“When I wake up I say my prayers Then I brush my teeth. I make my bed and then get dressed, Now I’ve passed the “Mommy Test”.
– an excerpt from the book
ARPress is honored to publish Miss Rhonda’s Book of Nursery Rhymes by Reazonda Kelly Smith. This book is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the ARPress website.
There’s a certain kind of magic in childhood that most of us only notice in hindsight; the way a morning routine feels like a tiny adventure, or how a simple kite in a tree can suddenly turn into the biggest tragedy of the day. Kids live in a world where emotions spill over easily, where the smallest things matter deeply, and where wonder shows up in places adults walk right past. Miss Rhonda’s Book of Nursery Rhymes leans into that magic so naturally that feels more like flipping through a scrapbook of childhood moments than reading a traditional book. It’s gentle, sweet, and just a little bit nostalgic in the best way.
Written by Author Rhonda K. Smith from Pompano Beach, Florida. Miss Smith grew up in Collier City on 9th Ct. with her parents John T. and Freddie Mae Davis along with seven sisters and two brothers. Miss Smith attended Charles R. Drew elementary and Blanche Ely high school. She gave birth to two daughters, her most loved Dee Dee and Lea Lea. She has three wonderful grandchildren Ronald, Destiny, and the late Matthew Kelly Williams.
This little collection of rhymes takes the everyday experiences of kids: making the bed, saying “please,” dealing with unkind classmates; and turns them into simple poems that feel warm and familiar. Some of the pieces are playful (“Flip, flop, hip-hop / what’s a kid to do?”), while others carry an emotional softness, like when a child feels guilty for misbehaving or sad about a torn sweater made by Grandma. There’s a lot of heart tucked between the lines, and you can tell the author wasn’t just trying to rhyme words, she was trying to reach kids where they are, in all their tiny triumphs and troubles.
What makes the book even more touching is the dedication to her grandson Matthew, who passed away in 2021. It adds a quiet layer of meaning, almost like the entire book is a hug, not just for children, but for the childlike pieces inside all of us that still need reassurance sometimes.
Behind these rhymes is Reazonda Kelly Smith , a woman whose life story feels just as full of color as the poems she writes. Growing up in Collier City in a big, lively household with seven sisters and two brothers, she seems to have had storytelling and rhythm woven into her daily life long before she ever put pen to paper. She went to Charles R. Drew Elementary and Blanche Ely High School, later raising two daughters: Dee Dee and Lea Lea, and pouring her love of family into everything she creates. Her grandchildren, including the late Matthew Kelly Williams, clearly hold a special place in her heart.
Rhonda has “always had a deep love for poetry,” and it shows. These nursery rhymes feel like they come from someone who doesn’t need poetry to be fancy or perfect; just honest, playful, and full of heart. She invites parents, grandparents, and little ones to read or sing along, flip through the colorful pages, and share a moment that slows life down just enough to feel it.
In a world that moves a little too fast for most of us, Miss Rhonda’s Book of Nursery Rhymes is a reminder that the small things are still worth noticing, worth celebrating, even. And maybe that’s the real message tucked between the rhymes: childhood may be fleeting, but its light never really leaves us. It just needs a gentle voice, a simple poem, or a familiar rhythm to guide it back.
Miss Rhonda’s Book of Nursery Rhymes by Reazonda Kelly Smith is now available for purchase via the ARPress Bookstore.