The MAGIC YEARS

Rating:
Summary: Insightful, absorbing and clear read about how kids think
Review: As a psychotherapist who has worked with many children, I cannot praise this delightful work highly enough. This fascinating book is an easy to read and brilliantly conceived glimpse into the child's reality. Though written decades ago, The Magic Years is still standard assigned reading for psychologists in training. Fraiberg describes the development in childrens' reasoning (e.g., how they perceive and interpret things through the use of "magical thought"; hence the title). She also discusses kids' changing emotional and intellectual needs as they develop through these years from toddlerhood through grade school. Her vivid grasp of the child's perspective allows anyone to relate better to children. It is never too early or too late to read this book. A must-read for parents or for anyone who wants to better understand the logic behind how young kids work. A great gift for the new parent!

Rating:
Summary: The best early childhood guide available.
Review: Get inside an infant's and toddler's mind. This book will teach you that your baby is not driving you nuts for fun or profit. They are just being normal. It made our lives easier, and it made us better parents.

Rating:
Summary: The best early childhood guide available.
Review: Get inside an infant's and toddler's mind. This book will teach you that your baby is not driving you nuts for fun or profit. They are just being normal. It made our lives easier, and it made us better parents.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but dense
Review: I found this book to be pretty interesting, but a little difficult to digest. Perhaps because it was written a while ago. It tends to be very dense, but if you can slug your way through it, you will be rewarded. It gave a lot of good insight into behavior of young children, which I haven't found in any other books. I wish I had read it sooner.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but dense
Review: I found this book to be pretty interesting, but a little difficult to digest. Perhaps because it was written a while ago. It tends to be very dense, but if you can slug your way through it, you will be rewarded. It gave a lot of good insight into behavior of young children, which I haven't found in any other books. I wish I had read it sooner.

Rating:
Summary: A valuable resource for anyone working with children
Review: I have owned several copies of this over the years, and reread it every year or so. It is the best book for understanding development from the young child's perspective. I use examples from this book in my workshops. It is readable, enjoyable, and although it is 40 years old, is one of the most up-to-date and clear books I have read on children's emotional development. She was a woman ahead of her time!

Rating:
Summary: A valuable resource for anyone working with children
Review: I have owned several copies of this over the years, and reread it every year or so. It is the best book for understanding development from the young child's perspective. I use examples from this book in my workshops. It is readable, enjoyable, and although it is 40 years old, is one of the most up-to-date and clear books I have read on children's emotional development. She was a woman ahead of her time!

Rating:
Summary: A source of conflict for Buddhist practicioners
Review: I was curiously drawn to the book by a Unix machine "fortune" message reporting the powers of a magician. As a matter of fact the book happened to actually create a magic in my buddhist oriented mind: in some way I found mysels in the position of agreeing with the book and at the same time refusing it without any major conflict. In fact the book puts a lot on emphasis on ego development; what Buddhist practice in fact aims at contrasting! What could one say to make the two ends meet? Perhaps that the Ego must be built in order to be destroyed...? Or that Mrs. Freiberg is wrong? Or Buddha is wrong? Or it was me to not have understood either? ;-)

Rating:
Summary: A source of conflict for Buddhist practicioners
Review: I was curiously drawn to the book by a Unix machine "fortune" message reporting the powers of a magician. As a matter of fact the book happened to actually create a magic in my buddhist oriented mind: in some way I found mysels in the position of agreeing with the book and at the same time refusing it without any major conflict. In fact the book puts a lot on emphasis on ego development; what Buddhist practice in fact aims at contrasting! What could one say to make the two ends meet? Perhaps that the Ego must be built in order to be destroyed...? Or that Mrs. Freiberg is wrong? Or Buddha is wrong? Or it was me to not have understood either? ;-)

Rating:
Summary: A delightful window into your child's mind
Review: This book gives the reader a wonderful insight into the thought processes of children throughout early childhood. The winsome descriptions and psychological information combines well to give the reader a well-rounded view of early childhood. The clear examples given allow a parent to determine his child's developmental stage.