Help me select nursery rhymes for a sing-along CD please

[soundbites]

Hello

I'm a regular mumsnetter, and have just thought that maybe you could give your opinions on the following. We have arrived at a shortlist of nursery rhymes from a book called The Land Of Nursery Rhyme (which is basically the ones I could find tunes for. We need to bring the list down to more like 30) in order to make a sing-along version of the book on CD. Could you make suggestions of what should stay and what should go based on what is popular with you or your children? Thanks in advance!

1. A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go
2. Baa Baa Black Sheep
3. Bobbie Shaftoe
4. Bye Baby Bunting
5. Cock Robin
6. Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
7. Ding Dong Bell
8. Doctor Foster
9. Georgie Porgie

10. Girls And Boys 11. Hey Diddle Diddle 12. Hickory Dickory Dock 13. Hot Cross Buns 14. Humpty Dumpty 15. Hush-A-Bye Baby 16. I Had A Little Nut Tree 17. I Love Little Pussy 18. Jack And Jill 19. Jack Sprat 20. Little Po-Peep 21. Little Boy Blue 22. Little Jack Horner 23. Little Miss Muffet 24. Little Tommy Tucker 25. London Bridge Is Falling Down 26. Lucy Locket 27. Mary Had A Little Lamb 28. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary 29. Multiplication Is Vexation 30. Nuts In May 31. Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? 32. Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? 33. Old King Cole 34. Old Mother Hubbard 35. One, Two Buckle My Shoe 36. Oranges And Lemons 37. Pease Pudding Hot 38. Peter Piper 39. Polly Put The Kettle On 40. Pop Goes The Weasel 41. Pussycat, Pussycat 42. Ride A Cock Horse 43. Rub-A-Dub-Dub 44. See Saw Margery Daw 45. Simple Simon 46. Sing A Song Of Sixpence 47. Sleep Baby Sleep 48. Three Little Kittens 49. There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe 50. Three Blind Mice 51. Tom Tom The Piper?s Son 52. What Are Little Boys Made Of

If I was getting this I would want something that gave me the less well-known tunes - so, eg, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 17, 19, 29 [does it have a tune??], 41, 43, 47, 48, 52.

By contrast, yet another Baa Baa Black Sheep (and that level of well-known-ness) would not have a Unique Selling Point & would put me off (quite a lot).

The other things that put me off massively about nursery-rhyme singalongs is (a) saccharine delivery (specially "sweet" soppy voices) and/or (because it's sometimes both) (b) poppification, with drum-beats and stuff. UGH.

As illustration of what I like, we have a lovely CD of old-time children's rhymes, which has a Run Rabbit from the 1930s, and an Oranges & Lemons which is from an old (possibly 40s?) radio broadcast, complete with extended RP dance-calling voiceover - all lively and characterful and the opposite of soppy.

But it does depend on who you mean your market to be - musically knowledgeable people, or those who need a bit of encouragement to sing to their children: per cookery book analogy, are you aiming at Nigella's readership, or Jamie's?

Though I would say Land of Nursery Rhyme is quite a connoisseurs book itself (being reprint etc.) so I think it would only be appropriate to match the retro feel.

I agree - not another soppy twee recording sung at the sort of pitch that only a passing dolphin could reach. Make something that is fun for grown ups to sing to.

1. A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go - YES
2. Baa Baa Black Sheep - NO
3. Bobbie Shaftoe - YES
4. Bye Baby Bunting - NO
5. Cock Robin - YES
6. Cock-A-Doodle-Doo - YES
7. Ding Dong Bell - YES
8. Doctor Foster - YES
9. Georgie Porgie - NO - (fattist)

10. Girls And Boys - PROB 11. Hey Diddle Diddle - YES 12. Hickory Dickory Dock - YES 13. Hot Cross Buns - YES 14. Humpty Dumpty - YES 15. Hush-A-Bye Baby - YES 16. I Had A Little Nut Tree - YES 17. I Love Little Pussy - not sure 18. Jack And Jill - YES 19. Jack Sprat - YES 20. Little Po-Peep - YES 21. Little Boy Blue - YES 22. Little Jack Horner - YES 23. Little Miss Muffet - this has a tune? 24. Little Tommy Tucker - dunno 25. London Bridge Is Falling Down - YES 26. Lucy Locket - dunno 27. Mary Had A Little Lamb - YES 28. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary - YES 29. Multiplication Is Vexation - don't know it 30. Nuts In May - dunno 31. Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? - YES 32. Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? - YES 33. Old King Cole - YES 34. Old Mother Hubbard - YES 35. One, Two Buckle My Shoe - YES 36. Oranges And Lemons - YES 37. Pease Pudding Hot - YES 38. Peter Piper - again, this has a tune? 39. Polly Put The Kettle On - YES 40. Pop Goes The Weasel - YES 41. Pussycat, Pussycat - dunno 42. Ride A Cock Horse - YES 43. Rub-A-Dub-Dub - YES 44. See Saw Margery Daw - YES 45. Simple Simon - not sure 46. Sing A Song Of Sixpence - YES 47. Sleep Baby Sleep - don't know it 48. Three Little Kittens - don't know it 49. There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe - dunno 50. Three Blind Mice - YES 51. Tom Tom The Piper?s Son - YES 52. What Are Little Boys Made Of dunno.

Dear oh dear, I think I have only reduced your list by about 10 - hopeless. Sorry!

Thanks for your input ? much appreciated.