Book Reviews

In “Men who teach young children: An International Perspective” author Dr David Brody provides a penetrating look at the lives and personal beliefs of male

“Suffer the Little Children” might seem a depressing title but you will find this first book by Wainuiomata teacher David Smith to be a most absorbing read.

It is part autobiographical and part political/social commentary on the state of early childhood education as it is experienced by children today.

Smith reflects on over 30 years

Progressing Play: Practicalities, Intentions and Possibilities in Emerging Co-constructed Curriculum by Leanne Hunter and Lisa J Sonter.

The long title reflects the breadth of insight and guidance provided.

The cover is not glossy and eye-catching probably because it’s a practical book that has been produced by teachers for teachers,

Teaching Early Years Mathematics, Science and ICT by Geoff Hilton Annette Hilton, Shelley Dole and Chris Campbell.

Teachers, here is a helpful book jam-packed with ideas for teaching early years mathematics, science and ICT to children aged about 4 to 8 years. 

It shows how you can integrate information and computer technology into

Ideas for Play: Literacy by Emma Smoldon and Megan Howell.

Ideas for Play: Literacy is a fresh NZ book written for families at home, parent educators in playcentres, and early childhood teachers.

All elements from the text, graphics and design, and publication combine in making this a really unique book. The first thing you notice is how at

Young Children Becoming Curriculum: Deleuze, Te Whāriki and Curricular Understandings by Marg Sellers.

In Young Children Becoming Curriculum, a book published within an international series on “contesting early childhood” author Marg Sellers makes her debut as an educational philosopher.

She has taken thinking and writing on children,

Insights from the Playgroup Movement: Equality and Autonomy in a Voluntary Organisation by Ann Henderson (Editor).

The past histories of early childhood services are often written up in a way that make for good bed time reading if you want to go to sleep quickly. 

This book on the British playgroup movement is something different and t

Learning from Sure Start: Working with Young Children & their Families by Jo Weinberger et al (Eds).

Here is an extraordinary text.  It is a critical and insightful examination by insiders and outsiders from an inter-disciplinary perspective of one early childhood programme – Foxhill and Parson Cross Sure Start.  It has se

Critical Issues in ECE by Nicola Yelland (Editor).

Typically an edited book is a loose collection of chapters written by various authors around a theme or topic, agreeing on and promoting to the reader a particular position.

Yelland has instead taken a bold approach of producing an edited book to present “diverse viewpoints, so that reade

What is Research? Methodological Practices and New Approaches by Jeanette Rhedding-Jones.

What is Research? Articulating a clear-cut answer to this question that everyone will agree on is just not possible.

As Jeanette Rhedding-Jones shows in her splendidly plain-spoken book by addressing this question one becomes aware that there is so muc

The NZ Early Childhood Literacy Handbook by Judy Hamer & Paul Adams.

Hamer and Adams have skilfully weaved the latest research and theory with the current political and social context to present proposals for best literacy practices and a huge range of practical literacy based ideas.

The NZ Early Childhood Literacy Handbook is recom

“A City Possessed”: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case by Lynley Hood.

No other case of child abuse in New Zealand’s history has held public attention so strongly and for so long as the Christchurch Civic Creche case. While charges against four of his female colleagues were dropped after an 11-week preliminary hearing, Peter Ellis was later se

Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education & Care Postmodern Perspectives by Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss & Alan Pence. This review was first published in the NZJES journal, 34(2), 1999,  pp. 368 – 369. Reviewed by Dr Sarah Alexander. 

Beyond Quality challenges the discourse of early childhood education and over two decade