Describes the history and purpose of outdoor play areas. Both a reminiscence and a practical manual, this study probes the philosophy of play, the stages of a child's behaviour and social interaction in recreation, and the educational value of playgrounds.

With his dad's help, Kevin overcomes his fear of the King of the Playground who has threatened to tie him to the slide, put him in a deep hole, or put him in a cage with bears.

Intricate and charming collage illustrations crafted from torn and cut paper and found materials shine in this exuberant celebration of imagination and play. When a young girl packs her stuffed animals into her wagon and heads off to the park, she is inspired by both her toys and the playground equipment, and soon she is hiding like a squirrel, climbing like a monkey, sliding like a penguin, and so on--all relayed in catchy rhymed couplets. Each page offers clues to a friendly preschool guessing game and captures the unique pleasures of a day spent at the playground.

Digital and analog games have long served modern public libraries as educational tools and as drawcards for new patrons – from dedicated gaming zones and children’s spaces to Minecraft gaming days, makerspaces, and virtual reality collections. Much has been written about the role of games and play in libraries’ programming and collections. But their wider role in transforming libraries as public institutions remains unexplored. In this book, the authors draw on ethnographic research to provide a rich portrait of the intersection between games, play, and public libraries. They look at how games and play are increasingly spilling out of designated zones within libraries and beyond their walls, as part of a broader reconfiguration and “reimagining” of libraries in the digital era. The library’s association with play has historically been understood through its classification as a “third place”: somewhere to relax, socialise and experiment outside of the utilitarian demands of work and home. But far from just offering patrons an opportunity for detached leisure, this book illustrates how libraries are connecting games and play to policies agendas around their municipality’s economic and cultural development. Attending to the institutionalisation of play, the book sheds new light both on the contradictions at the heart of play as a theoretical concept, and what libraries are in contemporary public life.

From conkers to marbles, from British Bulldog to tag, not forgetting 'one potato, two potato' and 'eeny, meeny, miny, mo', The Lore of the Playground looks at the games children have enjoyed, the rhymes they have chanted and the rituals and traditions they have observed over the past hundred years and more. Each generation, it emerges, has had its own favourites - hoops and tops in the 1930s, clapping games more recently. Some pastimes, such as skipping, have proved remarkably resilient, their complicated rules carefully handed down from one class to the next. Many are now the stuff of distant memory. And some traditions have proved to be strongly regional, loved by children in one part of the country, unknown to those elsewhere. All are brilliantly and meticulously recorded by Steve Roud, who has drawn on interviews with hundreds of people aged from 8 to 80 to create a fascinating picture of all our childhoods.

While at the playground, Max and his friend Jose swing, climb, and slide all day long.

Before today's safety-minded structures of wood and plastic, America's playgrounds were full of tottering seesaws, dizzying merry-go-rounds, and towering metal slides. Documenting the evolution of American playgrounds between 1920 and 1975, Once Upon a Playground is a visual tribute to these iconic structures, celebrating their place in our culture and the collective memories of generations. In it, contemporary photos of vintage pieces of playground equipment are juxtaposed with images of the very same pieces as they were shown in classic catalogs, postcards, and photographs. The result is a haunting time capsule showing a rapidly vanishing part of our country's cultural heritage. Whatever the playgrounds of your childhood looked like, the gorgeous photographs in this book will transport you back in time and remind you of just how important play can really be.

Ruby feels anxious about her show and tell presentation. But when she discovers that Joey is having a hard time at lunch, it's up to Ruby to use her SEN Superpowers to cheer him up. Will it help ease her own anxiety too? SEN Superpowers: The Playground Problem explores the topic of anxiety with an empowering story and adorable illustrations. The SEN Superpowers series celebrates the positive traits associated with a range of common SEN (Special Education Needs) conditions, boosting the confidence and strength-awareness of children with those conditions, while also allowing for better understanding and positivity among their peers. Each book includes a page of discussion points about the story, a page of tips for how to boost abilities (inclusive for children with and without special educational needs), and, finally, a further page of notes for parents and teachers. The books feature a dyslexic-friendly font to encourage accessibility and inclusivity for all readers.

Two children find many adventures on their journey to the playground.

Dreaming of a day when there will be a real playground in her own neighborhood, a little girl is ecstatic when she learns that a local playground has been planned, in a story inspired by the construction of the first playground built by the KaBOOM! national nonprofit.