The Creation of Imaginary Worlds: The Role of Art, Magic and Dreams in Child Development

Alongside the world of everyday reality, the young child develops a rich imaginary world of child art, make-believe play, imaginary friends, fairy tales and magic. This book charts the imaginative development of children, conveying the importance of art-making, pretense play and fantasy in early childhood years, and highlighting the potential that imaginative behaviors hold for cognitive, affective and aesthetic development.

Divided into three parts, the book begins by examining the developm...