The Lady with the Alligator Purse

About the Book

You may recognize this old jump-rope or clapping rhyme which begins, “Miss Lucy had a baby./His name was Tiny Tim./She put him in the bathtub/to see if he could swim.” It’s unclear if he could swim in this version because he eats the soap, drinks the bath water, and tries to swallow the tub itself. Alarmed, Miss Lucy calls the doctor, the nurse, and the lady with the alligator purse. Naturally the lady with the alligator purse has the solution: Pizza! The pastel ink-and-watercolor pictures brim with energy and humorous details from beginning to the happy ending where everyone, including a small alligator, share pizza around Tiny Tim’s bed.

Why this Book?

In the way of traditional folklore, this rhyme has been honed over the years to bouncing perfection. It works for reading to babies, like a nursery rhyme, or to toddlers and preschoolers, who will quickly memorize it. Although Hoberman didn’t write most of the rhyme, she choose an excellent version. I don’t know if she added the “pizza” element or not. I knew a much bleaker version of this without “pizza” in it in the 1960s. Children love to pore over Westcott’s funny pictures to spot the visual jokes. A page in the edition I have supplies the music. It’s a book I often give to children. (Please don’t get the board version–the pictures are too small.)