Author David Elkind took the time to talk with us about Giants in the Nursery: A Biographical History of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, his professional life, and more. Click here to read his Author Spotlight interview.
I first read David Elkind's work back in Bible college, using The Hurried Child, for one of my psychology classes. It was a phenomanal book and I am so glad to have read it. He is a prolific writer and educator and recently had the opportunity to read his recent release, Giants in the Nursery. This book is the perfect one to get an overview of developmentally appropriate practice and the eleven "giants" that were part of shaping the basis of it. In this book, readers are introduced to the following "giants": -John Amos Comenius -John Locke -Jean-Jacques Rousseau -Johann Heinrich Petalozzi -Fredrich Froebel -Rudolf Steiner -Maria Montessori -Sigmund Freud -Jean Piaget -Lev Vygotsky -Erik Erikson What I absolutely loved in this book, besides the historical facts for each person, was how the theories of each relate directly to developmentally appropriate practice and also includes the common themes and roles of play from each theory. I really believe this would be an ideal book for anyone new in the early childhood education profession, as well as a great refresher for us veterns of the profession as well. Seriously, a wonderful book overall. I highly recommend this book and give it a huge thumbs up!