"In his new book Understanding Children's Worlds: Children andPlay, Smith brings his considerable expertise to a wide range ofissues. . . Overall, this volume provides a readable summary of thecurrent research and theory on children's play, and it would be anexcellent textbook or supplementary reading for an undergraduate orgraduate class on child development, social development, orchildren's play.„ (American Journal of Play, 2011)
“Peter Smith is to be congratulated for producing the first trulycomprehensive synthesis on the subject of juvenile play. The work'sbreadth and thoroughness make it the definitive reference, whilethe quality of the prose enables the book's use as a textbook. Smith's treatment of methodology and theoretical history isespecially thorough and insightful.
Smith's unique contribution to play scholarship has been hisidentification of the play ethos. This social movement has had adistorting effect on research by inflating evidence for the valueof play for children and of the necessity for parent-child play. Inthis volume, Smith almost surgically removes the play ethoscataract that obscures play scholarship. In doing so he reminds usthat there are still many important questions regarding juvenileplay which await serious research.„
-Professor David F. Lancy, Anthropology, Utah StateUniversity, USA
“Peter Smith's book, Children and Play, is what one wouldexpect from one of the leading figures in the field of play. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of evolutionary theory and thehuman developmental and comparative play literatures, Smithpresents a comprehensive picture of the complexities of the placeof play in human development as well as measured analyses of itsplace in schools. This book is a crowning achievement to his closeto 40 years of careful study of the field. I learned a great dealfrom it.„
-Professor Anthony D. Pellegrini, EducationalPsychology, University of Minnesota, USA
“This book is an excellent synthesis of what is currently knownabout the play of children. Peter Smith, one of the leadingplay researchers of our time, sheds new light on some long-debatedissues such as the definition of play, play's role indevelopment and evolution, and the relationship between play andculture. In addition, individual chapters provide rich detail aboutparticular types of play, including the much neglected category ofphysical play. The volume concludes with a very interestingdiscussion of practical issues, including parental involvement inplay, play's role in education, the importance of school recess, and war play. I was very impressed with ProfessorSmith's balanced, objective discussion of playresearch. He effectively argues for a „middleway“ of viewing play, a view that neither idealizes nordenigrates its importance in the lives of children."
-Professor James Christie, Curriculum and Instruction, Arizona State University, USA