Lore and Language of Schoolchildren
Iona Opie
Looks at the superstitions, practices and beliefs, rhymes and chants, jokes, nicknames and juvenile slang that continue to flourish among children in England, Scotland and Wales. Iona and Peter Opie also wrote "The Singing Game", "A Nursery Companion" and "The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book".
Posted by billyfisher1977 (1 year ago ) A wonderful compendium of the language, rhymes, skipping games, jokes, insults and other furniture of childhood.
Collected from schools across the country in the fifties, it's a dream of a book, full of the skewed logic and childish magic of words, where curses stick and protective spells, even if they involve BCGs, work.
The chapter on children's humour is particularly wonderful.
Track a copy down if you've got anything more than a passing interest in children and / or folklore.
Cheers,
Billy
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