The Mummer's Song

Kelly L. Green is the co-editor of the Children’s Literature edition
of the Canadian Book Review Annual.

Ian Wallace has contributed his formidable illustrative talents to this
song in a book by Newfoundland native Bud Davidge. The book is a love
song both to Newfoundland and, as Wallace’s clever title-page
illustration notes, “To Our Friends Throughout the World.”

The song reads well as poetry, and tells us of Christmas in
Newfoundland, where mummers (usually your neighbors in ridiculous
disguises) come knocking at the door. The hosts must try to guess who
the mummers are, and the party, according to Davidge, can get a little
wild. (“Be careful the lamp and hold onto the stove. Don’t swing
Granny hard ’cause you know that she’s old.”) When everyone has
had a dance and some refreshment, it’s on to the next house.

Wallace’s muted, colored-pencil drawings are well suited to the
old-fashioned tone of the book, and an afterword lends historical
perspective for those of us unfamiliar with the Newfoundland custom of
mumming (at least 200 years old, and originating in West Country England
and southern Ireland). The book ends with the music to Davidge’s song.
(A tape, available for those who wish to hear Davidge sing it,
definitely adds to the enjoyment of the book). This book is a welcome
contribution to Canadian folk history for children. Recommended.