Grace Hallworth (1929–2021)
Author of Down by the River: Afro-Caribbean Rhymes, Games, and Songs for Children
Works by Grace Hallworth
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Byam, Grace (birth)
- Birthdate
- 1929
- Date of death
- 2021-08-10
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- librarian
- Organizations
- Society of Storytelling
Youth Libraries Group
London Narrative Group - Relationships
- Hallworth, Trevor (husband)
- Short biography
- [excerpted from The Guardian online obituary]
Grace told stories to family and friends, a habit she continued in her first job setting up libraries in Tobago. A scholarship to carry on with her studies in Canada followed and she then moved to Britain. As children's librarian for Hertfordshire from 1957 to 1985, she inspired others through her Youth Libraries Group work, eventually appearing on television and radio both as a storyteller and contributor to media discussions of multiculturalism and books. Grace published several books of folk tales. She began to promote storytelling outside libraries, participating in the London Narrative Group. After leaving Hertfordshire libraries, Grace continued as a professional storyteller. She mentored many of today's leading proponents of the art and helped to establish The Society of Storytelling. - Birthplace
- Trinidad
- Associated Place (for map)
- Trinidad
Members
Reviews
Everybody involved in early literacy, everyone who has ever enjoyed a nursery or Mother Goose rhyme, every educator should read this book. Young families should own it. I'm not the only tired of Old King Cole and Jack Sprat, right? Rhymes for counting, and counting out, for jumping rope, and signalling friendship, for rainy days, and bedtime, they're all here, with a Trinidadian music and setting.
Art is wonderful; the children must have been live models. Author's note in the beginning is show more important to older children and adults, but not necessary to tots. Sufficient notes on pages for unfamiliar words. No back matter, but none needed tbh.
Includes lines some of us have heard before "brown girl in the ring" and "chicka boom" for example. show less
Art is wonderful; the children must have been live models. Author's note in the beginning is show more important to older children and adults, but not necessary to tots. Sufficient notes on pages for unfamiliar words. No back matter, but none needed tbh.
Includes lines some of us have heard before "brown girl in the ring" and "chicka boom" for example. show less
Although these poems are Afro-Caribbean rhymes and songs, i'm surprised at how many i knew. I guess many of the rhymes we used to chant in elementary school traveled from Africa and continued on. Reading some other "poems", i realized that many chants i used to sing on the play yard and games i used to play derived from some of these. Its amazing how the black culture works.
This book was a very unique read, since none of the books I have read thus far have included rhyming games and songs. The author used the book as a format to expose Afro-Caribbean chants for children which were each beautifully depicted in illustrations with children acting them out. First, the author states in the introduction that she met people of many different races growing up, but that they all kept the same Trinidadian culture. Although this compilation includes silly chants and show more games, this book represents the shared traditions and culture of these people. The pictures depict children at school, sometimes of all different races, looking happy and joyous to be playing together. These pictures show how no matter your skin color, it is possible to come together as one cohesive group. Also, for readers, the pictures and words combined depict the Trinidadian culture. On one page, the chant is called “Going Shopping” and illustrates a Trinidadian market. This would be great for students learning about different places in the world because the chants would be something relatable to students and draw them in while subtly showing them a completely different culture. Conversely, for any students who have misconceptions about not relating to Trinidadian culture, they can identify with certain parts of the text and see how children universally have many of the same experiences while growing up. The main idea of this book is to reflect on the Trinidadian culture from the perspective of a young child. show less
A collection of stories from the Caribbean, each with a song to go along with them. A nice introduction to Caribbean folklore for kids.
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Statistics
- Works
- 20
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 194
- Popularity
- #112,876
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 6
- ISBNs
- 40
- Languages
- 2