Weston woman writes book based on Old King Cole nursery rhyme

Liz Ansell, a teaching assistant who has been working with early years children for over 30 years, has recently published her book, The day Old King Cole was not a Merry Old Soul.

The book's description reads: "Everyone knows that Old King Cole is a merry old soul. But on one particular morning, when the king sits down on his throne, his smile simply disappears!

"No one in the kingdom knows quite what to do about it, but they all decide to work together to try and find ways to help the king regain his smile.

"The trouble is that none of the ideas they try seem to be working…

"This is a fun tale about Old King Cole that also includes the nursery rhyme itself, in the hope that this wonderful classic rhyme will never be forgotten and will be enjoyed by a new generation of children."

Speaking further about what inspired her to write the tale, Liz told the Weston Mercury:  "I wrote this story for early years (I have over 30 years experience which this age group), which is based on the nursery rhyme ‘ Old King Cole’, because I had recently read an article about nursery rhymes going out of fashion and parents weren’t choosing to sing them anymore.

"I think this is a great shame as they have been around for generations and their rhythm and repetition encourage children to develop early language literacy skills.

"I also wanted a story that talked about different emotions, like sadness and happiness which hopefully will evoke discussions on what makes us happy or sad, which in turn helps us build better relationships when we are more aware of our emotions."

This isn't the first time that Liz has proved her lyrical talents. Prior to the King's Coronation, Liz wrote a song suitable for primary school children. 

Speaking at the time, Liz said: "I wanted to do something special to commemorate the Kings coronation which is such an uplifting event for the whole country." 

For those wanting to purchase the book, they can do so on Amazon.