The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids explores how toys, classrooms, playgrounds, and neighborhoods “encode decades, even centuries of changing ideas about what makes for good child-rearing--and what does not. … Design critic Alexandra Lange reveals the surprising histories behind the human-made elements of our children's pint-size landscape. Her fascinating investigation shows how the seemingly innocuous universe of stuff affects kids' behavior, values, and health, often in subtle ways. And she reveals how years of decisions by toymakers, architects, and urban planners have helped--and hindered--American youngsters' journeys toward independence. Seen through Lange's eyes, everything from the sandbox to the street becomes vibrant with buried meaning.”