First published in 1959, Iona and Peter Opie's The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren is a pathbreaking work of scholarship that is also a splendid and enduring work of literature. Going outside the nursery, with its assortment of parent-approved entertainments, to observe and investigate the day-to-day creative intelligence and activities of children, the Opies bring to life the rites and rhymes, jokes and jeers, laws, games, and secret spells of what has been called "the greatest of savage tribes, and the only one which shows no signs of dying out."
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About the Author
IONA (b. 1923) and PETER OPIE (1918-1982) began their research together in 1944. Fifteen years later, they published The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren and took their places as, to quote The Guardian, "the supreme archivists of the folklore movement." Since that time, they have jointly published The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, The Classic Fairy Tales, and Children’s Game in Street and Playground. Since Peter Opie’s death in 1982, Iona Opie has carried on with their work under his name as well as her own.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rhymes and reasons,
By "brianmclean" (Budapest, Hungary) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)
Most of the material for this book was gathered fifty years ago in British schools, but I'm sure readers in all countries, for all time, will find it amusing and revealing. When I'd finished it, I felt I had a greater insight into children's minds and concerns, which they express, of course, in the games they play and the rhymes they say. I felt at the same time great respect for children. For unasked and unobserved, they have been keeping our traditions alive for us. Many of their dictums and ditties have changed little for hundreds of years. It seems that all the Barbies and Action Men and other expensive toys can't distract them from this valuable and enjoyable task of conservation.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Anthropology of a world like ours (but not quite),
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This review is from: The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)
Collected in the 50s, the Opies' LORE AND LANGUAGE OF SCHOOLCHILDREN is a compelling compendium of a world very similar to that of the 21st century but not quite. Americans will be particularly fascinated by the slight differences in customs and games among children across the Atlantic, as the Opies catalogue nicknames, rhymes, games, tricks, and half-believed superstitions and spells. fascinating reading.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
THE scraps of lore which children learn from each other are at once more real, more immediately serviceable, and more vastly entertaining to them than anything which they learn from grown-ups. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Bishop Auckland, Davy Crockett, Market Rasen, Charlie Chaplin, Mickey Mouse, May Day, Betty Grable, Father Christmas, Guy Fawkes, Shirley Temple, Shrove Tuesday, First World War, West Riding, New York, English Dialect Dictionary, Flora Thompson, Good King Wenceslas, Popular Rhymes, Robert Chambers, South Elmsall, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, Good Friday, Lottie Collins, New Zealand New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
THE scraps of lore which children learn from each other are at once more real, more immediately serviceable, and more vastly entertaining to them than anything which they learn from grown-ups. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Bishop Auckland, Davy Crockett, Market Rasen, Charlie Chaplin, Mickey Mouse, May Day, Betty Grable, Father Christmas, Guy Fawkes, Shirley Temple, Shrove Tuesday, First World War, West Riding, New York, English Dialect Dictionary, Flora Thompson, Good King Wenceslas, Popular Rhymes, Robert Chambers, South Elmsall, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, Good Friday, Lottie Collins, New Zealand New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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100
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- Every-Day Book: Two Volumes Complete (Illustrated) by William Hone on page 260, page 282, and page 382
- Introduction to English Folklore by Violet Alford in Front Matter, and page 257
- Still Glides the Stream by Flora Thompson on page 52, and page 184
- The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes by Iona And Peter Opie in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- The Other House (New York Review Books) by Henry James in Back Matter
See all 100 books this book cites
- Dictionary of Language Games, Puzzles, and Amusements by Harry Edwin Eiss on 15 pages
- Language Play by David Crystal on page 173, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Play Today in the Primary School Playground: Life, Learning and Creativity by Julia C. Bishop in Front Matter, page 6, and Back Matter
- Churchill by Paul Addison in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Sites of Sport: Space, Place and Experience (Sport in the Global Society) by John Bale in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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