Invaluable for anyone looking to understand young children's thinking, this essential textbook helpfully combines introductions to theories about thinking with observations from real-life practice. The book explores underlying theories behind topics such as: (1) the relationship between nature and nurture; (2) models of cognitive development, with ideas from key thinkers such as Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner; (3) basic neuroscience and its application to early childhood; (4) the social, emotional and cultural context of children's development; (5) emotional intelligence; (6) language and thought, including the use of motherese, and children's talk in pretend play; and (7) whether children can think philosophically. The author accompanies every topic with observations from the classroom, supported by her own critical analysis linking theory to practice throughout. The following ten chapters are included: (1) How Can We Think about Young Children's Thinking?; (2) Theories of Cognitive Development --Learning to Think and Thinking to Learn; (3) The Social, Cultural and Emotional Contexts of Thinking and Understanding; (4) The Developing Brain; (5) Knowing about the Mind: Theory of Mind, Self-Regulation and Metacognition; (6) Observing, Describing and Documenting Children's Thinking and Understanding; (7) Language, Communication and Thought; (8) Knowing about the World: The Development of Children's Concepts; (9) Young Children's Visual Thinking; and (10) Approaches to Developing Young Children's Thinking and Understanding.