The People in the Playground

Opie eavesdropped on the morning playtime of British schoolchildren, jotting down their playground conversations, punchy rhymes, games, fights and sexual and scatological stories and jokes. Covering the period from 1978 to 1980, this record of her fieldwork attests to the longevity of children's lore, showing how it is transmitted from child to child. Coauthor or editor with her late husband Peter of such books as The Singing Game and The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book , she draws on her playground observations to support her conviction that ``innate'' and ``ineradicable'' differences exist between the sexes. Boys, she asserts, are more egotistical, competitive, aggressive and daring than girls, whereas girls are more helpful and patient and take far more interest in people than do boys. This interesting log reveals play to be an avenue of escape from childhood's pervasive fears and anxieties. (June)