This volume presents studies and research syntheses on the significance of play in the literacy development of young children and pushes the study of play and literacy into new areas. Children’s play is under serious attack that puts it in a precarious position in today’s brave new world dominated by early learning standards and achievement outcomes. Reflecting this paradigm shift that has taken place since the publication of the first edition, this edition is organized around a different set of focal perspectives on the play-literacy interface:

• The Playful Mind
• The Play-Literacy Instructional Environment
• The Play-Literacy Social Context.

Looking both back and ahead, re-visiting previously reported studies and also introducing new inquiries into the role of play in early literacy development and learning, especially as these shed light on school readiness, this volume mines studies that directly focus on play-literacy links as well as new studies and syntheses that take these links in new directions and to new starting places for research. It challenges play-literacy researchers to use their imaginations to overcome persistent methodological problems, to break from the past into new territories of study (such as neuroscience), to strive for multi-disciplinary perspectives, and to push harder for the incorporation of play into the literacy education of young children.
 
Play and Literacy in Early Childhood is intended for researchers and practitioners in the fields of early childhood education and early literacy development and as text for upper-level courses in these areas.