Dr. Myra Bluebond-Langner, series editor of the Rutgers University Press Series in Childhood Studies and Director of the Center for Children and Childhood Studies is pleased to announce the publication of its third book in the Childhood Studies Series, At Play in Belfast: Children’s Folklore and Identities in Northern Ireland written by Donna M. Lanclos.

Anthropologist and folklorist Donna M. Lanclos writes about children on the school playgrounds of working-class Belfast, Northern Ireland, using their own words to show how they shape their social identities. The notion that children's voices and perspectives must be included in a work about childhood is central to the book. For Lanclos, children's experiences stimulate discussions about culture and society. In her words, "Children's everyday lives are more than just preparation for their futures, but are life itself."

In the book, Lanclos explores children's folklore, including skipping rhymes, clapping games, and "dirty" jokes, from five Belfast primary schools (two Protestant, two Catholic, and one mixed). She listens for what she can learn about gender, family, adult-child interactions, and Protestant/Catholic tensions. Lanclos frequently notes violent themes in the folklore and conversations that indicate children are aware of the reality in which they live. But at the same time, children resist being marginalized by adults who try to shield them from this reality.

The Rutgers University Press Series in Childhood Studies is the first multidisciplinary collection of books on children and childhood. The purpose of the series is to increase understanding of children and childhood experiences by looking at children as active participants in their own worlds as well as the worlds of others. Authors are not simply writing about children and childhood, but are providing readers with the voices of children via interviews and other kinds of qualitative research.