Yo' Mama, Mary Mack, and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux: Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play - Hardcover

by Jeanne Pitre Soileau (Author)

In the end, Soileau shows that despite the restrictions of air-conditioning, shorter recess periods, ever-increasing hours of television watching, the growing popularity of video games, and carefully scripted after-school activities, many children in south Louisiana sustain traditional games. At the same time, they invent varied and clever new ones. As Soileau observes, children strive through their folk play to learn how to fit into a rapidly changing society.

Author Biography

Jeanne Pitre Soileau is author of What the Children Said: Child Lore of South Louisiana, winner of the 2022 Opie Prize. She spent fifty years accumulating recordings of children as they answered a short list of questions related to their verbal play. Her study of schoolyard conversations is a treasure trove of children's networking, speech play, group policing, and imaginative sparring.