Texas Toys and Games

Francis Edward Abernethy

University of North Texas Press, 1997 - History - 253 pages

You won't find molded plastic, mass-produced items in this Texas Folklore Society Publication. These are folk toys, made from natural or available materials, whatever is handy or can be scrounged. The folks who make them are amateurs of varying degrees, from the ten-year-old hammering together a skate scooter or box kite to the doting grandparent sewing doll clothes or whittling paired giraffes for a Noah's Ark. Texas Toys and Games combines both how-to descriptions and reminiscences.

Folk games encompass guessing, gambling, and counting games; physically competitive games of chase, tag, and mock combat; skill games using sticks, stones, marbles, tops, and knives; variations of baseball, basketball, and football; and rhythmic clapping, rope-jumping, and dance-like games. This book is as much fun as Christmas morning--and not a single battery required!

Contents

• Folk Toys: 1
• Wheels: 3
• Kites and Other Flying Things: 16
• Floaters: 30
• Stilts and Stick Horses: 38
• Weapons: 45
• DOLLS: 60
• Toy Box: 78
• Playhouses Clubhouses and Tree Houses: 90
• Folk Games: 101
• Guessing and Gambling: 103
• Chasing and Capturing: 115
• Sticks and Stones: 136
• Marbles: 150
• Tops and Knives: 162
• Rhythm Games: 173
• PlayParty Games and Songs: 190
• Essays on Toys and Games: 215
• Folk Toys in Texas: 217
• Toys on the Frontier: 220
• Folk of Texas Children: 224
• Childrens Games and Socialization in the Texas Hill Country: 229
• Games and Recreation: 236
• Bibliography: 241
• Index of Contributors: 245
• Index of Toys and Games: 249

About the author

FRANCIS EDWARD ABERNETHY was Regents Professor Emeritus of English at Stephen F. Austin State University, the executive secretary and editor of the Texas Folklore Society, the curator of exhibits for the East Texas Historical Association, and a member of the Texas Institute of Letters. In addition to editing twenty-one Texas Folklore Society publications, he wrote Singin' Texas, Legends of Texas' Heroic Age, and all three volumes of the Texas Folklore Society history, published by the University of North Texas Press.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Texas Toys and Games; Online access: OAPEN DOAB Directory of Open Access Books; Volume 48 of Publications of the Texas Folk; Issue 48 of Publications of the Texas Folklore Society
• Editor: Francis Edward Abernethy
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press, 1997
• ISBN: 1574410377, 9781574410372
• Length: 253 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / State & Local / General; Humor / General; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology