- Published: 15 September 2011
- ISBN: 9780099505273
- Imprint: Arrow
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 576
- RRP: $39.99
The Lore of the Playground
One hundred years of children's games, rhymes and traditions
- Published: 15 September 2011
- ISBN: 9780099505273
- Imprint: Arrow
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 576
- RRP: $39.99
[A] delightful compendium ... Roud's indefatigable research proves that a great variety is still being played ... An appealing picture of our children emerges from this book ... As [it] richly demonstrates, there is much that is new to celebrate
Sunday Times
Based on interviews with hundreds of people aged from eight to 80, Roud has created a fascinating portrait of childhood in Britain
Sun
Fascinating study ... Roud's book celebrates a creativity that is as amazing as it is anonymous ... a terrific book - full of detail, nostalgia and surprises and relentlessly upbeat
The Times
Roud traces enduring traditions, debunks cherished myths and proves beyond all doubt that commentators who insist that children no longer know how to play are simply not looking, or listening, carefully enough
Time Out
Mr Roud has collected skipping rhymes, nonsense rhymes, "rude and horrible rhymes", clapping games, and much more, and compared them to the lore of old
Times Literary Supplement
Steve Roud's magisterial The Lore of the Playground takes us deeper in to a collective experience
Times Christmas Books
Carefully researched, elegantly written and well presented ... an absolute treasure chest of children's folklore ...Whether your interest is folklore, nostalgia or trivia, or you simply want a resource book of games and rhymes, this magnum opus will not disappoint
Times Educational Supplement
Charming ... This is a book to bring pure, childlike joy, as you remember games and rhymes forgotten for a lifetime
Mail on Sunday
Childhood memories will keep flooding back as you flick through this well researched and readable book
Countryman
There is much that is reassuring in this book, which shows the resilience of childhood traditions ... Childhood is a realm we have all inhabited, and it is extraordinary how a jingle, or [a] phrase ... can transport us back to a world of rituals, games and traditions as unbending as those of the Medes and Persians. If you want to make that journey, The Lore of the Playground will certainly point the way
Spectator
A highly detailed collection ... In short, this magnum opus is a treasure of a book to be frequently consulted
Good Book Guide
A superb piece of scholarship but also a quite splendidly satisfying dip-and-read book
School Librarian
A meticulously researched project which took me back to my own childhood
bookbag.com
Steve Roud's magisterial The Lore of the Playground takes us deeper in to a collective experience
The Times Christmas Books