Groundbreaking American Journal of Play from Strong National Museum of Play(R) Premiers July 2008

    ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 17 /EMWNews/ -- Strong National

Museum of Play is pleased to announce the launch in mid-July of the

American Journal of Play, the first interdisciplinary journal anywhere

dedicated solely to the study of play.



    The inaugural issue enters the scholarly scene with an array of

thought-provoking content from some of the most prominent national

researchers and writers in the field--from a neuroscientist's assertion

that the rising tide of ADHD among children might be slowed by starting

each school day off with recess, to a psychologist's surprising findings on

the role of imaginary child companions, to a historian's panoramic journey

through the changing playscape of American childhood since pre-industrial

times.



    Published and distributed quarterly for the museum by the University of

Illinois Press, the Journal features articles, essays, opinion pieces,

interviews and book reviews and aims to increase awareness and

understanding of the role of play in learning and human development and the

ways in which play illuminates American cultural history.



    Explains Jon-Paul Dyson, editor of the Journal: "Play is multifaceted,

diverse, and complex. It resists easy definition and engages many

disciplines. Psychologists of play have different concerns than historians

of play. Experts on animal play examine play through different lenses than

experts on child's play. Early childhood specialists, play therapists,

anthropologists, sociologists, folklorists, and toy and game designers

consider play for different reasons and from different perspectives."

Peer-reviewed and written in a clear, straightforward style, the American

Journal of Play provides these and other scholarly communities a forum for

the subject they share.



    The first issue of the American Journal of Play contains the following

articles:



    -- Play, ADHD, and the Construction of the Social Brain: Should the

First Class Each Day Be Recess? by Jaak Panksepp, who has contributed more

than 300 scientific articles in the fields of psychology and affective

neuroscience.



    -- Imaginary Companions: Pretending They Are Real but Knowing They Are

Not by Marjorie Taylor and Candice M. Mottweiler. Marjorie Taylor is

professor of psychology at the University of Oregon and author of Imaginary

Companions and the Children Who Create Them.







    -- Play in America from Pilgrims and Patriots to Kid Jocks and Joystick

Jockeys: Or How Play Mirrors Social Change by Gary Cross, Distinguished

Professor of Modern History at Pennsylvania State University and author of

Kids' Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood.







    -- The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally by David Elkind,

professor of child development at Tufts University and author of The

Hurried Child and The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative

Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children.



    -- Play Theory: A Personal Journey and New Thoughts by Brian

Sutton-Smith, a folklorist and educational psychologist, and among the

world's foremost play theorists.



    The Journal's Editorial Advisory Board is comprised of twenty five

illustrious scholars including David Elkind (author of The Hurried Child

and the recently acclaimed The Power of Play); Brian Sutton-Smith (the most

prominent figure in play scholarship over the last four decades); and

Dorothy G. Singer and Jerome L. Singer (internationally recognized for

their work in the field of child development and co-directors of the Yale

University Family Television Research and Consultation Center).



    Annual 2008 subscription rates are $49 individual (paper or online);

$74 individual (paper and online), and $124 institutional (paper only).



    For additional information or to subscribe, call toll-free 866-244-0626

or visit: http://www.americanjournalofplay.org.