A. E. Perkins
Riddles from Negro School-Children in New Orleans
eBook
(Southgate Books Aug. 21, 2019)
First published in 1922, and out of print since, this article lists riddles from African-American school children in New Orleans that were collected by A. E. Perkins, principal of McDonough School 6. Over 120 riddles, rhymes and variants with answers, including everything from the simply silly "Why is your nose in the middle of your face? — Ans. Because it is the scenter (centre)" to the poignant that shed light on the life of black children in the American south in the early twentieth century and the legacy of slavery: "Horn eat a horn up a white oak-tree. If you guess that riddle, you may hang me."