...collected by my aunt; illustrated by me
Collected by Ruth Ann Musick and Walter Barnes
Edited by Judy Prozzillo Byers
Illustrated by Patricia Musick along with Noel W. Tenney and John Henry Randolph
Mountain Mother Goose is a collection of jingles, jangles, rhymes, riddles, games, and lesson stories chanted and sung on the playgrounds of Central Appalachia, recited in one-room schools, and echoed in backyards and schoolyards throughout the small villages and farms that dotted the hills and valleys of West Virginia. Stretching through most of the 20th Century, this collection of melodies traces the regional attitudes and traditions of American children at play. As early progressive educators and folklorists, Dr. Walter Barnes and Dr. Ruth Ann Musick painstakingly gathered a rich harvest of child lore. Dr. Barnes encouraged Dr. Musick to pluck the folk ways and narratives of youngsters by sharing with his younger colleague the many examples that he had heard from children in the rural schools around the state. The features in the eight chapters of the book move from childhood to teens with such sections as nonsense, taunts, and teases; act-out games; counting-out rhymes; riddles; jump rope rhymes; lesson stories; play-party games; and autographs and epitaphs. Illustrated with the lively sketches and paintings of Pat Musick along with works by Noel W. Tenney and John H. Randolph, this collection is sure to delight the infant being read to in her mother’s lap, to enliven the play of the older child, and to bring a smile to the older reader who recalls similar games and songs from his youth. Enjoy this celebration of being young in age and young at heart.
For information on how to obtain your copy, please call (304) 367-4403 or e-mail Beth.Martin@fairmontstate.edu
http://www.fairmontstate.edu/folklife/mountain-mother-goose-child-lore-west-virginia
