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.

This highly entertaining book differs from others in the genre in that it is not a fawning fan book. It is lots of fun and very well written. Some OTR fans have slammed it for its numerous errors (and it's true; it could have used a fact checker), but Nachman is after more important game than radio trivia, and he succeeds,

But I do have to register one strong objection. It's his assesment of Eddie Cantor. Now, Cantor may indeed have been a lousy rat in his personal life, as Nachman's informants report --that I don't know about -- but the book is one hundred per cent wrong about Cantor's show (at least his show from the mid-forties on). Nachman dismisses Cantor as an essentially talentless hack, and his show as depressingly unfunny. A few years ago, back when I first read this book, I accepted Nachman's criticism as probably factual (though I did remember enjoying Cantor's movies on the late, late show many years ago). The fact is that at the time I had never heard any of Cantor's radio shows so I had nothing to compare his comments with. Then about a year ago I ran across a partial episode of one Cantor's shows. It was hilarious and made me hungry for more. A few months ago I was able to obtain six or seven dozen shows dating from WW II and later. Now, it's possible that Nachman was going by Cantor's shows from the thirtes, when radio was much different than the situation comedy oriented 1940s. Whatever the case all I can say is that going by the fifty or so shows I've heard so far, Nachman is wrong, wrong, wrong. Cantor's show is hilarious and every bit as good as Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, or any other top shows of the period. The writing is first rate. Second bananas Harry von Zell and Bert Gordon as the Mad Russian are standouts, and as good as any supporting players on the other shows. Better, really. Cantor's show has quickly become one of my very favorites. My 11 year old son loves it. Even my 15 year old daughter -- the one with the metal stud in her nose -- loves the show.

So read Nachman. He's good. More important, listen to the shows yourself.

This book is an excellent overview of the world of radio. Unlike other books which tend to concentrate on only one genre (comedy, superheroes) or one type of show (Jack Benny, Fibber McGee, etc) this book covers them all. It also isn't written for the octogenarian that happens to remember when Ma Perkins was on the air. It is written as to compare it with contemporary times and people. It dares to compare Fred Allen with David Letterman and to say that the Lone Ranger was the first politically correct superhero. People who've never heard of Allen now understand his wit and talent because they know Letterman. Nachman is right on the mark with his observations and lines such as the one describing the Lone Ranger's silver bullet as the "bullet from Cartier's" are priceless.

The book doesn't quite get five stars in my opinion because of some of the (hopefully) unintentional slurs that are offered. The word "uppity" should be banished from the language, let alone be used to describe a Rochester or Beulah character. Some anti-Semitic slights can also be inferred when some negative comments about Groucho, Benny, and Burns are made, but guys like Bob Hope are OK because they are "good old americans." Again, I assume that these are unintentional, but if a WASP like me can pick up on them...

All in all, well worth the money and despite the slights, one that is difficult to put down. Hopefully one more in depth is on the way.

Regards,

So...Mary Anne's upset because her ex-boyfriend is assigned to her group for a school project. Poor Mary Anne. Naturally Cokie Mason's in that group and flirts her head off with Logan. What I liked is that Mary Anne didn't stoop down to Cokie and Logan's level, but just did her part in the project. I liked that the book didn't pit Mary Anne and Cokie against each other is rivals for Logan. Mary Anne had the dignity not to be drawn into trying to "win" Logan back.

I found this book hard to follow. The author put a lot of effort into trying to make this an easy book. There are 79 hand pictures of the basic hand claps with the movements described in words, but I just can't get it. Music notes are included for each rhyme. I wish the author would have included rhythym as well. I have yet to use it with my students.

I am an elementary physical education teacher and I have thoroughly enjoyed using many of the hand clapping games in my classes. The students love the hand motions along with reciting the rhymes. This is great practice for coordination and rhythm. I would recommend this book for any educator looking for fun and exciting ways to engage students in hands on learnning.

This book was written by Mary Taylor, a very close confidante of Charlotte Bronte. Taylor spent decades writing the book, not publishing it until she was in her 70s! The four main characters--Sarah, Amelia, Dora, and Maria--are from different socio-economic levels and must deal with the question of how a woman can support herself in hard economic times. In the early 1800s there were not many options for women; mainly they were encouraged to just be dependent on a man, husband or father. Taylor also explores the idea that even if a woman does not need to work for economic reasons, she should seek an education and gainful employment to make her life full (a radical idea for those times).

Sarah and Maria struggle admirably to make their mundane lives meaningful. Neither do they give up their ambitions for personal fulfillment when they fall in love with local men. Dora is the most rebellious of all, but learns to tame her temper to get what she wants. Amelia, sadly, does not succeed at breaking her chains--how ironic that the one born into the family with the most wealth and position should suffer the most.

I enjoyed the story; however, much of the dialogue is in Yorkshire dialect which was very difficult to follow and really slowed me down. For this reason I will not read the book again. I understand that the author wanted to make her characters authentic, however I wish she had written the dialogue in straight-ahead plain English.

This book was an easy read. It wasn't to exciting but it was very factual. It gave correct dates and times and pictures. The book was about how General Grant tried to take the South's big city Vicksburg. After many failures he finally tricked the South and took Vicksburg for the North.

Mary Ann Fraser clearly knows her subject, but her writing style at times is confusing even for an adult. She makes mental connections without waiting for the reader to "catch up." For example, there is the following paragraph, which thoroughly confused two fifty-year-olds. In the previous paragraph, Fraser was writing about a dilemma facing the South in one of its military campaigns. Then comes this paragraph: "Hunker down or attack: Which would save the city--and the South? March through the disease-infested swamps to attack from the north or run the gauntlet past the Vicksburg batteries and approach from the south: Which would allow a constant flow of supplies to the troops, conquer the 'Gibraltar of the Confederacy,' and bring victory to the North?" I rest my case. If this paragraph cited above is not confusing, I don't know what is. Ms. Fraser needs to reedit the book and make it clearer what she is writing about at each juncture. She needs to spell out the history more, as well, if the book is intended for children who are not already VERY familiar with the Civil War. Once she has done the reediting, it has a chance at being a great children's book about this important battle and what it signified for the outcome of the war.