Nursery Rhymes with Inanimate Object Characters

Nursery rhymes are a key component of the early years for children. Reciting or reading nursery rhymes to children is a good way to introduce them to new words and different imaginative elements. Repeating nursery rhymes helps children to develop their memorization capabilities. What are some nursery rhymes with inanimate object characters? Inanimate object characters is a common theme in nursery rhymes. There’s a variety of reasons for this to be done in rhymes. Inanimate objects as characters in rhymes is often a child’s first exposure to personification in literature.

I’m a Little Teapot

I’m a Little Teapot is a nursery rhyme that is both helpful and interactive for children. The rhyme was originally written to describe the process of heating water for tea and then pouring the tea into cups. Children can listen to this rhyme and pantomime being a Teapot with a spout and a handle as they say: “I’m a Little Teapot, short and stout, here is my handle and here is my spout”. Children can also slightly lean over when they say the nursery rhyme lines: “now tip me over and pour me out”. Nearly all children can pick up this rhyme. It’s a fun memorization practice and exercise for children and their parents. It additionally teaches children that when a tea kettle is ready it will shout out.

I’m a Little Teapot
I’m a Little Teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up
I just shout!
Tip me over and pour me out!

Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey Diddle Diddle is a Mother Goose collection nursery rhyme with anthropomorphic and personification used for characters. The dish ran away with the spoon are inanimate characters within the rhyme who run away together. The nonsense rhyme also has a cat that plays a fiddle, a cow that jumps over the moon, a little dog who laughs at it all, and the strange dish and spoon couple. The rhyme is fun to recite for children. There have been various analysis on the origin of this nursery rhyme. Some have theorized the dish running away with the spoon could be about Lady Katherine Grey and her secret marriage to the Earl of Hertford. She was locked up by Queen Elizabeth for the secret union. It’s more likely the rhyme is nonsensical.

Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey Diddle Diddle
The cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon
The little dog laughed to see such craft
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

The Five Little Pumpkins

The Five Little Pumpkins is a perfect nursery rhyme for Halloween or the fall. It’s also an excellent nursery rhyme for teaching children to count. The sweet little rhyme isn’t as common as the other rhymes listed. Five little pumpkins

The Five Little Pumpkins
Sitting on a gate
The first one said,
“Oh, my, it’s half past eight!”
The second one said,
“There are witches in the air!”
The third one said,
“Good folk, beware!”
The fourth one said,
“We’ll run and run and run!”
The fifth one said,
“Let’s have some fun!”
Oh went the wind
OOOOOOOh
And OUT went the light
And the five little pumpkins
Rolled out of sight

There are many other nursery rhymes that utilize inanimate objects as characters. Find a nursery rhyme book from your library or bookstore, and read through them with your child. Explore through the different inanimate objects as characters rhymes. Your child or children will let you know which ones are their favorites.