Toys and Playthings: In Development and Remediation

John and Elizabeth Newson were well known for their studies of child rearing, which have combined a rigorous research methodology with sympathetic insights into family life and a lively approach to scientific reporting. ‘Path-breaking’, ‘brilliant’, ‘seminal’, ‘outstanding’, ‘fascinating’, ‘enthralling’ and ‘enchanting’ are some of the adjectives used by critics to describe their previous books.

They now turn their attention to toys, the ‘pegs on which children hang their play’, a study for...