Listening to and playing with rhyming sounds is crucial to language development in the early years. It enables the reader to hear the sound patterns that occur in words and notice the difference when it is absent. Rhyming helps to isolate particular sounds and offers opportunities to practise them by repeating as you read. Rhyming books that are read regularly also offer the opportunity for the younger reader to fill in the blank if you pause before the end of the line. This builds their identity as the reader and enables them to participate in a new way. 

You might know an older person who remembers nursery rhymes, songs and ditties from their own childhood. Songs and rhymes are really important for language development, building memory and playing with how words feel when we speak and hear them.