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes. The book sold very well!
Today, some people who study books think Appley Dapply is a bit of a mix. The pictures come from different times in Potter's career, showing various styles. They also feel that the rhymes Potter wrote herself aren't super memorable.
Contents
About Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter became a famous children's author and illustrator around 1900. She had written a story about a rabbit in 1893. She then made a small book like the popular Little Black Sambo and printed it herself in 1901. This was after many publishers had said no to her story.
However, Frederick Warne & Co., who had first rejected her book, changed their minds. They wanted to be part of the growing market for small children's books. So, they accepted her "bunny book," which became The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It was released on October 2, 1902. Potter agreed to color her drawings for the published version.
Potter kept publishing books with Warne, usually two a year. In 1905, she bought Hill Top, a farm in the beautiful Lake District. She used money from her book sales and a small gift from an aunt to buy it. Her later small books were often inspired by her farm, the nature around it, and nearby villages.
After 1913, she published less often. This was because she got married, had to care for her elderly mother, and her eyesight started to get worse. Also, running the farm took up a lot of her time. She still published some books, but they often used older drawings and ideas instead of completely new ones.
How the Book Was Made
Beatrix Potter loved nursery rhymes and enjoyed changing traditional rhymes to include her animal characters. Her early works, like the privately printed The Tailor of Gloucester, were full of rhymes.
She liked the old English rhythms in rhymes. She also enjoyed the mysteries and riddles that many rhymes presented. Potter was inspired by Randolph Caldecott, a favorite artist from her childhood. He often drew animals in his rhymes. In 1902, she even told her editor, Norman Warne, that she thought about trying some other animal rhymes that Caldecott hadn't done.
After The Tale of Peter Rabbit came out in 1902, Potter planned a book of rhymes called Appley Dapply. But Warne preferred her original stories and didn't give her much encouragement for the rhyme book. Still, the project was important to Potter. She kept working on it while also creating other books for Warne.
Potter imagined Appley Dapply as a larger book with fancy borders and decorations. She even thought about paying for the book herself if Warne wasn't interested. In late 1904, she showed Warne a sample book with 94 pages and 30 rhymes. Warne approved 21 of these for future publishing. But when Warne sadly passed away in August 1905, the rhyme book was put aside again. Potter then focused on other projects.
In early 1917, the publishing company, Frederick Warne & Co., faced serious money problems. Potter was their biggest supporter and owned many of their popular book ideas. So, when they asked for her help to save the company, she agreed to provide a book for Christmas. She hoped Appley Dapply would be ready in time and help during the war.
At that time, Potter had many other things going on. She didn't want the hard work of creating a brand new book. Instead, she suggested the company use material from the sample book she had made in 1904. She thought they could publish these in a small book, like The Story of Miss Moppet from 1906. She wrote to Fruing Warne, the new head of the company, saying she was very busy and that her old drawings were sometimes better than what she could do now.
Fruing Warne quickly agreed to Potter's idea. Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes was released in October 1917. It came out along with updated versions of Peter Rabbit's Painting Book and the new Tom Kitten's Painting Book. Appley Dapply sold very well. Potter was happy and wrote to Warne that she was pleased with how it looked. It was reprinted in November 1917, and by the end of the year, 20,000 copies had been sold. The ideas from the old sample book were used again in 1922 for another collection of rhymes called Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes.
The Rhymes Inside
The book starts with a three-stanza rhyme about Appley Dapply, a mouse who loves to find treats in cupboards. It has three pictures, one showing a little mouse running from a cupboard with a tray of pies:
- Appley Dapply
- has little sharp eyes,
- And Appley Dapply
- is so fond of pies!
The next rhyme is about Peter Rabbit's sister, Cotton-tail. It hints at a little black rabbit leaving carrots at her door. In another Potter story, The Tale of Mr. Tod, Cotton-tail is married to this black rabbit. This rhyme also has three stanzas and three pictures.
The third rhyme tells about Old Mr. Pricklepin, a hedgehog. In other Potter stories, he is Mrs. Tiggy-winkle's uncle. His bright eyes, wrinkled paws, and human shoes show their connection. This single stanza has a picture that Potter thought was one of her best.
Potter had drawn pictures for "There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" as early as 1893. In Appley Dapply, she wonders who the old woman might be. She thinks it's a mouse because she can live in a shoe. In one picture, the mouse and her children tumble out of a fancy blue shoe. In another, the mouse is calmly knitting while her children are probably asleep.
The fifth rhyme is about Diggory Delvet, the first mole in Potter's books. He might have been inspired by the mole in Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina or Moley in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. "Diggory Delvet" and the last rhyme about a guinea pig are two of the few limericks for children not written by Edward Lear.
The sixth rhyme is short, with one stanza and a picture of a pig in a dress peeling potatoes:
- Gravy and potatoes
- In a good brown pot —
- Put them in the oven,
- And serve them very hot!
The seventh and final rhyme is a limerick about a "friendly guinea-pig." He brushes his hair back like a periwig (a fancy wig) and wears a blue tie. This rhyme has three pictures showing the guinea pig getting ready. Guinea pigs later had their own story in Potter's The Fairy Caravan in 1929.
Ruth K. MacDonald, a scholar, notes that Potter suggested Appley Dapply be printed in a small size, similar to Miss Moppet. Miss Moppet was for babies and very young children. MacDonald thinks Potter wanted Appley Dapply for very young readers too. These young readers enjoy short scenes and simple rhymes more than long, complicated stories.
The Pictures in the Book
Some experts believe the pictures in Appley Dapply are among Potter's best. However, the book's small size might hide some details that would be clearer in a larger book.
M. Daphne Kutzer, another scholar, says that the charm of Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes comes more from its pictures than its words. She explains that collections of nursery rhymes usually have a similar style throughout. But Appley Dapply doesn't have this because the pictures were drawn over many years. During this time, Potter's drawing style changed a lot.
For example, the pictures for the first rhyme about Appley Dapply were drawn in 1891. They show a young artist who was very skilled and aimed for almost photographic realism. But the picture for the sixth rhyme about gravy and potatoes, which was used again from The Tale of Pigling Bland (1913), is more relaxed and less focused on tiny details. This later picture shows how Potter's style developed and how her worsening eyesight affected her art.
Potter's biographer, Judy Taylor, says Appley Dapply is a bit uneven. It feels more like a collection of different pieces than one new, unified work. The pictures for the opening Appley Dapply rhyme are framed, suggesting they were meant for a small booklet of their own. Some pictures are drawn in a smooth style, while others use Potter's earlier, drier brush technique. The simple rhymes Potter wrote capture the rhythm of nursery verses, but none of them are particularly memorable. Taylor described the book as "the last squeezings of an almost dry sponge."
Fun Merchandise
Beatrix Potter was confident her stories would become classics. Part of making them famous was through marketing. She was one of the first authors to use her characters and stories for other products. For example, there was a Peter Rabbit doll, a board game called The Game of Peter Rabbit, and nursery wallpaper between 1903 and 1905. She called these extra products "side-shows." Many more were made over the next twenty years.
In 1947, Frederick Warne & Co. gave Beswick Pottery the right to make porcelain figures of Potter's characters. Nine figures based on Appley Dapply were released starting in 1959. These included the Old Woman in a Shoe, Amiable Guinea Pig, Appley Dapply, Little Black Rabbit, Diggory Diggory Delvet, Old Mister Pricklepin, and others. All these figures were stopped being made by 2002.
In 1975, Crummles of Dorset started making small, round enamel boxes. These boxes showed scenes and characters from Potter's tales. From Appley Dapply, only the Little Black Rabbit and Old Mr. Pricklepin were featured. Crummles closed suddenly in 1995.
In 1977, Schmid & Co. was given the right to make Beatrix Potter products. In 1978, they released an Old Woman in a Shoe music box. In the mid-1980s, more music boxes came out, featuring characters like Appley Dapply and Diggory Delvet. In 1984, flat ceramic Christmas ornaments were released with characters like Amiable Guinea Pig and Little Black Rabbit.
In 1973, The Eden Toy Company was the first American company to make stuffed plush versions of Potter's characters. The Little Black Rabbit was released in 1976, and the Amiable Guinea Pig in 1984.
Images for kids
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The illustrations for the Appley Dapply rhyme were completed in 1891 when Potter was twenty-five.
See Also
