A preeminent play-theory scholar reviews a lifetime devoted to the study of play in a lively, even playful, recounting of his illustrious career and some of its autobiographical roots. The author covers the development of his three major theories of play--as a viability variable, as culturally relative play forms, and as a co-evolutionary…

This paper provides an analysis of plot structure in stories freely narrated by five-to-ten-year-old elementary school children. The question was raised whether the stories, collected over a two-year period, would reflect the children's transition from home to school by a shift from a private to a public character. Structural analyses of plot,…

Well meaning parents and teachers often use children's play for the purposes of literacy and socialization. Yet, these attempts may deny play to children by subordinating play to some other concept. Evidence shows that even when parents play with their very young children they generally play games like shopping, cooking, and eating; whereas when…