Reviewed by Linda Keats, graduate training advisor, Early Years and Childcare, Essex.
Vivian Paley's research takes her around the world recording children's stories of fantasy and reality. This is taken further as she helps children act out the stories with their friends, exploring feelings, fears and thoughts.
With her unique writing style you are transported to a beach, a nursery school and a concert hall where the stories were recorded, bringing to life the words of the children.
Intertwined with letters from a fellow teacher in Taiwan, both writers pose questions and recall examples of the children's experiences, discovering amazing similarities between the children regardless of distance, culture or teaching methods. We also hear from teachers around the world who have come to believe in the importance of learning through play and imagination.
The text refers to children as anecdotists - 'those who collect and tell little stories' - and we are introduced to these children with their own characters and anecdotal stories to tell.
Vivian reminds us that children use stories and play to act out their interpretation of the world. Play is the perfect place for morals, values, fears and ideals to be explored and it is through this exploration that children begin to organise the complex world around them.
The book reinforces the importance of unstructured, unhurried, imaginative 'free play' in children's growth, development and emotional well-being.
This is a delightful read that will remind you of the neverending innocence of children, the complexity of their understanding, and the amazing 'inbuilt' abilities they have to interpret the hectic world they find themselves in.
