A Child's Work: the Importance of Fantasy Play.

A CHILD'S WORK: The Importance of Fantasy Play. Vivian Gussin Paley. University of Chicago Press, 2004. 111 pp. Hardcover/cloth. ISBN 0-226-64487-1. $19. Vivian Gussin Paley contends that play, "the work of children," is in danger of extinction in today's outcome-based, standards-driven school system. The push to read and write and compute as early as possible has overtaken the development of children's imagination and their ability to deal with reality through play. Paley describes fantasy play as "the glue that binds together all other pursuits, including early teaching of reading and writing skills" (p. 8).

Paley uses rich, vivid recollections of conversations between children to illustrate her contention that "play is the work of children." With imagery so clear, the reader cannot help but be drawn back to a fond time in their childhood when the good guys won more often than not. "Our fantasy characters became our confidantes. ... They did not mask reality; they helped us interpret and explain our feelings about reality" (p. 29).

The reader must, at times, set aside adult processing as conversations bob and weave, hopping from one subject to another in rapid-fire succession, as only a child's conversation could: "Children are intoxicated by the seemingly endless supply of plots available just of the thinking" (p. 26). Some will find it difficult to balance Paley's approach with the requirements and mandates placed on educators by school leadership and, indeed, by parents of the children in our care.

Paley hits the mark in her chapter on the art of conversation. She laments the lack of conversation with children and the abundance of conversation to or at children, which is heavy with one-line questions and answers, teacher-led discussion, and limitations prompted by the fear of delving into areas that do not offer comfortable or ready answers.

A Child's Work takes the reader inside the minds of children, attempting to understand the joy of imagination and wonder often clouded by adult realities. This natural style of learning fosters imagination and develops literacy in the creation of stories with plots, subplots, characters, and conclusions.

Paley has taught nursery and kindergarten, and mentored teachers in early education. In her 37 years of teaching, many at University of Chicago's Laboratory School, she has received numerous awards, written 11 books, and most recently received the John Dewey Society's Outstanding Achievement Award. Reviewed by Suzie K. Mohler, Hacienda Heights, CA