Newell gathered the ring games, love-games, counting-out rhymes and singing plays that American children taught one another, from ‘Knights of Spain’ to ‘Go Round and Round the Valley’. Each comes with its words, a note on how it was played, and a comparison with British and European versions, showing how much old ballad and May-game lore survived in American playgrounds.
A founding work of American folklore study, and a treasury for anyone curious about where schoolyard rhymes come from. Download the free EPUB.