|
Schoolyard Rhymes Illustrated by Melissa Sweet The Story Behind the Book Who doesn't love the old hand clapping and jump rope rhymes? In 2002, I visited a lot of schools in central and southern California, where the weather is almost always sunny and kids are out on the playground every day. I asked the children to tell me their favorite playground rhymes. I wanted to find out if they were still using the old rhymes I remembered (they were) or if they had new ones (they did). What surprised me the most was how happy and excited these rhymes and games made them. Girls' faces would literally light up with smiles when I asked them to show me their jump rope and hand clapping games. I thought that a book of these rhymes was important because when parents and grandparents read it aloud, they could tell kids about their own childhood memories of chanting and playing folk games. Also, the rhymes are so simple and predictable, they would be a cinch for beginning readers. Because I knew this would be a full-color picture book, I tried to choose rhymes that would be fun for an illustrator. Melissa Sweet brought them to life in wonderful ways, including the jump ropes made of word collages. One thing I especially like about her art is that when children look at it, they recognize the materials she uses and the way she uses them. That makes it easy for them to try the same techniques themselves. Schoolyard Rhymes includes rhymes from England, Canada, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia. Can you find the double-page spread that has only rhymes about underwear? When you do, you'll know what underpants are called in England. |
|
