Project Play in the News
Treasure Hunt: Project Play Book
By Marlene F. Byrne; Illustrated by Jesse GraberReviewed by Jamie Driggers
http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/treasure-hunt-project-play-book
(This review is for all 3 books in the Project Play Books series: Treasure Hunt, Follow the Leader, Just a Baseball Game)
Children in the twenty-first century have many things competing for their attention. If they aren’t camped in front of some form of electronic entertainment, they are being shuttled from one organized activity to another. When do they have time for imaginative play?
Project Play is a new series of books that demonstrate, through colorful fiction, the fundamentals of neighborhood games. Since the cast of characters is the same throughout the series, children can grow to identify and relate to children in the books. Project Play has books that show in the story the fundamentals of treasure hunting, pick-up baseball, and follow the leader, with more games to come. Not only are the fundamentals taught, but also the fun. Besides the story, each book contains in the back pages suggestions for how specifically to play the game.
My only complaint with these books is that they are told in verse. As a read-aloud, this makes the reading a little clunky and I’d prefer it written in prose. However, my eight-year-old son loves to read these books to himself and keeps them by his bed. I enjoy the bright illustrations that show the boys doing less-than-safe boy things (like they tend to do) and it’s so great to see the neighborhood boys and girls interacting without a video game console between them.
Overall, I think this is a really great series and I look forward to seeing the books and games to come. Neighborhood play is dying art that desperately needs resuscitation. This series is just what kids need to get outside and play.
Armchair Interviews says: Anything that gets kids outside playing is a good thing.
