| Bad Guys Don't Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four Contributor(s): Paley, Vivian Gussin (Author) |
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ISBN: 0226644960 ISBN-13: 9780226644967 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $15.20 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 1991 Annotation: With insight and sensitivity, Paley explores the fantasy play of preschoolers and its self-selected themes of bad guys, birthdays, and babies. She share the kids' wonderful conversations in their own words, providing valuable instruction, without lecturing, on the needs and values of children. Winner of the 1990 James N. Britton Award, National Council of Teachers. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Education | Educational Psychology - Education | Early Childhood (incl. Preschool & Kindergarten) - Education | Teaching Methods & Materials - General |
| Dewey: 370.153 |
| LCCN: 87021748 |
| Physical Information: 0.38" H x 5.29" W x 8.04" (0.32 lbs) 128 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Bad guys are not allowed to have birthdays, pick blueberries, or disturb the baby. So say the four-year-olds who announce life's risks and dangers as they play out the school year in Vivian Paley's classroom. Their play is filled with warnings. They invent chaos in order to show that everything is under control. They portray fear to prove that it can be conquered. No theme is too large or too small for their intense scrutiny. Fantasy play is their ever dependable pathway to knowledge and certainty. It . . . takes a special teacher to value the young child's communications sufficiently, enter into a meaningful dialogue with the youngster, and thereby stimulate more productivity without overwhelming the child with her own ideas. Vivian Paley is such a teacher.--Maria W. Piers, in the American Journal of Education Mrs. Paley's books] should be required reading wherever children are growing. Mrs. Paley does not presume to understand preschool children, or to theorize. Her strength lies equally in knowing that she does not know and in trying to learn. When she cannot help children--because she can neither anticipate nor follow their thinking--she strives not to hinder them. She avoids the arrogance of adult to small child; of teacher to student; or writer to reader.--Penelope Leach, author of Your Baby & Child in the New York Times Book Review Paley's] stories and interpretation argue for a new type of early childhood education . . . a form of teaching that builds upon the considerable knowledge children already have and grapple with daily in fantasy play.--Alex Raskin, Los Angeles Times Book Review Through the 'intuitive language' of fantasy play, Paley believes, children express their deepest concerns. They act out different roles and invent imaginative scenarios to better understand the real world. Fantasy play helps them cope with uncomfortable feelings. . . . In fantasy, any device may be used to draw safe boundaries.--Ruth J. Moss, Psychology Today |
Contributor Bio(s): Paley, Vivian Gussin: - Vivian Gussin Paley (1929-2019) worked for nearly forty years as a preschool and kindergarten teacher and is the author of thirteen books about young children. |