Provides compilation of guidelines for purchasing educational toys. Considers the value of educational toys, including their appeal and stimulation, age appropriateness, and open-endedness; the toys' construction quality, including methods of construction and manufacturer reputation; safety factors, especially potential for choking and poisoning;…

Discusses the importance of narrative in the mind's development. Considers a historical view of children's literature and the views of authors and publishers concerning this literature. Discusses novels that deal with children's problems. (RJC)

Investigates characteristics and themes in 102 drawings by sexually abused children. Themes of the drawings included genitalia, the absence of specific body parts, phallic symbols, inappropriate smiles, distorted body images, kinetic activity, prominent hands and fingers, and hearts. (RJC)

Five male preschool children were studied to determine the extent to which the generalized motor imitation model applies to vocal imitation. The use of a reinforced-imitation condition produced a systematic increase in verbal matching responses among three of the five children, which is consistent with previous studies. (SW)

Examines a classic text, Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses," within the context of several of Stevenson's own essays. Suggests that unlike many children's books, it was an experiment and one that Stevenson, for various reasons, including his premature death, was never able to adapt for future use. (RS)

Details instructions for four cooperative games primarily for young children. The games are of low to moderate activity level and involve partners or a group circle. Descriptions include variations of the game and helpful hints for making the game more successful. (KS)

Summarizes three studies on psychoanalytic psychotherapeutic treatment of diabetic children and adolescents with grossly abnormal blood glucose profiles necessitating repeated admissions to hospital. Used time series analysis, comparative analysis, and single-case experimental design to illustrate effectiveness of psychotherapeutic intervention…

Asserts that Mother Goose rhymes are culturally relevant. Offers ways in which Mother Goose can be used in the classroom. Discusses activities for language arts, movement, art, music, science, and mathematics instruction. (PRA)

Describes the characteristics and principles of operation of special collections of children's literature, including scope, history, edition and association, physical plant, limitations, staff and networks, users, funding, and overall benefit to the public including children. Examples are used to illustrate the topics, and a 22-item bibliography…

Children (n=26) were exposed to one of three surgery preparatory conditions: participant modeling alone, participant modeling with mother, and standard procedure control. Children exposed to modeling alone had significant reductions in physiological arousal after treatment compared to other groups. Both modeling groups exhibited significantly…

Asked 25 adopted children between 6 and 15 years of age what they wanted to know about their birth parents. Found that children were most interested in knowing their mother's appearance and much less interested in knowing their father's than their mother's appearance. Girls wanted more information than did boys. Also asked nonadopted children…

In this article the author examines ways in which early childhood students can explore the building blocks of form to reveal meaningful content as exemplified in four Modernist works of art. Each piece reflects of the Modernist aesthetic, characterized by the simplification of visual elements into flat, bold colors and simplified geometric shapes.…

In a between-subjects design, 4-to 6-year-olds were asked to draw from three-dimensional (3D) models, two-and-a-half-dimensional (212D) models with or without depth cues, or two-dimensional (2D) models of a familiar object (a saucepan) in noncanonical orientations (handle at the back or at the front). Results showed that canonical errors were…

This study estimates how much children's family instability is missed when we do not count transitions into and out of cohabitation, and examines early life course trajectories of children to see whether children who experience maternal cohabitation face more family instability than children who do not. Using data from the 1995 National Survey of…

There's no doubt about it: magazines can be a nuisance. They're easy to rip off, flimsy, and costly. The dogeared, thumb-smudged pages, missing subscription cards, and already-solved crossword puzzles and mazes (completed confidently in ink!) are sure signs that kids find magazines irresistible. Young children and teens love to flip casually…