I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me: Favourite Rhymes from an Irish Childhood
By (Author) Sarah Webb
Illustrated by Paul Delaney
O'Brien Press Ltd
O'Brien Press Ltd
1st February 2025
10th September 2024
Ireland
Children
Non Fiction
Childrens picture books
Childrens / Teenage: Poetry
Hardback
64
Width 220mm, Height 280mm, Spine 12mm
635g
Oranges and lemons, dancing sausages, little kittens, ducks and turtles; golden slumbers, lullabies and Irish eyes
theyre all here, and plenty more.
A wonderful collection of nursery rhymes to treasure, songs and poems to share, gathered by Sarah Webb and with joyful illustrations by Paul Delaney that jump off every page.
Enjoy childhood favourites like Old Mother Hubbard and Sing a Song of Sixpence, classic ditties like When Irish Eyes Are Smiling and Skip to My Lou, and funny rhymes like I Made You Look and Hot Dog that will cheer up any bedtime, as well as magical verses for children written by Spike Milligan and Gordon Snell and a beautiful lullaby by singer-songwriter Lisa ONeill.
This jaunty, lavish book, lovingly illustrated by Paul Delaney, is a cornucopia of silliness and sentiment. Composed to a significant degree of items that are the common inheritance of our culture, it also contains nursery rhymes, nonsense poems and song lyrics from specific authors, from Longfellow to Lisa ONeill. Throughout the books pages the three Rs likely to captivate young children are evident - rhyme, rhythm and repetition. As the subtitle suggests, there is often a keenly Irish flavour to proceedings, partly, as mentioned in the books introduction, due to material from the National Folklore Collection rhymes from schoolchildren dating back to the 1930s. Whilst there is certainly some (to this reviewer) novel verse included, there are also many abundantly familiar inclusions. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling or Jingle Bells may be common coin to us jaded grown-ups, but whos to say they wont be full of strangeness and wonder to the average two year old Delaneys colourfully schematic illustrations are a pleasure to behold, and constitute a large part of the books cosy, daft and sometimes antiquated charm. There is enough material here for countless bedtimes, and, bar the odd decapitation or threat of mortal gluttony, plenty to give little ones the sweetest of dreams!
-- ChildrensBooksIreland.iethis jaunty, lavish book is a cornucopia of silliness and sentiment with a keenly Irish flavour due to material from the National Folklore Collection. There is enough material for countless bedtimes
-- Children's Books Irelands Annual Reading Guide 2024Combining modern verses, familiar refrains, school-yard rhymes and material from the National Folklore collection, Webb and Delaneys selection of poems from an Irish childhood will provide a trip down memory lane for older readers and a new exposure to the fun of rhyme for younger readers. A collection that can be re-visited time and time again, traversing seasons, landscapes and ending with a sweet goodnight
-- Irish ExaminerColourful & gorgeous, & has so many rhymes I'd forgotten, & those new to me from the National Folklore Collection
-- Irish History Bitesizeincludes beloved classics adding sparkle and joy to bedtime
-- Irish Farmers Journal's Gift Guidethere is a wealth of story wrapped up in all manner of forms in this charming collection that would make the perfect bedtime accompaniment for many
-- Armadillo MagazineThere is no better Christmas gift you can give a young reader than time spent reading with them in front of the fire on a cold winter's day, and poetry anthologies can be perfect companions. Sarah Webb has brought together a lovely selection of rhymes from an Irish childhood in I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me, from skipping favourites to traditional Irish songs, seasonal specialties and lilting lullabies, with Delaney's boxy illustrations providing a nice visual focus
-- Irish TimesPerfect bedtime reading
-- RollercoasterSarah Webb is a children's writer from Dublin. She won Irish Book Awards for Blazing a Trail: Irish Women Who Changed the World (with Lauren O'Neill) and A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea (with Steve McCarthy). She was awarded the CBI Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Books in Ireland.
Paul Delaney is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Cork. He likes to make art that is bold, graphic, sweet and good natured, topped with a healthy sprinkling of anarchy.