Educators and scholars have always known that play is vital to children’s learning, but starting points for connecting play with reading may seem elusive. In Sparking Joyful Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Connecting Play and Reader Response, Tori Flint invites us to facilitate responsive play?a perfect description for the joyful interactions with stories, language, and peers that young readers thrive on. Her expert knowledge and clear explanations guide readers through the practices and related observations and assessments that will bring children’s play and literary experiences to the forefront of classroom life.

Patricia Enciso, PhD, professor, Ohio State University

Dr. Flint provides teachers with practical guidance and research-based rationales for making book-related play a regular part of the elementary literacy curriculum. Responsive play gives children a reason to read and motivates the integration and application of the important literacy skills they are learning. Especially in this era of high-stakes testing, children need more opportunities for the kind of joyful, child-centered play described in Sparking Joyful Learning.

Deborah Wells Rowe, PhD, Carolyn M. Evertson professor in teacher education, Vanderbilt University