The Design of Childhood

Lange skillfully explores how the design of children's toys and built environments reflects evolving philosophies of child-rearing and development . . . Powerfully remind[s] readers of the importance of constructing spaces that make all people, including children, feel both welcomed and independent. * Publishers Weekly * An informative road map for those who want to maximize their children's material environment . . . Parents and educators will discover a wealth of information to inspire and help 'make childhood a better place.' * Kirkus Reviews * An eye-opening look at how well-meaning designers, operating under the influence of ever-shifting philosophies, have long attempted to foster children's motivation and competence while, at the same time, keeping them safe, entertained, and out from underfoot. We applaud Lange's insight that - even if it inconveniences or worries the grownups of today - kids of all backgrounds deserve toys, school buildings, and playgrounds that will help cultivate the active, creative, inquiring grownups of tomorrow. -- Joshua Glenn & Elizabeth Foy Larsen, authors of UNBORED From the Lego-covered living room rug to the contested streets of our contemporary cities, one of our greatest voices on design and architecture casts her eye, and critical acumen, on the spaces that children inhabit - and the way children inhabit those spaces - and the results are nothing short of spectacular. The Design of Childhood is like a secret guidebook to a landscape in which we all dwell, but so often fail to see -- Tom Vanderbilt, bestselling author of TRAFFIC and YOU MAY ALSO LIKE In a world in which stealthy corporate marketing and the allure of devices are consuming our children's attention and spirit, Alexandra Lange's learned and original perspective reveals the impact of enlightened design in stuff and spaces, old and new. -- Wendy Mogel, PH.D., New York Times-bestselling author of THE BLESSING OF A SKINNED KNEE The Design of Childhood is an extraordinary book. Peering through the lens of children's play, Alexandra Lange deftly reveals the remarkable connection between freedom, creativity, and fun. -- Debbie Millman, host of Design Matters and author of LOOK BOTH WAYS Like a fairy tale with the capacity to enthrall adults, Alexandra Lange's wonderful book about design for children is, in the end, the story of design for all of us. Lange's account of the way kids play, learn, and live has lessons for anyone who cares about the crafting of products, places, and experiences -- Michael Bierut, partner of Pentagram and cofounder of Design Observer With curiosity and a satisfying thoroughness, Lange examines the decisions-however seemingly minute-toymakers and architects make and how these can affect children's behavior, values, and health in subtle ways. * Surface * [A] captivating design history. * Nature * [Lange] writes with both an academic's expertise and a journalist's hooks and accessibility . . . Lange's survey shows how kids learn to be creative, social citizens in these different spaces. * Booklist * [Lange] might be the most influential design critic writing now. She brings her considerable powers, both as an observer of objects and spaces and as a writer of sentences, to The Design of Childhood, which provides history and commentary on toys, houses, schools, playgrounds, and cities . . . [and] reveals some significant social inequities . . . We all survived our childhoods. I think the real lesson of the book is that it's possible to do more than that. Here, Lange seems to argue. This. These are the tools--no, the toys--that we can use to grow up into the people we most want to be. * Los Angeles Review of Books *