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SLC.edu / Child Development Institute / Resources and Related Links / Play

What We Are Reading About Play

  • Axline, V. M. (1974). Play therapy. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Barthes, R. (1972). Toys. In R. Barthes Mythologies (pp. 53-55). (A. Lavers, Trans.). New York: Hill and Wang. (Original work published 1957).
  • Baudelaire, C. (1995). A philosophy of toys. In C. Baudelaire The painter of modern life and other essays (pp. 193-204). (2nd ed.) (J. Mayne, Trans. and Ed.). London: Phaidon. (Original translation published in 1964.)
  • Brett, A., Moore, R. C., & Provenzo, Eugene F. Jr. (1993). The complete playground book. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
  • Brown, F. (Ed.). (2003). Playwork: Theory and practice. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
  • Brown, F., & Taylor, C. (Eds.). (2008). Foundations of playwork. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
  • Brown, S. (2009). Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul. New York: Penguin Group.
  • Chudacoff, H. P. (2007). Children at play: An American history. New York: New York University Press.
  • Crain, W. (2003). Reclaiming childhood: Letting children be children in our achievement-oriented society. New York: Owl Books.
  • Elkind, D. (2007). The power of play: How spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press Lifelong Books/Perseus Books Group.
  • Fromberg, D. P., & Bergen, D. (2006). Play from birth to twelve: Contexts, perspectives, and meanings. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Frost, J. L., Wortham, S. C., & Reifel, S. (2008). Play and child development (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
  • Galda, L., & Pellegrini, Anthony D. (Eds.). (1985). Play, language, and stories: The development of children's literate behavior. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
  • Gil, E. (1991). The healing power of play.New York: Guilford Press.
  • Gil, E., & Drewes, A. (2005). Cultural issues in play therapy.New York: Guilford Press.
  • Goncu, A., & Klein, Elisa L. (Eds.). (2001). Children in play, story and school. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Goodenough, E. (2003). Secret spaces of childhood. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press.
  • Hart, R. (2002). Containing children: Some lessons on planning for play from New York City. Environment and Urbanization, 14(2), 135-148.
  • Hirsch, E. S. (Ed.). (1984). The block book. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
  • Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & Eyer, D. E. (2003). Einstein never used flash cards: How our children really learn--and why they need to play more and memorize less. Emmaus, PA: Rodale.
  • Hughes, B. (2001). Evolutionary playwork and reflective analytic practice. London; New York: Routledge.
  • Jones, E. & Reynolds, G. (1992). The play’s the thing: Teachers’ roles in children’s play. New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Klugman, E., & Smilansky, S. (1990). Children's play and learning: Perspectives and policy implications. New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Linn, S. (2008). The case for make believe: Saving play in a commercialized world. New York: The New Press.
  • Moore, R., Goltsman, S., & Iacofano, D. (Eds.). (1992). The play for all guidelines: Planning, design, and management of outdoor play settings for all children (2nd Ed.). Berkeley, CA: MIG Communications.
  • Nicholson, S. (1971). The theory of loose parts. Landscape Architecture, 62(1), 30-34.
  • Olfman, S. (2003). All work and no play... how educational reforms are harming our preschoolers. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  • Paley, V. G. (2004). A child's work: The importance of fantasy play. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Reynolds, G., & Jones, E. (1997). Master players: Learning from children at play. New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Rivkin, R. (1995). The great outdoors: Restoring children's right to play outdoors. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
  • Saracho, O., & Spodek, B. (1998). Multiple perspectives on play in early childhood education.Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  • Singer, D. G., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2006). Play=learning: How play motivates and enhances children's cognitive and social-emotional growth. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Slade, A., & Wolf, D. (1994). Children at play. New York: Oxford University Press
  • Smilansky, S., & Shefatya, L. (1990). Facilitating play: A medium for promoting cognitive, socio-emotional, and academic development in young children. Gaithersburg, MD: Psychological and Educational Publications.
  • Solomon, S. G. (2005). American playgrounds: Revitalizing community space. Hanover: University Press of New England.
  • Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The ambiguity of play. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
  • Talbot, J., & Frost, J. L. (1989). Magical playscapes. Childhood Education, 66(1), 11-19.
  • Tepperman, J. (Ed.). (2007). Play in the early years: Key to school success. A Policy Brief published by Bay Area Early Childhood Funders.
  • Tovey, H. (2007). Playing outdoors: Spaces and places, risk and challenge. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
  • Zigler, E. F., Singer, D. G., & Bishop-Josef, Sandra J. (Eds.). (2004). Children's play: The roots of reading. Washington, DC: Zero to Three Press.

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