Texas Toys and Games (Publications of the Texas Folklore Society

by Francis Edward Abernethy (Editor)

You won’t find molded plastic, mass-produced items in this Texas Folklore Society Publication. These are folk toys, made from natural or available materials, whatever is handy or can be scrounged. The folks who make them are amateurs of varying degrees, from the ten-year-old hammering together a skate scooter or box kite to the doting grandparent sewing doll clothes or whittling paired giraffes for a Noah’s Ark. Texas Toys and Games combines both how-to descriptions and reminiscences.

Folk games encompass guessing, gambling, and counting games; physically competitive games of chase, tag, and mock combat; skill games using sticks, stones, marbles, tops, and knives; variations of baseball, basketball, and football; and rhythmic clapping, rope-jumping, and dance-like games. This book is as much fun as Christmas morning—and not a single battery required!

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990