Great A, Little a Lyrics
Big letter, small letter, and a bouncing B. This four-line rhyme was once a child's first step into the alphabet, with a cat hiding in the cupboard for fun.
Great A, Little a
Great A, little a,
Bouncing B!
The cat's in the cupboard,
And she can't see.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/great-a-little-a/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 2 to 5 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Great A | Stretch your arms up and out to make a big letter A. |
| little a | Crouch down and curl into a small ball. |
| Bouncing B! | Bounce on the spot. |
| The cat's in the cupboard, and she can't see | Cover your eyes with your hands. |
What Does Great A, Little a Mean?
Great A is the capital letter and little a is the small one. Old reading books and hornbooks, the little wooden paddles children learned from, always showed the two side by side. Then B arrives, bouncing, and the rhyme runs off into a joke about a cat shut in a cupboard, where it is too dark for her to see.
History and Origin
Halliwell printed it in the 1840s, and it appears in many early alphabet books. Rhymes like this helped children remember the look of each letter before schools had colorful picture books. For a longer alphabet rhyme from the same era, see A Was an Apple Pie.
Learning Activities
- Big and small: write a capital A and a small a on paper and let your child trace both with a finger.
- Letter hunt: find big and small letters on cereal boxes and signs.
- Keep going: make up the next line together: "Curly C, dancing D."