WILKINS, Sally (E.D.)

PERSONAL:

Female.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 88 Post Rd. W., Westport, CT 06881.

CAREER:

Freelance writer.

WRITINGS:

Deserts, Bridgestone Books (Mankato, MN), 2000.

Grasslands, Bridgestone Books (Mankato, MN), 2000.

Temperate Forests, Bridgestone Books (Mankato, MN), 2000.

Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2002.

Contributor to The Louisa May Alcott Encyclopedia, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT).

SIDELIGHTS:

Sally Wilkins's book Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures surveys the pastimes of peoples around the world during the Middle Ages. These pastimes range from simple board games to team sports to children's outdoor play. While familiar activities like chess, tennis, and swimming are covered, Wilkins also describes such unfamiliar activities as tsoro yematatu, an African version of tick-tack-toe, and tako-no kiri-ai, an Asian game involving kite fighting. S. A. Reiss in Choice noted that Wilkins is careful to "trace each game's development, describe the rules of play, and explain how the necessary equipment was made." In cases where existing information is scanty, the author attempts "to stay true to the games while avoiding too much conjecture," according to Craig Shufelt in the Reference and User Services Quarterly.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 2002, review of Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, p. 542.

Choice, February, 2003, S. A. Riess, review of Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, p. 1020.

Reference and User Services Quarterly, winter, 2002, Craig Shufelt, review of Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, p. 177.*