The Swapping Song

I’ll trade you this for that! Whether trading marbles, baseball cards, or doll clothes, children have always enjoyed the game of trading. In this captivating book, illustrator Gabriella Geida imagines this beloved folk song as a way of trading toys between friends. Also known as “The Foolish Boy,” “Wim Wim Wobble O,” “I Went to London,” and “Old John Braddalum,” the song is most likely British in origin and was frequently recorded in the twentieth century. “The Foolish Boy” is an old English nursery rhyme whose story can be found in variations in Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm. The theme of making swaps, each one with a worse outcome than the previous swap, can be found in German folklore. Like the other picture books in John M. Feierabend’s First Steps in Music series, The Swapping Song includes a description of the history of the song, the notation of the song, and a link to a free MP3 download of the song, sung by Jill Trinka.

John M. Feierabend, PhD, has spent decades compiling songs and rhymes from the memories of the American people in hopes that these treasures will be preserved for future generations. He is a leading authority on child development in music and movement and served as Professor and Chair of the Music Education Department of the Hartt School of the University of Hartford. Gabriella Geida graduated summa cum laude with honors from the University of Hartford. She double majored in illustration and graphic design with a minor in art history. She currently resides in the small town of Colchester, Connecticut, where when she isn’t doing art, she enjoys reading, appreciating cinema, doing yoga, and all things outdoors. The animals in her book were inspired by the ones on the farm where she works.