For anyone who jumped rope a great deal (this excludes me) or swung the rope while others jumped (this includes me), this book is sure to have some favorite rhymes. As such, it is an interesting way to initiate cross-generational discussions - jump-rope rhymes are school yard folklore with astounding staying power. The book is also useful as a way to encourage young "couch potatoes" to get a bit of time outside with requiring outside to be a large space.

Of course, the best way to use the book is simply to enjoy it.

What great fun to be reminded of the jump rope rhymes of my youth. And even greater fun to share them with my daughter. I hope you enjoy this collection of rhymes as much as we do.

Crazy Eights And Other Card Games is a straightforward, "kid friendly" guide to simple playing card games that children of all ages can easily learn. Black-and-white illustrations and step-by-step instructions about the rules of games like Casino, Concentration, War, Twenty-One, Beginning Rummy, and a great many more guarantee that a deck of cards can be a family fun activity, as well as an ideal solution to children entertaining themselves when they must be indoors during inclement weather.

We discovered this book just after a week's vacation. We had been playing cards with children's card packs - old maid, rummy and go fish. I was anxious to find a book on all of the old children's games that I remember playing, Crazy Eights being a favorite. Not only does this book have lots of games, including many I had never heard of, but the illustrations and rules for playing are explained extremely well.

Highly recommended for some family time fun.

As someone with training in folklore, I always trust a book with Joanna Cole's name on it. This book does a very good job of showing (rather than desscribing) the actions and provides the words and music. As it is folklore, you will find some of the fingerplays or action rhymes from your childhood as well as new additions to your repetoire. As I have come to expect, I believe that the publishing company has underestimated the age range for which the book is appropriate ... listen to your young friends after their first camping trip with the cub scouts, bluebirds etc. and you will find that even at that ages children are teaching children some of these plays.

I love this book! I use it all the time when I want to keep kids up to 6 years old busy. I have kids who visit who beg me to bring out the book to do the finger plays. I recommend it highly.

So you are planning a party for your youngster and are trying to remember some fun games from way back, but your mind goes suddenly blank? Here is a collection of twenty fun and simple games for young children, that also very easily lend themselves to variations as you go along. The games described don't involve complicated rules or require elaborate preparations and are clearly and attractively presented. For each game, there is also some advice on safety issues and some ideas for variations. A very useful resource. Worked very well for my four year old's recent birthday party.

I recently gave a party for my 7 year old using games from this book. They had a blast! The games are VERY simple and definitely only for the age group that was recommended by Amazon. Most are the classics that you probably know already but when you sit down to think of things to do, you forget. Its a handy reference guide and not expensive. If you are looking for more complex or unique games, this isn't for you. But for the purpose it was intended, they nailed it. Oh, and it comes with the game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey...I bet that is at least $2-3 by itself in the store!

This book is perfect for children who are just learning to read! The colorful illustrations on each page give the reader lots of clues to help them with their first attempts at reading. The book contains a review of the alphabet, pictures with labels (such as parts of the body), rebus stories, and stories made of only one, two, three, or four words. There is a lot of rhyme and playfulness which makes this book a joy to share with a beginning reader. As a first grade teacher, I plan on buying many copies of this book for my classroom to help my beginning readers feel SUCCESSFUL!

Introductory level of study. Evangelical. A great place to begin your study of Exodus.

My daughter craved stimulation as an infant. She loved simple finger play games such as pat-a-cake, but I couldn't remember the words or hand motions to many others (how DO you get from a steeple to a church full of people?). When I went to our local bookstore in search of a book on finger play rhymes and directions, the clerk couldn't praise this book enough. Joanna Cole's books are EXTREMELY easy to understand, with step by step caricatures picturing hand placement and motion. My now three year old daughter enjoys looking through the book as well as singing the songs. This book comes highly recommended.

I have checked great numbers of these sorts of books out of the library and often find them to be disapointing, oversimplistic, or impractical. This book had a nice collection of games, rhymes, and craft activities, and seems worth the purchase.

As with all the Sten Novels written by Alan Cole and Chris Bunch - simple excellent.

I bought this book because I have so many memories of playing many of these games when I was a little girl, and I wanted to share that experience with my child.

I was a little disappointed because many of the words are quite different from how I learned them. But it is probably unreasonable for me to expect anything different.

If you can get past the fact that these games aren't 100 percent identical to how you played them as a child, you'll find this to be a really helpful guide.

This books certainly brings back memories of games played on the playground at recess. Although some of the words are different than I learned them, as expected for such widely used rhymes, I recognized quite a few. One disappointment was that there is no indication of the music to go with each rhyme. The authors did not provide an indication of the notes to sing or even that it sounds like a common song. Also, there are some lyrics that are inappropriate for young children and others that are very sexist or condescending. This book is not for everyone and I would certainly not hand it to a young reader without editing it or carefully supervising the language used by the children.