`Enlivened with illustrations and case studies, this book gives an exceptionally readable account of the development of children's play from infancy through to adolescence. It also branches out to include humour, sports, and modern developments in electronic games, as well as uses of play in therapy. It will be a great resource for practitioners and play workers, and indeed for parents who wish to be informed of current thinking and research' - Peter K Smith, Goldsmiths College, University of London

`George Scarlett and colleagues' treatment of play is both original and provocative. Unlike most previous expositions on play, they consider not only the social and cognitive dimensions of play but also its aesthetic nature. The treatment of youth sport was especially impressive. This is a "must read" for students of play' - Anthony D Pellegrini, Professor Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota- Twin Cities Campus
`This is the most clearly self aware of the several current works in the psychology of children's play. It has the unique worth of being unusually comprehensive with respect to play stages, gender differences, private lives, neighborhoods, humour, collections, video games, responses to stress and the uses of recess and play therapy. I particularly liked the demonstration of the continuing role of make believe from early childhood on into the theatric, literary and electronic foci of adolescence. These four authors are to be congratulated for having brought us as students and as parents an unusually readable text' - Brian Sutton-Smith, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Children's Play combines uncompromising scholarship with fresh, joyful prose. By looking at both the structure and content of play the authors help us understand the developmental significance of this complex way of being in the world. Each chapter contains exactly the topics we want to study and adds surprises that counter the folk-psychology of today. Children's Play does more than overview the research literature; it engenders new thinking' - George E Forman, Emeritus Professor, Child and Family Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
Play is a surprisingly complex and significant phenomenon in the lives of children everywhere. Children's Play looks at the many facets of play and how it develops from infancy through late childhood. Authors W George Scarlett, Sophie Naudeau, Dorothy Salonius-Pasternak, and Iris Ponte take a broad approach to examining how children play by including a wide variety of types of play, play settings, and play media. The book also discusses major revolutions in the way today's children play, including changes in organized youth sports, children's humour, and electronic play.
Children's Play addresses diversity throughout the book and explores play on the topics of gender, disabilities, socioeconomic class, and culture.
Features:
}broad scope. Covers various age groups from infancy through pre-adolescence and includes topics often missing from books on children's play, e.g, restorative play.
}discussion of current revolutions in play. Provides full coverage of topics such as electronic play and organized youth sports.
}treatment of culture. Rather than segregate culture into a single chapter, culture and diversity issues run throughout the book to give students a deep understanding of how pervasively culture shapes children's play. Discussions include considerations of age changes in how children play, gender differences, socioeconomic class differences, differences based on disabilities, cultural differences, and typical versus atypical settings and environments.
} helpful pedagogy. To assist student study, chapters include chapter-opening outlines, boxed material to amplify key points with memorable real-life examples, a socratic style that punctuates the text by posing new topics in the form of questions to be explored, a summary section along with a list of key words, names, and ideas, and a rich illustration program with figures and photos of children in various play settings.