Traditional Games of Childhood

by Camilla Gryski

Book Overview

Children have been jumping rope, hopping, throwing, catching, chasing and hiding for thousands of years. How a game is played may vary from country to country and generation to generation, but the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550744976
• ISBN13: 9781550744972
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.4" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Small and simple gem

This is quite a small and simple book, well illustrated and well written.There are a number of games covered including varieties of all the staples of childhood; tag, hide and seek, skipping, ball games and marbles just to name a few. Most parents will recognise almost every one from their childhood, though perhaps under a different name.You may discover, as I did, that none of the varieties not already played by my daughter were picked up be her and her friends. It seemed they were attached to the games that had been handed down in the playground through countless numbers of schoolchildren. I discovered one version of freeze tag at my daughter's school had been played in the same way, with the same rules, safe spots and exclusion zones, for more than twenty five years.My one complaint is that some of the explanations of games are a little short and not that many popular varieties of each are covered. A book with a little more depth might have been reviewed at five stars, otherwise a marvellous little gem.

inventive children from the beginning of time

Children have been playing games for thousands of years. Some of the details have changed, although their basic patterns remain the same. We still love to jump & hop, throw & catch, chase & hide!Counting Out, Tag, Hide-and-Seek, Hunt the Thimble, Leapfrog, Hopscotch, Jumping Rope, Balls, Clapping Games, Hand Games, Hand Shadows, Telephone, Jackstones & Marbles - these are the names - now get the book & read their stories & how they're played.Most of these games are hundreds of years old, some even going back to before ancient Roman, Egyptian & Greek times; some are specific to a culture & modernized with each generation of children teaching children teaching children. This is a good book to keep in your family for when everyone is burnt out from their sedentary existence or for when relatives arrive & the ice needs breaking. It is also a good book because it reminds us of how inventive we can be when left to our own devices - which children are not encouraged nearly enough.All the games of my pre-television childhood are here. They all taught me, by repetition & example, how to count, how to listen & how to see. How to coordinate my legs & arms & how to be quiet under duress as well as how to be loud when necessary.

Lively and energetic compendium.

Let's Play: Traditional Games Of Childhood is a lively and energetic compendium of classic and timeless playground games and rhymes complete with simple, clear instructions for play. Ranging from Leapfrog to Marbles, Hopscotch to Sardines, here are to be found old familiar games and a number of new twists on generational favorites. Kids of all ages (and their parents and grand parents too!) will want to play every game in this wonderful collection, at home or at school, on the playground or in the park. Highly recommended!