Schoolyard Rhymes: Kids' Own Rhymes for Rope Skipping, Hand Clapping, Ball Bouncing, and Just Plain Fun Selected by Judy Sierra

Bibliography
Sierra, Judy. 2005. SCHOOLYARD RHYMES: KIDS' OWN RHYMES FOR ROPE SKIPPING, HAND CLAPPING, BALL BOUNCING, AND JUST PLAIN FUN. Ill. Mellisa Sweet. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. ISBN 0375925163

Plot Summary
This compilation of rhymes is varied and memorable. One to two rhymes are printed on each single page. The book contains over 50 rhymes, all with pictures to match. Rhymes range from old-fashioned to modern.

Critical Analysis
Sierra and Sweet work together to incorporate the text into the illustrations. Words follow the shape of a jump rope, the stripes in a flag, the border of a picture, the length of a clothes line, a tree trunk, and even flower stems, which adds to the fun of the rhymes. One of the rhymes is shown through two little girls and speech bubbles. "Melissa Sweet includes bright, colorful fabric swatches in her watercolor-and-pencil collages to perfectly capture the spirit of these [rhymes]^." Some of the rhymes however, use what some might see as inappropriate language or content. Most people are familiar with the rhyme, "Miss Mary Mack," yet do not recall the lines, "She cannot read, read, read She cannot write, write, write But she can smoke, smoke, smoke Her daddy's pipe, pipe, pipe." While most of the rhymes in this book are acceptable for young children, I would edit a few before sharing.
Sierra takes the time to note at the beginning of the book that many of the rhymes are quite old and word choice and order vary from region to region, country to country.

Review Excerpts
Starred Review in School Library Journal: "...some of the funniest and most memorable schoolyard rhymes available..."

Connections
*Challenge students to add-on or change/reword existing rhymes
*Challenge students to write their own rhymes
^From Melissa Sweet's website: www.melissasweet.net/kidsbooks.html