Play Development

"Starting off 2025 with a novel this terrific gives me hope for the whole year." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post "A gorgeous cat's cradle of a book . . . The swirling vapors of Holden Caulfield are present in Playworld, for sure, but also Lolita, Willy Loman, Garp." —Alexandra Jacobs, The...

What if your biggest risk in life is playing it safe? In Never Play It Safe, bestselling author, award-winning photographer, and founder of CreativeLive, Chase Jarvis, reveals that safety is an illusion—a comforting lie that’s holding you back from true fulfillment and extraordinary success...

Explore how the principles of theatre and improv can help parents engage in imaginative play with their children with actor and theater teacher Christopher Mannino.

The simple way to help your kids face their fears, handle big emotions, and bolster their social skills—from the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Whole-Brain Child and a renowned play therapist “A parenting guide as useful as it is scientifically sound, The Way of Play is a gift...

Top 10 Games You Can Play in Your Head, by Yourself is a collection of visionary author J. Theophrastus Bartholomew's most cherished mind games, edited and updated by filmmaker and storyteller Sam Gorski and author D.F. Lovett. No peripherals needed. No controllers. No pens. No dice or boards. Everything you need to experience the forefront of game design is right here in this audiobook!

Troy Horne here. Your mental-toughness guide! I am here to help parents understand how to help your young athlete navigate this mental-toughness journey. I know where you are, and I know how to help you help your young athlete find their mental toughness.

In the hands of Sophocles, the master dramatist, the anguished tale of a man fated to kill his father and marry his mother retains its power to shock and move beyond any Freudian reference.

Nora O'Brien chased a dream from Indiana to Scotland, so sure it was the right thing to do. Three years later she was left in her adopted country with nothing to her name but guilt and regret. Until Aidan Lennox entered her life. Older, worldlier, a music producer and composer, the sexy Scot should never have made sense for Nora. But somehow in each other they found the light they were looking for, the laughter and the passion - the strength to play on despite their past losses.

The essential book from online tennis coaching sensation Ian Westermann, founder of EssentialTennis.com What’s the number one thing stopping you from playing your best tennis? Ian Westermann, founder of the world’s #1 online tennis instruction portal, Essentialtennis.com, will confidently...

The pursuit of excellence is a double edged sword that leaves many hockey players or any high-performer worrying about mistakes, overthinking, and lacking confidence. Fluffy and cookie-cutter advice like “be positive,” “don’t worry about it,” and “just be confident” only makes things worse. These might be the mental states you are trying to achieve, but they are not the ‘how to’.

Today's kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles filled with television, video games, and computer screens. But more and more, studies show that children need "rough and tumble" outdoor play in order to develop their sensory, motor, and executive functions. Disturbingly, a lack of movement has been shown to lead to a number of health and cognitive difficulties, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emotion regulation and sensory processing issues, and aggressiveness at school recess break.

The Ultimate Guide to Kink is the first major guide to BDSM in a generation - a bold and sexy collection of essays that run the gamut from expert how-to tutorials to provocative essays that delve into complex questions about desire, power, and pleasure. The book brings together diverse voices from the kink community in an unprecedented way: each chapter is written by a different sexuality/BDSM educator.

Research suggests that the first six months of life are the most critical to a child’s development of language skills. For an individual to become sufficiently skilled in any language, they must be exposed to the language as early as possible, preferably before school age.

It may shock you to learn that we spend an average of four to seven minutes outside each day—while we spend four to seven hours using devices with screens. Needless to say, our physical, mental, emotional, and relational health has suffered. But there is a ready solution: get outside!

"A lightning bolt of a book" makes the case for why self-directed learning — "unschooling" — is the best way to get kids to learn (Lenore Skenazy) In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that in order to foster children who will thrive in today’s constantly changing...

Jase Andrews is trouble...but the best kind. Too gorgeous for his own good, the former professional athlete is every woman's dream, including mine. I need to stay away, but he's relentless. Most girls want Jase because of who he is, but that's exactly why I don't want to get involved. A guy like him and a girl like me are bound to fumble.

Good Inside meets Fair Play in this inspiring, real-world guide to fostering independent play in children—both as a vital skill for kids’ development and an essential act for modern parents’ well-being and sanity. “But I’m bored.” Parents constantly hear these three dreaded words...

10,000 Hours of Play transforms the principles of gaming into a revolutionary guide for achieving real-world success. Written by Yu-kai Chou, an internationally acclaimed pioneer in Gamification and Gameful Coaching—and the creator of the Octalysis Framework used by global giants like Google, LEGO, and Uber—this real-life strategy guide introduces six key steps to align your passions, skills, and goals into a winning formula.

This book introduces three essential pillars for interpreting children’s actions, deepening communication, and fostering cooperation. Rooted in developmental insight, it challenges common approaches like punishment, bribes, and threats—offering instead a respectful framework built on boundaries, expectations, and natural consequences.

Raise confident, resilient kids—without pushing too hard. Whether your child plays travel sports, competes in local leagues, or just wants to feel more confident, Mental Toughness for Kids (and Their Grownups) is your go-to playbook for helping children ages 6 to 13 build inner strength, focus, and emotional resilience. This isn’t just another parenting guide filled with theory or fluff. It’s a clear, practical resource designed for busy families who want real tools that actually work—in sports, school, and everyday life.