Ring Around the Moon

by Edith Fowke

A collection of riddles, rhymes, tongue twister, charms, omens, and songs drawn from the oral traditions of North America

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1977

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes indeed, and very much like with her 1969 (and award winning) Sally Go Round the Sun, with her published in 1977 Ring Around the Moon Edith Fulton Fowke has once again gathered and gleaned her featured collection of oral folklore from children mostly situated in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada (but that many if not even most of the presented examples from Ring Around the Moon are also popular and known in the USA, as well as in the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand, well, basically everywhere where English is spoken as a first, as a primary language).

And indeed, the main difference between Sally Go Round the Sun and Ring Around the Moon is basically the following, namely that with Ring Around the Moon Fulton Fowke presents not only examples that are songs, counting rhymes and the like, but also much that in fact is not primarily musical and song-like in scope (such as riddles, rhymes, tongue twisters, superstitions/omens), and yes, equally ditties and anecdotes of love, marriage and other thematics more geared towards older children and even teenagers than what was collected and presented in Sally Go Round the Sun. Again nicely extensive in its scope and breadth is Ring Around the Moon (and indeed also with the relevant and necessary musical scores and notes being provided by Edith Fulton Fowke where applicable) and that just like with Sally Go Round the Sun I have really enjoyed encountering in Ring Around the Moon with massive nostalgic delight very many songs, riddles, bits of superstition and in particular tongue twisters that were a substantial part of my childhood and young teenager-hood (at recess and on the playground) in Canada (and very much both delighted in and appreciated after my family emigrated from Germany in 1976, when I was ten years of age and had just started grade four).

But while the collection itself for Ring Around the Moon (with its many fond and fun personal childhood memories and with Judith Gwynn Brown's accompanying artwork providing a nicely rendered although also visually a bit bland and lifeless decorative trim for Fulton Fowke's featured songs, rhymes, anecdotes, tongue twisters etc.) should probably be around four stars, upon closer reflection, I am going to be lowering my star rating for Ring Around the Moon from four to three. For most definitely, I do rather wish that aside from the very much appreciated sources and extensive bibliography, Edith Fulton Fowke would also be textually showing in Ring Around the Moon some folkloric background and historical details regarding the various inclusions (at least where that is possible), as well as perhaps also some facts and information about the contributors, regarding the children and their families who provided the material being used and showcased. However and honestly, this is truly and simply mostly my academic self talking, just my intellectual self complaining, and as a collection in and of itself, Ring Around the Moon is (at least in my humble opinion) pretty much perfect and as such also a real and useable textual delight and point of reference, and even with my three star ranking, warmly and highly recommended to and for both children and also parents, teachers etc.