Springer Research on Young Children’s Humor: Theoretical and Practical Implications for Early Childhood Education: 15 (Educating the Young Child, 15)

This book provides a wide spectrum of research on young children’s humor and illuminates the depth and complexity of humor development in children from birth through age 8 and beyond. It highlights the work of pioneers in young children’s humor research including Paul McGhee, Doris Bergen, and Vasu Reddy. Presenting a variety of new perspectives, the book examines such issues as play, humor, laughing and pleasure within the context of learning and development. It looks at humor, wordplay and cartoons that can be used as educational tools in the classroom. Finally, it provides explorations of humor within a cultural and spiritual context. The book presents diverse and creative methods to study humor and provides practical implications for adults working with children. The book offers a powerful springboard for moving research and practice toward a deeper understanding of young children’s humor as an integral and meaningful component of early development and learning.  Review “.. Most books on children’s humor do not have this diverse a group of authors. The chapters each describe theory and research that give varied perspectives on the topic of children’s humor.”  (Doris Bergen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA) “.. It draws together both known researchers who have been studying children’s humor development and also presents the research and views of some new humor scholars.” (Doris Bergen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA) “.. Paul McGhee is a paragon of research in this field and having him on board further strengthens the book. It is a timely topic and I can see the need for more research in the field. This may be a starting point encouraging more research and eliciting interest among researchers and practitioners in the field.” (René Proyer, Professor, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany) “.. I also liked the idea to include suggestions for teachers on the usage of humor and think that they can be helpful to those interested in using humor in their classroom.” (René Proyer, Professor, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany)   From the Back Cover This book provides a wide spectrum of research on young children’s humor and illuminates the depth and complexity of humor development in children from birth through age 8 and beyond. It highlights the work of pioneers in young children’s humor research including Paul McGhee, Doris Bergen, and Vasu Reddy. Presenting a variety of new perspectives, the book examines such issues as play, humor, laughing and pleasure within the context of learning and development. It looks at humor, wordplay and cartoons that can be used as educational tools in the classroom. Finally, it provides explorations of humor within a cultural and spiritual context. The book presents diverse and creative methods to study humor and provides practical implications for adults working with children. The book offers a powerful springboard for moving research and practice toward a deeper understanding of young children’s humor as an integral and meaningful component of early development and learning.