Sally Go Round the Stars: Favourite Rhymes from an Irish Childhood

Webb and Ranson collect nearly 70 nursery rhymes from “old Irish song books, traditional nursery rhyme books and our own childhood memories.” Many of the selections—“Old MacDonald,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” “Hey, Diddle Diddle”—will be familiar to American readers, but the lesser-known entries are no less charming. McCarthy’s illustrations bring a good deal of humor to the pages (the bird, cat, dog, cow, and horse seen inside the titular woman in “There Was an Old Woman” all share her wide-eyed expression), yet also conjure a bedtime feel when appropriate. A lovely collection that warrants an audience well beyond the Emerald Isle. All ages. (June)