Book Review - AND THE GREEN GRASS GREW ALL AROUND by Alvin Schwartz

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schwartz, Alvin. 1992. AND THE GREEN GRASS GREW ALL AROUND: FOLK POETRY FROM EVERYONE. Ill. by Sue Truesdell. USA: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0064462145

2. PLOT SUMMARY
"On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed." From riddles to rhymes to stories to poetry, songs and more, this book is full of material that will make any child (or adult, for that matter) giggle and snicker. Schwartz has gathered all sorts of nonsense and put it all in one book that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Silly, silly, silly. Seems that children loves book themes that begin with "s": scary and silly...and Alvin Schwartz features prominently in each theme. Here, he has put a book together that is timeless. Divided into sections, such as "Stories", "Riddles", and "Teases and Taunts", etc., the book user-friendly and flows easily.

Schwartz has taken folk poetry from most every decade so that any reader can identify with or remember at least one rhyme from his or her childhood. He has also included a very helpful section that details the sources of each folk poem. This is also divided by chapter soas to aid the reader in ease of use.

Adding to the light-hearted rhymes and songs are the very funny illustrations by Ms. Truesdell. The illustrations highlight particular scenes on a page and are in a simple, charcoal or pen and ink sketch. In fact, the sketches look child-like and would appeal to children of all ages. This is a book to be read again and again and shared with friends and family alike.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Read this outrageous volume before it is shelved; once the kids discover it, it will always be checked out."

* Starred review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Not since Carl Withers's A Rocket in My Pocket (1948) has there been such a grand compilation of familiar (and unfamiliar) rhymes and chants from the children's own tradition: riddles, games, wishes and taunts; poems about love, food, school, or animals; parodies, nonsense, and stories."

5. CONNECTIONS
* An obvious connection would be to pull books by Alvin Schwartz that the children are bound to know...SCARY STORIES. This gives them a chance to see one of their favorite authors producing work in a different vein and one can compare and contrast the different styles of Schwartz's work.

* In my library, I cannot keep joke or riddle books on the shelves. Kids love to stump their classmates. One of the things I like doing is having a joke contest in the library, with the kids using books such as this. The next few weeks, I have the children come up with their own, similar, material. It's a big hit!

* I play guitar. Singing some of the riddles instead of saying them keeps the children WAY more focused!