At the heart of this volume is the recognition that children’s engagement with play and story are intrinsically and intricately linked. The contributing authors share a passionate interest in the development and well-being of children, in particular through their use of imagination and adaptation of the everyday into play and stories. Following these principles, the volume explores the connections between play, story, and pretense with regard to many cultural and contextual factors that influence the way these elements vary in children’s lives. In a departure from earlier collections on play and story, the authors take a particular focus on normative as compared with atypical development. This collection begins with an approach to understanding the developmental relationship between play and story, which recognizes their similarities while acknowledging their differences. Much of the collection addresses pretend play and story in children with autism spectrum disorder, an understudied but important group for consideration, as these dimensions of their lives and development have often been considered problematic. The volume also includes sections on play and story in classroom settings and play and story across cultures, including non-English-speaking environments such as Israel, Romania, China, and Mexico. It concludes with a discussion of how play differs across sociocultural and economic contexts, making a unifying claim for the importance of play in children’s lives but also calling for an understanding of what play means to very different groups of children.

The role of play in human development has long been the subject of controversy. Despite being championed by many of the foremost scholars of the twentieth century, play has been dogged by underrepresentation and marginalization in literature across the scientific disciplines. The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play marks the first attempt to examine the development of children's play through a rigorous and multidisciplinary approach. Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, this handbook resets the landscape of developmental science and makes a compelling case for the benefits of play. Edited by respected play researcher Anthony D. Pellegrini, The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play is both a scientific accomplishment and a shot across the bow for parents, educators, and policymakers regarding the importance of children's play in both development and learning.

Play takes up much of the time budget of young children, and many animals, but its importance in development remains contested. This comprehensive collection brings together multidisciplinary and developmental perspectives on the forms and functions of play in animals, children in different societies, and through the lifespan. The Cambridge Handbook of Play covers the evolution of play in animals, especially mammals; the development of play from infancy through childhood and into adulthood; historical and anthropological perspectives on play; theories and methodologies; the role of play in children's learning; play in special groups such as children with impairments, or suffering political violence; and the practical applications of playwork and play therapy. Written by an international team of scholars from diverse disciplines such as psychology, education, neuroscience, sociology, evolutionary biology and anthropology, this essential reference presents the current state of the field in play research.

Children are widely celebrated for their imaginations, but developmental research on this topic has often been fragmented or narrowly focused on fantasy. However, there is growing appreciation for the role that imagination plays in cognitive and emotional development, as well as its link with children's understanding of the real world. With their imaginations, children mentally transcend time, place, and/or circumstance to think about what might have been, plan and anticipate the future, create fictional relationships and worlds, and consider alternatives to the actual experiences of their lives. The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Imagination provides a comprehensive overview of this broad new perspective by bringing together leading researchers whose findings are moving the study of imagination from the margins of mainstream psychology to a central role in current efforts to understand human thought. The topics covered include fantasy-reality distinctions, pretend play, magical thinking, narrative, anthropomorphism, counterfactual reasoning, mental time travel, creativity, paracosms, imaginary companions, imagination in non-human animals, the evolution of imagination, autism, dissociation, and the capacity to derive real life resilience from imaginative experiences. Many of the chapters include discussions of the educational, clinical, and legal implications of the research findings and special attention is given to suggestions for future research.

This collection offers an in-depth study of children's peer talk and its potential impact on children's learning.

Children's play is a universal human activity, and one that serves a significant purpose in personal development.Throughout this volume, which is an extension of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, the editors and contributors explore assumptions about play and its status as a unique and universal activity in humans.As a whole, Play

This book brings together researchers from across the globe to share their work on the micro-analyses of storytelling. By doing so, the book helps to deepen the understanding of, and track storytelling practices cross-culturally and longitudinally in the home, at school, and in higher education. Through the unique focus on education and learning, this book provides a lens with which to identify how children’s and adolescents’ language development and sense of self in storytelling are supported in various contexts: the home, classroom, playground or in the higher education context. It explores the work, identity and practices of friends, teachers and lecturers in teaching, learning, reflection and supervision. Importantly, in identifying these practices, the book presents opportunities to assist parents and teachers, to inform pedagogy in teacher education, and to support effective doctoral supervision. The focus on storytelling in homes, education, and for learning, and the practical applications of the findings, contribute to the ongoing research in both education and conversation analysis. Chapter 10 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The Sixth Edition of William A. Corsaro and Judson G. Everitt′s groundbreaking text discusses children and childhood from a sociological perspective—providing in-depth coverage of social theories of childhood, the peer cultures and social issues of children and youth, and children and childhood within the frameworks of culture and history. This revised edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the latest research and the most pertinent information so readers can engage in powerful discussions on a wide array of topics.

Putting Storytelling at the Heart of Early Childhood Practice is a brilliantly engaging and practical book that highlights the essential nature of storytelling in all walks of life, and how to best cultivate this in the early years classroom. The authors use a compelling Froebelian approach to explore the role of storytelling not just in the development of literacy but also in the development of communication and language and for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing. Drawing on primary and contemporary research, and presented by a range of experienced authors, this book covers important topics such as: The benefits of regularly practising storytelling Storytelling during play activities Group dynamics in constructing narratives The roles of props and fantasy concepts in storytelling This accessible guide is ideal for all early years practitioners looking to encourage literacy, communication and well-being in a supportive and creative environment, and for policymakers looking to develop best practice in the early years classroom.