Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them

Rating:
Summary: Lots of information and interesting
Review: As a parent with a young daughter, I was seeking a book about children and imaginary friends that contained the following: humorous/interesting/informative stories about children and their imaginary friends; how to react/behave/deal with the children and their make-believe pals; proof that my child isn't wacky - that they are quite normal despite possessing a very active imagination; and the exciting promise of what kind of adult my child might become (from influence of having imaginary friends.)

This book was woefully inadequate for my needs. Although I was reassured that it's very normal for children to have imaginary friends, none of my other expectations were met.

The main problem I had with this book is that it reads like a graduate thesis. The author details results of many surveys and research projects in a dry, professional manner with little or no warmth and humor. I think my first clue to the style of this book would have been the back jacket where all praises were written ONLY by professionals in the psychology field.

Unless you are psychology professional, I doubt this book will suit your needs.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a professional thesis.
Review: As a parent with a young daughter, I was seeking a book about children and imaginary friends that contained the following: humorous/interesting/informative stories about children and their imaginary friends; how to react/behave/deal with the children and their make-believe pals; proof that my child isn't wacky - that they are quite normal despite possessing a very active imagination; and the exciting promise of what kind of adult my child might become (from influence of having imaginary friends.)

This book was woefully inadequate for my needs. Although I was reassured that it's very normal for children to have imaginary friends, none of my other expectations were met.

The main problem I had with this book is that it reads like a graduate thesis. The author details results of many surveys and research projects in a dry, professional manner with little or no warmth and humor. I think my first clue to the style of this book would have been the back jacket where all praises were written ONLY by professionals in the psychology field.

Unless you are psychology professional, I doubt this book will suit your needs.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of information and interesting
Review: This didn't read like a dissertation to me. It does have a lot a factual information about what it means to have an imaginary companion (like, does it mean your kid is going to have trouble making friends, or does it mean that you are unusually creative in other ways). But it also has a lot of very interesting stories about children and their friends, and it's even got some of the kids drawings of what they look like. Those reminded me of what it was like to be a kid and how strange the world must seem to them. So I thought it was a nice mix of facts and stories that was easy to read, but wasn't oversimplified.

Rating:
Summary: informative and fun
Review: Very well written, very scholarly; Dr. Taylor lovingly describes this fantastic aspect of children's lives; full of lively examples and in depth analysis; we strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in imagination.