One Potato, Two Potato [Paperback]

Mary Knapp (Author), Herbert Knapp (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (May 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393090396
• ISBN-13: 978-0393090390
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Games children play - and where the games came from...., September 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: One Potato, Two Potato (Paperback)

One Potato, Two Potato is the story of children's games, chants, jump-rope rhymes, and school yard folklore. I first encountered this book when I was in college (about 20 years ago), and was enchanted with the amount of research done for this work. I was also amazed at the memories it brought back, and the sheer amount of "stuff" I have forgotten over the years. Reading it again brings back memories of both times, college and childhood.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but not for preschoolers, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: One Potato, Two Potato (Paperback)

Oops! Whoever assigned the reading level to this book was confused. This is a book for adults on the history and meaning of children's folklore. I first read it for a class I took on multicultural education, and now use it sometimes in a college course I teach on play. It's fascinating and brings back a lot of childhood memories. It has words to rhymes I had forgotten and directions for making the fortune tellers we used when I was in grade school. It's a wonderful book, but parents who order it for their young children will be disappointed!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting collection of material., January 11, 2007

By 

mademoiselle_josephine_clementine_pilgrim (1550 N. Fern Circle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Potato, Two Potato (Paperback)

I actually read this book when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I could tell it was "for adults" and yet I found many good stories and rhymes in it suitable for my own uses (especially that story about the dog!) -- and I remember reading about some of the dark meanings behind the clapping games and jumprope songs I played as a kid. It was interesting to read it at that age and recognize both the things "kids" didn't "get" about the games, rhymes etc. but also the things that "adults" didn't "get" about our use of these things.