‘Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul’ (Penguin Group, 2009, 240 pages), by Stuart Brown
Sometimes, at the dinner table or even when we are out and about, my mom and I like to pretend we throw punches and scream in different accents at one another. It’s all stage combat of course, and we have considerable experience, but not surprisingly, it freaks out people on the street — especially when we get into character. But it makes us hysterical. I could never explain why our silliness was the best part of my day until I read Play, written by Stuart Brown, with contributions from Christopher Vaughan, founder of the National Institute for Play. As we mature, we are often led to believe that play is unproductive and ultimately a waste of time — something that won’t bring home a paycheck. Brown is quick to combat such skepticism, however, with simple reasoning: The power of play, even in small doses, spreads throughout our lives and makes us genuinely more productive and joyful in everything we do.
In Play, Brown effectively balances a considerable amount of research and statistics with personal anecdotes. One corporate executive’s account of incorporating play in the workplace had immediate positive results. When he gathered his employees to discuss a particularly bad financial quarter, he asked everyone to pull out a toy dart gun with foam darts from under their seats and fire darts at him. He recalls that the atmosphere of the room, “Was completely transformed.”
Brown pushes the reader to take a closer look at how we can use the role of play to, in his words, “Find and express our own core truths.” He points out that regardless of age, location and career, the spectrum of play — music, books, dance, movies, art, sports, jokes, roughhousing and tree houses — creates some of our most valued memories, enriches our lives and improves our productivity. When play receives the attention and praise that it deserves, Brown says, we will find the world a better place. This book makes you believe that could be true.
Sydney Pope will be a senior at Santa Fe Prep. Contact her at sydpope@me.com.