Call number: GV11 .E555 2009 (reference-doesn’t circulate)

Play is considered to be a lighthearted, fun, and entertaining topic. Yet it plays a key role in our lives, and, as a research field, it has generated an extensive and sophisticated literature exploring a range of penetrating questions, e.g., Do we play to avoid danger or to experience it? Do we play to escape work or work to engage in another form of play? All public and academic libraries will want to obtain this encyclopedia, so that academics, researchers, and students can understand how play affects child and adult development, especially in terms of health, creativity, and imagination. A preface, introduction, and reader’s guide further enhance this encyclopedia, as do a glossary, listing of the 450 articles and contributors, and “Chronology of Play.” In addition, Volume 2 features a resource guide of books, journals, and Internet sources that includes the URLs to companies in the world of play.
Appendix A gives statistics on work and play as listed by categories, hours, gender, and marital status and leisure hours spent. Appendix B is actually a report to Congress by the Federal Trade Commission, “Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children,” which gives details about the effect on children of the recording, DVD, and electronic gaming industries and the health and psychological results recorded. BOTTOM LINE This ground-breaking resource is strongly recommended for all libraries and health and welfare institutional depots; essential for university collections, especially those catering to social studies programs.—Al Vara, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia