The House of Make-Believe: Children's Play and the Developing Imagination [Paperback]

Dorothy G. Singer (Author), Jerome L. Singer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0674408756 | ISBN-13: 978-0674408753

In the most thorough attempt to cover all aspects of children's make-believe, Dorothy and Jerome Singer examine how imaginative play begins and develops, from the infant's first smiles to the toddler's engagement in social pretend play. They provide intriguing examples and research evidence on the young child's invocation of imaginary friends, the adolescent's daring, rule-governed games, and the adult's private imagery and inner thought. In chapters that will be important to parents and policymakers, the authors discuss television and the imagination, the healing function of play, and the effects of playfulness and creativity throughout the life span.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Singers theorize that children who have supportive persons, places, times, and props for imaginative play develop long-term adult creativity. To uphold this theory, they synthesize observations of life experiences and research results, correlating play experiences with sex differences, emotional development, imaginary friends, cognitive and language skills, and therapeutic values. They also suggest areas needing further study. Parents will be able to extract some insightful information, especially from the chapter on television and the imagination. However, this is most useful for child development students and professionals.
- Nancy M. Laskowski, Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A thoughtfully organized and well-written book. The use of the wonderful biographical material, together with the anecdotal cultural materials, makes the book interesting and entertaining to read despite the enormous amount of research cited... It is by far the broadest and most comprehensive book on play and imagination that is currently available.
--David Elkind (Readings: A Journal of Reviews and Commentary in Mental Health )

A stimulating and scholarly presentation of... an important area of human existence.
--Nicholas Tucker (Times Educational Supplement )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674408756
• ISBN-13: 978-0674408753
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #666,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such an important topic, so under studied. Fantastic book., August 21, 2009

By 

Funky Mo-Unky (Lexington KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The House of Make-Believe: Children's Play and the Developing Imagination (Paperback)

To start with, this book is packed with information. Facts, stories, research, and author interpretations that are weaved into one of the most important and over looked aspects of early childhood. The importance of imagination and creativity. Not only do the authors explain the difference between the two (creativity and imagination) but they explain why each are important in their own way, and how they work together in the education and development of the child. There are so many books on early childhood development, but I feel that this is an area where truly readable and applicable books are lacking. And it's a shame because there probably isn't an area as easy, as natural or as critical to positive development as Make Believe/creativity/imagination.

In this book the authors explain the various uses of make believe play and how its one of the earliest forms of thought that babies acquire, and one of the major tools that children use to learn about and escape the world. They even explain how Make Believe exists on into adulthood and what roles it plays in our lives. I've read a few books on this topic and this is probably the best, along with Harris's "The Work of the Imagination" (which is much more dense with scientific research and a bit more difficult to read). However this book ties in a variety of topics with a variety of research to essentially demonstrate through topics such as imaginary friends, play therapy, make believe play, daydreaming....that children/people who are engage in make believe play and are more imaginative experience a variety of benefits in their lives, both educationally and personally.

I may be a bit biased considering my own personal belief is that imagination is the greatest tool any child has, and that it is the basis of all learning....but I found this to be a fantastic book. It's very well written. Clear and concise. It's loaded with information, and covers it's topic thoroughly. I will admit it can be a bit dry in parts, and it's quite extensive in breadth, length and scope but if you're interested in children at all this book should be an essential read. The Singer's are well known researchers in the field of child development and this is their main area of study. That says something about the importance of fantasy play in a child's life. Even though I'd consider this book to be more of a scholarly text, and not your typical light "parenting" style of writing, whether you're an educator or a parent....the information in this book is critical to all children and should be used to improve the standards of creativity that we encourage in every child.