"This brief, convincing book is a valuable read for several audiences...Teacher educators and trainers as well as curriculum developers will find strong support for bringing play back to the classrooms. Lastly, parents will find it an eye-opener to the value of play and the critical role that make-believe play has in developing a child's competencies, both academic and social-emotional."
Preschool Matters ... Read more"Amid the increasing emphasis on standards and assessment in preschool education, are policymakers losing sight of the value of play? This book, by four distinguished investigators in the field, suggests that they are. After reviewing decades of research, the authors conclude that 'children need both unstructured free play and playful learning under the gentle guidance of adults to best prepare them for entrance into formal school.'"
Fairfax Futures "A Mandate for Playful Learning in the Preschool: Presenting the Evidence offers strong new ammunition desperately needed to halt the forces that devalue play...the fact that this book gets right to the points that it so compellingly makes may, in itself, attract busy readers as well as give believers resource material for framing their own approaches...I highly recommend this book. It articulates the beliefs of play specialists and scholars beautifully in an evidence-based context."
Karen VanderVen as reviewed in American Journal of Play Show Less