Miss Mary Mac All Dressed in Black: Tongue Twisters, Jump-Rope Rhymes and Other Children's Lore from New England

by Scott E. Hastings

Includes children's rhymes and lore collected in Vermont and a guide to collecting children's folklore

Genres: Nonfiction

159 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

Reviews

[RebL · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book from my mother's collection, as this sort of thing was just up her alley. The premise is interesting, but IDK about the execution. The rhymes were collected in Vermont and Rhode Island in the early 1970s, although I recognized many of them...for instance, "Cinderella, dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow"...from my mid-70s southern childhood. Some of the rhymes I learned as songs, such as "I'm a Juvenile Delinquent", but are not listed as such in the book.

All in all it seems like an excellent thesis, but it needed better editing, more research and history as to the origin of the rhyme, and a larger sample size than just a couple of New England towns.

Interesting to read once at least. 3 stars.

[Talea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little book with many of the rhymes and games I remember as a kid.