Children's Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood

Landscapes of Childhood

by David Sobel

From the ages of five to twelve, the middle years of childhood, young people explore their surroundings and find or construct private spaces. In these secret places, children develop and control environments of their own and enjoy freedom from the rules of the adult world. Children's Special Places enters these hidden worlds, reveals their importance to children's development and emotional health, and shows educators, parents, and other adults how they can foster a bond between young people and nature that is important to maturation.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Education, Nature

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An educator studies middle-grade kids exploration of and place-making in their neighborhood's hedges, woods, and interstitial empty lots as they begin to range away from home from age 8 to 11, and combining this small study with theory and his and others adult recollections of the role of secret, self-created, organized, and usually private dens and playspaces, centers this form of development in the preparation for a social self to emerge.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply intriguing exploration of the necessity of fort building in middle childhood — it had me reflecting on my own childhood hidden places. I had never considered that forts served a developmental purpose before!

[Psyguy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the in depth look into this topic; one where there isn’t much written on. It definitely had some interesting insights but to me, the writing was a bit tedious and the topic got boring after about the first quack the book. I think it could have been condensed.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had never occurred to me that fort building is a typical developmental phase for reading independence, before reading this book.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholarly work on children's conceptual mapping of place. Cross-cultural, not very thorough but good.

[Jona · Rating 2 out of 5]

read pp. 1-46

[Whole Terrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the Whole Terrain interview of David Sobel about this book.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, a must read for parents, outdoor educators or anyone wishing to foster connections between children and the land.