Ring o' Roses: Nursery Rhymes, Action Rhymes and Lullabies (1990, Frances Lincoln, illus. Priscilla Lamont)

Ring o' Roses: Nursery Rhymes, Action Rhymes, and Lullabies

Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont 

©1990 Priscilla Lamont 

My edition, featured here, first Frances Lincoln edition, October 1990

ISBN 0-7112-0620-1

This vintage collection of nursery rhymes, action rhymes, and lullabies contains contents pages that outline all the rhymes included (15 action rhymes, 21 nursery rhymes, and 9 lullabies) (see the end of this post). The lullabies section is followed by musical arrangements, and some of the music copyrighted 1990 to Barrie Carson Turner, Norfolk. Although my copy is a Frances Lincoln edition, it appears the original is a Little Brown & Co edition titled 'Ring-A-Round-A-Rosy' published in January 1990 (before this edition in October). I'm not sure if there are any differences between them.

The collection features sweet pastel illustrations of nursery rhyme characters, as well as babies and toddlers and the adults in their lives. 

In the action rhymes and nursery rhymes sections, there were a few rhymes I was either completely unfamiliar with ('This little cow eats grass', 'Dance to your daddy',) or that had variations I hadn't come across before (a second verse of 'Ring-a-ring o' roses' featuring the lines 'Picking up the daisies'). The rest were all old familiar friends, with fun new illustrations to enjoy. I wasn't familiar with many of the lullabies, so the musical arrangements at the end of that section were helpful.

In terms of the illustrations, I particularly enjoyed the verve of 'Old MacDonald had a farm' and the designs of 'Humpty Dumpty', 'This is the way the lady rides', and 'Little Bo-Peep', among others. 

'This is the way the lady rides': illustrations show the actions that accompany the rhyme

This collection was republished with a different cover (featuring the illustration from 'Ring-a-ring o' roses') in 1998 by Frances Lincoln and in 2004 by Lincoln Children's Books. Priscilla Lamont has also illustrated other nursery rhyme collections, including a Mother Goose Treasury and Nursery Rhyme Treasury (which I believe have quite different illustrations, rather than repeating any contained here – I will try to track down copies to review).

You can find out more about this illustrator (and order some of her artworks!) through her website – see Priscilla Lamont illustration.

Ring o' Roses: Nursery Rhymes, Action Rhymes, and Lullabies – Contents

Contents of Ring o' Roses: Nursery Rhymes, Action Rhymes, and Lullabies