That mouthful of a title came about after a half-hour phone conversation (I wanted the plain title of "Rhythms Galore"), when the president of McFarland Publishers said "I want you to be in the international camaraderie of usage because we're going to be marketing this book in England, Europe, and Australia.  I finally said, "Okay, okay." So, there it is, the title just about serves as a book review.

The book's done nicely, being in print since 1983. It was the outgrowth of the materials I'd put together for my own notebook when I was teaching Kindergarten. I'd found there was no one book that had what I wanted and needed - just bits and pieces here and there. My personal notebook of rhymes and rhythms I liked began to grow.  Searching tediously in numerous sources convinced me that there was a need for a comprehensive collection.  I started by organizing my notebook, and then adding such new pieces as I thought would enhance the collection.  Each section has a short commentary on the educational applications. There are a number of my own original works, which have been noted in reviews as "very worthwhile" and been reprinted in various magazines and books.

The chapters break down into Fingerplays, Five-Finger-Plays, More-Than-Finger-Plays, Holiday Potpourri, Join-In Rhythms, Counting-Out Rhymes, Jump-Rope and Bounce-Ball Chants, Tongue-Twisters, "Staircase" Tales, and Narrative Verses.

Though this book is full of material for children, it is not a children's book. It's a reference book for teachers, librarians, parents, and others. 

When I speak to writers' groups, or at book stores, I always tell writers to have a passion for what they want to write - "Write the book you want to read."  That's what I've tried to do. At the very least, I know I've made a contribution to the field of early childhood education.