Part I: What Is Play?1. What is play? - Natalie MacDonald2. Children's Right to Play - Jane Waters-Davies3. Types of Play - Allison Rees-Edwards4. Play Pioneers and their Legacy - Alison Murphy 5. Contemporary Playful Pedagogies - Lauren Whale and Louise Atkins Part II: Why Is Play Important?6. Play, Learning, and Development - Natalie Canning and Angela Rekers7. Play, Early Language and Communication - Amanda Bateman8.

Play, Creativity and Well-Being - Charlotte Greenway and Laura Hutchings9. Observation and Assessment of Play - Tereza Aidonopoulou-Read10. Planning for Play - Karen Boardman and Jennie SwiftPart III: Where Does Play Happen?11. Enabling Environments: Indoors and Out - Jennie Clement12. Outdoor Play - Glenda Tinney13. Play in the Digital World: Beyond the Binary Logic - Pekka Mertala and Daara Salomaa14. The Place of Play in the Early Years Curricula of the UK - Carys Jennings15. The Role of the Adult in Supporting Play - Angela Rekers and Mel McCree16.

Play and Inclusion - Nanna Ryder and Charlotte Greenway17. Intergenerational Play - Maragret Kernan, Giulia Cortellesi, and Mariana PalazuelosPart IV: International Perspectives18. Cultural Framing of Expectations for Play - Angela Rekers and Jane Waters-Davies19. Play in Extremis - Debra Laxton, Linda Cooper, and Sarah Ndlovu20. Playful Learning around the World - Sarah Chicken and Sarah Whitehouse.