The first performance of Handel's Messiah in Dublin in 1742 is now legendary. Gentlemen were asked to leave their swords at home and ladies to come without hoops in their skirts in order to fit more people into the audience. Why then, did this now fa...

During the Renaissance, artists and illustrators developed the representation of truthful three-dimensional forms into a highly skilled art. As reliable illustrations of three-dimensional subjects became more prevalent, they also influenced the way i...

One day an old lady swallows a fly and the only way she can get rid of it is to swallow a wriggling, tickling spider... For over a century this subversive rhyme has delighted children and parents alike. Its galloping rhythm is perfect for reading ou...

There are many things cats can do which children can't, such as lap up milk and use their tongues as combs. There are also a number of things that cats can't do, like sing children to sleep, or get down from trees... Abner Graboff combines the voice...

Little Jonny ponders the meaning of colours as he explores the landscape. He dips his toes in a blue brook, picks purple flowers, digs brown earth and finds an enormous orange pumpkin. Finally yellow sunlight and the black night show him when it is t...