Schoolyard Rhymes: Kids' Own Rhymes for Rope Skipping, Hand Clapping, Ball Bouncing, and Just Plain Fun

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sierra, Judy. 2005. SCHOOLYARD RHYMES: KIDS' OWN RHYMES FOR ROPE SKIPPING, HAND CLAPPING, BALL BOUNCING, AND JUST PLAIN FUN. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-375-92516-3.

PLOT SUMMARY
Schoolyard Rhymes is a compilation of fifty playground rhymes and chants. Most of the rhymes are well-known favorites that have been around for many years. Some are more recent, less familiar additions to the genre.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This delightful, silly, and fun collection of rhymes and chants from playgrounds and schoolyards is presented in a colorfully chaotic manner. The higglety pigglety arrangement of the characters in the illustrations conjures up the very atmosphere of a busy schoolyard. Words from some of the rhymes are strung together to form jumping ropes. This further suggests activity and movement. The expressive faces of the people and animals invite the reader to share in the fun. Melissa Sweet uses mixed-media and watercolor to create amusing, ridiculous, and sometimes just plain gross images that represent the chants and rhymes. The selector, Judy Sierra, has thoughtfully included an introduction about schoolyard rhymes at the beginning of the book. At the end is an index of first lines for the fifty rhymes and chants included in the compilation.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal: "Sierra has selected some of the funniest and most memorable schoolyard rhymes available in this appealing collection, including such old favorites as 'Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,' 'Lady with the Alligator Purse,' and 'Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.'"
Booklist: "Sweet's comical, mixed-media art adds to the wackiness of the rhymes, with jump ropes commanding a prominent position, whether used by children or pickles or bears."

CONNECTIONS
>"Test drive" some of the rhymes in the collection to see which ones lend themselves to jumping rope and which ones are better suited to clapping games.
>Try your hand at creating additional verses for some of the chants and rhymes.
>Read Street Rhymes Around the World by Jane Yolen (ISBN 1878093533). Compare and contrast the counting games, circle games, and jump rope rhymes from 17 countries with those in Judy Sierra's Schoolyard Rhymes.