Founded in 2005, the Come Out and Play Festival is an annual festival of street games that happens in different neighborhoods of New York City. The goal of the event is to provide a forum for people to come together and play both traditional and new types of public games. For the past five years it has gone beyond classic street games like stick ball or kick the can to include games that use public space as gamespace and alter players’ perception of their environment. The 2010 installment of the festival happened from Jun 2-4 in Brooklyn, New York. I wish I had known about it in time to help spread the word, but… there’s always next year!

Among the variety of games they think up and bring to life every year are “pervasive games” that take gaming away from the computer screen and back to the three-dimensional world; urban games such as Parkour (see Sally’s recent post about it); GPS-enabled hide & seek, and much more.

While a good number of these games are for adults only, family-friendly ones abound and are clearly marked in the festival’s program. For instance, last year the game Hidden Parks invited kids to imagine what would happen if a group of property developers wanted to ruin Central Park and they had to save it, which meant the children had to assist the preservation efforts of the Magical Wildlife Protection Agency by trying to prove fairies and dragons live there. Hmm… I think author Tom O’Leary and his daughters would have enjoyed this one…

This year, children’s book author Linda Perkins (in her spare time she is a volunteer tutor at 826NYC) and research scientist Rachel Schutt designed and organized the first Paper Airplane Derby, where contestants of all sizes and ages competed in a level playing field.

Mixing old-fashioned fun with interactive games that connect technology to public spaces, this fun-filled and eye-opening festival shows that the reality of how and where we play and what play means to us is ever-evolving.

I hope all this talk about play is inspiring you and your children to go out and perform some random acts of fun!

http://www.comeoutandplay.org

For a list of books on imagination-powered playtime, you can check this annotated list of my personal favorites, or this one from Common Sense Media.

In his Personal View for our current issue of PaperTigers, How Children Play Around the World, author Tom O’Leary describes how he recently learnt some important lessons from his daughters…

Tom is the author of RetroActive: Skip, Hop and You Don’t Stop: Games We Played (BookSurge Publishing, 2009) and also has a great blog – Games We Played – so, I have to say, it was kind of reassuring, as a parent, to read his article – but also inspiring. I really urge you to read it all the way through – it did make me chuckle; and I’m going to quote the inspiring bit here:

The participation in natural, unstructured and creative childhood play teaches our children more than any coach ever could:

In play, children learn how to resolve conflict through compromise
The simplicity of “do-over” as a method of balancing two opposing opinions during play could be a lesson for many corporate and political quarrels.

In play, children learn how to be fair
The process of selecting “It” is based on pure objectivity.

In play, children learn how to be tolerant
They learn that no player is too small, too slow or too awkward to be included in the game.

In play, children learn to adapt
Rules are introduced or adapted as needed to ensure an even playing field, or to increase the challenge for skilled players.

In play, children learn teamwork
Making a human chain in jail to give our remaining teammates a better chance to free us demonstrates our unity.

In play, children learn to trust
There is no greater ally than your playing partner.

In play, children learn to take chances
Is it possible to make it to the other side if I run now?

In play, children learn to laugh and not take themselves too seriously
It’s just a game, after all.

And in the perfect imperfection of unstructured, creative play, children are reminded of the most important thing: that they are children and that play is fun, just like it should be.

How about that as something to print out and stick on the fridge? It is so great to be reminded of this, and particularly timely for me now, as soon my two will be winding down for their school holidays. Here’s hoping it will be one they look back on as an endless summer spent playing out of doors…

Thank you, Tom, for your great Personal View.

Continuing along the lines of our current How Children Play Around the World theme, I have been re-reading two beautiful picture books I was introduced to in Bologna, thanks to Corinne’s meeting with Corinne (Australian author Corinne Fenton) at the SCWBI stand. Both of them, by Corinne, make perfect bedtime stories, though Queenie: One Elephant’s Story (Black Dog Books (Australia), 2006) may need a bit of discussion time afterwards as part of it is very sad.

Queenie tells the true story of Queenie the elephant who, towards the end of the nineteenth century, was trapped as a young calf by hunters in India and shipped to Australia, where she took up residence at Melbourne Zoo. She became one of the main attractions, giving rides tirelessly. Children would leave apples and peanuts for her aroud her circuit and wrote letters to her, telling her how much they loved her. Then, sadly, in 1945, an accident, compounded by food shortages during the Second World War, meant that she was destroyed. The book ends on a positive note, pausing to feel Queenie’s spirit among the elephants now enjoying the Trail of the Elephants at Melbourne Zoo, but a deep sadness nevertheless remains. Corinne’s narrative is unflinching and as gentle as Queenie herself – and Peter Gouldthorpe’s beautiful illustrations evoke the bygone era they depict, echoing early tinted photography.

On Corinne’s website, you can read a bit more about Queenie and see a photograph – and there are also teachers’ notes.

Flame Stands Waiting, illustrated by Sebastian Ciaffaglione (Black Dog Books, 2010) is also set in Melbourne – but this time the focus is on the carousel ride that can still be found at Melbourne Luna Park. While the illustrations have a 1930s feel about them, they are brought right up to date by a bold use of perspective that exactly suits the excitement of a carousel ride: and Corinne’s present tense narrtative does exactly the same.

Flame is one of the horses on the carousel, but he is sad because unlike the other horses, he can’t move up and down – until, that is, he discovers how to fly in his imagination, thanks to one little girl’s whisper in his ear: “We are going to fly into the clouds, over the stars and even beyond the moon! We can go anywhere we please.” I can see this lovely story becoming a firm favorite, asked for again and again before happy listeners head off into their own dreams – maybe even riding a pearly carousel horse…

For our current issue on How Children Play Around the World, we asked several authors and illustrators to tell us about their Memories of Playtimes Past. Together, they paint a vivid picture of childhood around the world and reveal the power of imagination – something that still plays such an important role in all their lives as adults, and in the lives of kids today. Illustrator Mandana Sadat, whose own contribution is just wonderful, was struck after reading the whole article by the similarities in the different experiences of play – do read Aline’s post discussing this.

The first author up is Tanita Davis:

Growing up the youngest of three sisters (in Martinez, California) meant being left out of the older girls’ games. To placate me, I was named Mom’s “helper” and my playtimes combined chores and daydreaming. I would sit on the back porch and shuck corn from the garden, or weed the front yard – and then taking the silk from the corn, combine it with dirt and water, and make “pies” for the dog to eat (Our poor dog. She really did eat them.), or take the “milk” from the stems of the dandelions I was supposed to be eradicating from the front yard (after blowing all of the milkweed clocks and sufficiently re-seeding them throughout the lawn), and use it as glue to adhere dry weeds to the “head” of a cornhusk doll.

Because I was a quiet kid, I got away with a lot – climbing the tree next to my father’s shed, and making a tree-house of sorts on the roof, complete with its own chamber pot (Oh, I got in trouble when my mother found out about THAT) and store of slightly mildew books scavenged from a teacher’s throw-away pile. One summer I played with the hose and made carefully dried adobe “moccasins” that were no more than ten or twelve layers of clay mud I wore on the bottom of my feet as shoes. They lasted for a surprisingly long time before they cracked. As the layers dried, I would lie on my back in the yard and listen to the drone of the planes going to and from the Air Force base, and imagine they were taking people to adventures, just like I would have someday.

And Belle Yang brings the article to a flourishing close:

I was born on the subtropical island of Taiwan. The front yard was the rice paddies, alive with tadpoles like music notes on sheet music. The Sleeping Dragon Mountain, exploding with firecracker red azaleas, was my backyard. Rivulets, home to small fish and crustaceans, came rushing down the hills. My barefoot friends and I looked for tiny crabs as they crawled among the stones, dappled by sunlight and the motion of wind in the acacia.

New Online Cheap Shoes Sale New Best Running Shoes Sale Reef Sandals Sale Sandals Resorts Sale Shoes Sandals Sale New Sneakers Shoes Sale

We caught the crabs and tied white sewing thread to one of their many legs. We took them for walks on the paved paths of the schoolyard, where my parents taught high school. I was delighted with my pet that could only walk sideways.

Do read the rest of the Memories of Playtimes Past – between them, Alan Gratz, Mandana Sadat, Jorge Argueta, Neni Sta Romana Cruz, Chris Cheng, Demi and Larry Loyie, along with Tanita and Belle quoted above, will evoke a smile, or even a laugh out loud – and certainly memories of one’s own childhood… And if you’d care to share some of those with us, we’d love to hear them!

Why Can’t I Play? A story about making friends by Elizabeth Hawkins and illustrated by Bill Bolton (Tamarind Books, 2010) starts off with plenty of reasons that young listeners will pick up on straight away as to why the children at the sandpit shouldn’t let Becca “the new girl” play with them. She blocks tunnels, spoils drawings in the sand and knocks down castles. When Thomas and the other children tell her to go away, she retaliates with the dreadful crocodiles and high prison tower etc. that she has for people like them at her house.

A few days later, Becca’s mother hands out Becca’s birthday invitations. The parents are glad to accept on behalf of their children, so they reluctantly go, worried about the terrors awaiting them at Becca’s house. Of course the parallel scenarios, such as the castellated treehouse, all turn out to be great fun and Becca herself is a fun playmate. Becca’s birthday wish, when she blows out her candles, is very telling: “I wish I could play with you in the park.” and the next day she does indeed ask to play with the other children. “Of course,” said Thomas, “You only had to ask!”

But did she? Why Can’t I Play? really is an excellent story about making friends, with universal appeal for young children, and this is emphasised by the inclusive diversity of the illustrations. The story shows how the hand of friendship has to be stretched from both sides. Becca’s behavior is inexcusable and will probably set young listeners against her – but by the time we get to the end, they might have realised that her meanness is also a result of her insecurity as a “new girl” (and we only find out her name when her mother hands out the party invitations – I suspect, like the other children in the story). So, while Becca is not exactly helping herself by being horrid to the other children, the story also reminds children of the importance of being welcoming towards newcomers, whether it’s at their local park or in their class at school.

And don’t forget, our current issue of PaperTigers is all about How Children Play Around the World, so if you haven’t already, head on over…

Summer holidays are almost here and I’m sure if you ask my children what their summer plans are, “reading” and “playing” will be near the top of their lists. So for us (and many others I’m sure!) the timing and theme of PaperTigers’ newest issue How Children Play Around the World is perfect. In this bimonthly update, a diverse line-up of authors and illustrators share their memories of playtimes past and artwork of children at play, speak of the ways in which their childhood games helped shape them, and more. One of the many highlights in the Personal Views section is PaperTigers’ Managing Editor and Producer Aline Pereira’s article Favorite Picture Books about Creative Play.

A book for older readers which is multicultural in nature and deals with the theme of play is Chess Rumble by G. Neri, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson (Lee and Low, 2007). The main character, 11-year-old African-American Marcus, lives in a world of poverty and violence. Angered by his sister’s death and his father’s absence, and pushed to the brink by a bullying classmate, Marcus fights back with his fists. One punch away from being kicked out of school and his home, Marcus encounters CM, an unlikely chess master who challenges him to fight his battles on the chess board. Guarded and distrusting, Marcus must endure more hard lessons before he can accept CM’s help to regain control of his life.

Inspired by inner-city school chess enrichment programs, Chess Rumble, which is written in verse, explores the ways the strategic game of chess can empower young people with the skills they need to anticipate and calculate their moves through life. The book has received numerous awards and author G. Neri was recently announced as the 2010 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins/ International Reading Association Promising Poet Award. To learn more about Chess Rumble check out publisher Lee and Low’s Booktalk, Video Interview and Book Trailer.

Tim Vyner, “a reportage artist who travels the world recording sporting events as he sees them (World Cup football, Olympic Games, street soccer)” is one of the artists featured in our The Art of Play e-gallery, which is part of PaperTigers’ current focus on How Children Play Around the World. His mixed-media illustration (image#8) is from the book World Team, where he takes readers on a journey around the globe and through the world’s time zones via the world’s most popular game: soccer.

The book was published by Random House-UK and Roaring Brook Press-US in 2002, just before the beginning of that year’s World Cup. Its opening sentence “One big round world, one small round ball. Right now, more children than you can possibly imagine are playing soccer” sets the tone for the glorious slice-of-life text and illustrations of children playing soccer on fields, beaches and streets across the globe.

On the occasion of the book’s release, Random House put together a mini-website for it. In the section “The Making of the Book” we find a picture of Tim’s journal, where as a six-year-old he wrote and illustrated a story about an England vs Brazil game that took place during the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In the section “Paintings”, Tim comments on all the images, by country, and says of South Africa (remember: he wrote this in 2002):

South Africa is one of the emerging African football nations. They have won the rugby world cup and the cricket world cup. Will they be the first African nation to win the Soccer World Cup? Soccer in South Africa is played as much by black Africans as white Africans and is really important in the development of the new South Africa.

Will South Africa win the 2010 World Cup? I guess we’ll find out the answer to that in a few weeks…

Tim Vyner is currently “recording the changing skyline of London”, in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games.

A couple of days ago I received the following note from author/illustrator Mandana Sadat, who contributed to the group feature Memories of Playtimes Past, currently featured on our website:

I found it interesting and surprising to see that so many people seemed to have very similar experiences of play. Do you think this is because you asked children’s and young adult book authors and illustrators, who, in spite of being from different cultures, may have similar kinds of sensibilities? Or are these experiences truly universal? I wonder what would have happened if you had asked doctors or teachers, for instance. Would they have similar stories to share, or something totally different?

I think this is a very good question, and I extend it to all teachers, engineers, scientists, technicians, craftsmen, etc out there. We would love to hear your thoughts. And while we wait for your feedback, I’ll venture an answer.

I do think the impulse to play creatively and to push the boundaries of reality is universal, and that the similarities between people’s experiences of free play and of spending time in the outdoors tells us that the excitement of playing in a tree house or of going on an imaginary adventure, for instance, knows no cultural, language or geographical boundaries. For the feature “Memories of Playtimes Past”, we specifically asked people to write about their experiences of unstructured play. Would we have gotten a different response had we asked about the organized games they played? Probably so.

As Anna Weistein says on her article Outdoor Summer Play, when children play outdoors they can “talk louder, run faster, jump higher, and get dirtier”. The organized games we played as children may have had different names, objectives, rules, but I believe that the nature of the creative play we all experienced is indeed very similar, and the source of a good portion of our happy, lasting memories. I also believe that the development of loving, creative individuals, capable of empathy, of working together and acting from strong-hearted convictions, whatever their profession, is directly related to their experiences of play as children. But that’s just me… I’d be very interested in hearing what others think.

For those joining now, this conversation on the ways children play started here.

Come out and play!, is our invitation to you today. The PaperTigers website is currently focusing on How Children Play Around the World, highlighting features that celebrate the act of play in all its universalities and differences.

A diverse line-up of authors and illustrators share their memories of playtimes past and artwork of children at play, speak of the ways in which their childhood games helped shape them, and more. We also have an interview with Marla Stewart Konrad about her World Vision series of photo-illustrated books, which includes the title I Like to Play, and a piece by Tom O’Leary, author of the book RetroActive Play: Skip, Hop and You Don’t Stop, on the things he’s learned from playing with his six year-old daughter.

Now we just need you to join our game and tell us about your experiences of play as a child—or as a grown-up (why not?). You can leave a comment on this post, or in any other upcoming post on the theme. We’d love to hear from you!

Whether you’re approaching Summer, as we are in the Northern hemisphere, or Winter, a school break should be in sight for you, so make sure to take the kids out to play! But before you do, read our website’s new features. They’ll get you inspired and energized!

image credit: @ Penny Weber (from the book One of Us, written by Peggy Moss)