Poems for Our Children (1830) is a small book of verse by Sarah Josepha Hale, written to teach moral lessons to young readers. It contains Mary's Lamb, the poem that became the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.
The book
Published in Boston by Marsh, Capen and Lyon in 1830, the book was intended, Hale wrote, to inculcate moral truths and virtuous sentiments in children. It contains a handful of poems on nature, kindness and duty.
Mary's Lamb had appeared in a magazine for children, Juvenile Miscellany, the same year.
Mary's Lamb
The poem tells of a lamb that follows a little girl to school, makes the children laugh and play, and waits patiently for her outside until she comes out.
The teacher explains that the lamb loves Mary because Mary loves the lamb, a lesson in kindness to animals.
A famous rhyme
Set to music by Lowell Mason, the poem became one of the best-known songs for children in America.
In 1877 Thomas Edison recited its first lines into his newly invented phonograph, making them the first words recorded and played back.
Anecdotes
Edison's first recording
When Thomas Edison tested his phonograph in 1877, he recited Mary Had a Little Lamb, the first recorded human voice he played back.
The Redstone School
A small schoolhouse said to be the one Mary Sawyer's lamb visited was bought by Henry Ford and moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts, near his Wayside Inn.
Frequently asked questions
When was Poems for Our Children published?
In 1830, in Boston.
What is Mary's Lamb about?
A lamb that follows a little girl to school and waits for her, showing the love between children and animals.
Who recorded it first?
Thomas Edison, on his phonograph in 1877.