Play=Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children’s Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth

edited by Dorothy G. Singer, Ph.D., senior research scientist in the Child Study Center, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D. (Oxford University Press) This book describes varieties of play—make-believe, storytelling and story-acting, and mathematical—and provides insights gleaned from more than 40 years of research linking play to increased attention span, creativity, constructive peer interaction and mental health. The book also discusses the value of play for children with autism and those who have suffered traumatic injury or loss.