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Rhyme & History
This special
children's rhyme earns a
place in our list of
Nursery Rhymes as it is
usually the very first
modern Nursery rhyme
repeated to a baby. The
'Round and round the
garden' nursery rhyme is
told when playing a
'finger game' with a
baby. The game is to
take a toddler's palm,
and "walk" on it in
circles with your index
and middle finger. At
"one step", you "jump"
on the inside of the
wrist, at "two steps"
you "jump" on the inside
of the elbow, and the
next line is used to
tickle the child under
the armpit. It never
fails, all babies love
it!
Nursery Rhyme
Origins
The origins of the
Nursery Rhyme are
quite recent. The
'Teddy Bear' is one
of the most popular
gifts to give to a
newborn baby and
this tradition
started in the early
1900's when the
first stuffed Teddy
Bears were produced
by the Ideal Novelty
and Toy Co in
America and by the
the Steiff firm in
Germany. The origin
of the name Teddy
Bear comes from
former American
President Theodore
Roosevelt, whose
nickname was
"Teddy". In 1902
President Theodore
Roosevelt had
participated in a
bear hunting trip to
Mississippi. A young
Black Bear was
cornered by members
of the party and
Roosevelt came upon
the wounded bear and
ordered its mercy
killing.
The Washington
Post ran a
editorial
cartoon created
by the political
cartoonist
Clifford K.
Berryman that
illustrated the
event and had
symbolic
overtones. The
following
political
cartoon inspired
teddy bear toy
manufacturers. |
