Educated in the US and based in London since 1980, Jo McNally has had a varied career as a music educator, adjudicator, and singer, specializing in conducting young and developing choirs. She has taught classroom and choral music in both independent and international schools and has worked on projects for the education departments of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, the BBC and Spitalfields festival.

Jo McNally is one of America's best exports to the UK, and anyone who has had the privilege of seeing and hearing her work in a hall full of children and adults will confirm that she is a truly inspirational figure in live music education. If you can't have her vivid presence, the next best thing is surely this compilation of some of the repertoire she uses with pupils at KS1 . . . The variety of the 32 songs in the collection is broad and impressive . . . The Warm Up and Stomp Canon does much more than help children 'keep the beat'; as they stomp and click and circle and flick, they will be involved physically, mentally and emotionally. Like much else here, the song is pretty well irresistible.

• Mr Wiggly and Mr Waggly ; Miss Mary Mack ; Naughty pussy-cat ; The mill-wheel and the snail ; Squirrel songs ; Bobby Shafto ; Old King Glory ; Chicken on a fencepost ; Warm up and Stomp canon ; Indian drum and Grinding corn ; On a log ; Fun mje alafia and Canoe song ; I got a letter this morning ; Great big house ; Cupboard key ; I see the moon ; Ebeneezer Sneezer ; Two night-time songs ; Rabbits ; Sweep away ; You'll sing a song ; Two welcome songs ; White banana (Barbados) ; Chanda mama (India) ; Ali Baba (Morocco) ; Oranges and lemons (England) ; Hotaru koi (Japan) ; Bingo ; Rainy old, gloomy old day ; The ants go marching ; B-A bay ; Grizzly bear