'Camps Songs, Folk Songs' is Released
By: Christina Mancuso Jul. 30, 2014
Santa Fe, NM
Patricia Averill's new book, "Camp Songs, Folk Songs" (published by Xlibris) describes a vigorous folk tradition that long has been a rite of passage for children and adolescents in this country.
Dr. Averill suggests developmental reasons 1,400 songs appeal to youngsters - biological, linguistic and intellectual. At the same time she looks at the values and hopes expressed in lyrics that appeal to teenagers, especially young women.
"I started going to a Camp Fire Girls camp as a young child" Averill said recently. "We sang all the time, before meals, after meals, at evening camp fires. I don't remember not knowing some of these songs." She added, "I was in school when Peter, Paul and Mary were the rage. They sang folk songs. That got me interested in folk music, and started me thinking about those songs I learned as a child."
The folk repertoire she describes comes from songbooks she collected from 125 camps or individuals. Some were sponsored by Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, Camp Fire, the YMCA, or YWCA. Others were from progressive Eastern private camps, or from Jewish, Roman Catholic and Protestant church camps.
She reminisced, "Camps build special bonds. The best give us a good time when we're there and change us in ways we never fully comprehend. The songs we remember are more than souvenirs of a summer under the stars. They are the stars we hum when we're driving and share with our children and grandchildren."
"Camp Songs, Folk Songs"
By Patricia Averill
Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 714 pages | ISBN 9781493179114
Softcover | 6 x 9in | 714 pages | ISBN 9781493179121
E-Book | 714 pages | ISBN 9781493179107
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Patricia Averill went to camp as a child. Then she spent time in universities where she earned a PhD in American Studies with special emphasis on folklore. She is now outdoors in northern New Mexico.
Xlibris Publishing, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider created in 1997 by authors, for authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles. For more information, visit xlibris.com or call 1-888-795-4274 to receive a free publishing guide. Follow us @XlibrisPub on Twitter for the latest news.
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