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Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself
For readers of Inside of a Dog and The Soul of an Octopus, a fascinating, charming, and revelatory look at the science behind why animals play that shows how life—at its most fundamental level—is playful.
In Kingdom of Play, critically acclaimed science writer David Toomey takes us on a fast-paced and entertaining tour of playful animals and the scientists who study them. From octopuses on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to meerkats in the Kalahari Desert to brown bears on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, we follow adventurous researchers as they design and conduct experiments seeking answers to new, intriguing questions: When did play first appear in animals? How does play develop the brain, and how did it evolve? Are the songs and aerial acrobatics of birds the beginning of avian culture? Is fairness in dog play the foundation of canine ethics? And does play direct and possibly accelerate evolution?
Monkeys belly-flop, dolphins tail-walk, elephants mud-slide, crows dive-bomb, and octopuses bounce balls. These activities are various, but all are play, and as Toomey explains, animal play can be seen as a distinct behavior—one that is ongoing and open-ended, purposeless and provisional—rather like natural selection. Through a close examination of both natural selection and play, Toomey argues that life itself is fundamentally playful.
A globe-spanning journey and a scientific detective story filled with lively animal anecdotes, Kingdom of Play is an illuminating—and yes, playful—look at a little-known aspect of the animal kingdom.
In Kingdom of Play, critically acclaimed science writer David Toomey takes us on a fast-paced and entertaining tour of playful animals and the scientists who study them. From octopuses on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to meerkats in the Kalahari Desert to brown bears on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, we follow adventurous researchers as they design and conduct experiments seeking answers to new, intriguing questions: When did play first appear in animals? How does play develop the brain, and how did it evolve? Are the songs and aerial acrobatics of birds the beginning of avian culture? Is fairness in dog play the foundation of canine ethics? And does play direct and possibly accelerate evolution?
Monkeys belly-flop, dolphins tail-walk, elephants mud-slide, crows dive-bomb, and octopuses bounce balls. These activities are various, but all are play, and as Toomey explains, animal play can be seen as a distinct behavior—one that is ongoing and open-ended, purposeless and provisional—rather like natural selection. Through a close examination of both natural selection and play, Toomey argues that life itself is fundamentally playful.
A globe-spanning journey and a scientific detective story filled with lively animal anecdotes, Kingdom of Play is an illuminating—and yes, playful—look at a little-known aspect of the animal kingdom.
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Published March 19, 2024
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August 15, 2024Preview: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...
And another: https://lithub.com/shes-bouncing-the-...
And another: https://lithub.com/shes-bouncing-the-...
February 11, 2024
In "Kingdom of Play", Toomey guides the reader through the various ways that nonhuman animals play including gorillas engaging their youth in peekaboo, somersaulting vervet monkeys, pole-vaulting fish, and turtles playing tug-of war, among other tales. This book is often humorous, such as when Toomey recalls another scientist's story of two juvenile gorillas playing, writing, "a juvenile grabbed the crotch of another juvenile with his hands. The recipient's startled response and the subsequent leap into the air suggests that it was as surprised as we were!"
Further, Toomey emphasizes that for an animal to play it must be "well-fed, safe and healthy". In a world where many species of animals are threatened every day, it is very possible that we will miss out on opportunities to learn from others amongst us. Thus, we must do our part to help protect our fellow animals, if for no other reason, than to witness their talents.
Nonhuman animals, they are just like us.
Further, Toomey emphasizes that for an animal to play it must be "well-fed, safe and healthy". In a world where many species of animals are threatened every day, it is very possible that we will miss out on opportunities to learn from others amongst us. Thus, we must do our part to help protect our fellow animals, if for no other reason, than to witness their talents.
Nonhuman animals, they are just like us.
June 29, 2024
Why have we mammals made it as far as we have in evolutionary terms? One answer to that questions is "play." And it's not just us animals. Think octopuses and corvids for other examples. In Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-slinging Elephants Reveal about Life Itself, David Toomey explores the scientific evidence explaining how and why animals engage in play. As he explains early on, the research in this field is scant. Somehow "play" has been looked at as a borderline field. The attitude seems to be "Yes, yes, we play. But playing is what happens when we're not engaged in the struggle to survive—it's a little something on the side that's just sort of, well, fun."
Play is a key contributor to our development both culturally and in evolutionary terms. And, yes, yes, I know those are two ill-defined terms in a sort of blurry Venn diagram, but I trust you can follow my meaning. If this topic interests you, Toomey's book is a great place to start some exploration—and he can steer you toward the best of the more formal research writing.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Play is a key contributor to our development both culturally and in evolutionary terms. And, yes, yes, I know those are two ill-defined terms in a sort of blurry Venn diagram, but I trust you can follow my meaning. If this topic interests you, Toomey's book is a great place to start some exploration—and he can steer you toward the best of the more formal research writing.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
October 30, 2024
I won this book on Goodreads.
A bit science-y for me but a nice bit of research on animal play and perceived meaning of the play observation.
A good read if you like to learn about the natural world around us.
A bit science-y for me but a nice bit of research on animal play and perceived meaning of the play observation.
A good read if you like to learn about the natural world around us.
June 6, 2025
This was a super fun book! My favorite parts were the anecdotes of, and research reports about, animal play. A few favorite moments:
“Romanes’ 1882 work Animal Intelligence, overflows with anecdotes: a baboon taking revenge, an elephant concealing a theft, birds engaging in piracy, and swans demonstrating conjugal fidelity.”
“Gorilla mothers don't just nurse, protect, cuddle, and groom their infants. They also play with them. They swing them, engage them in peekaboo, and, as many a delighted human observer can attest, treat them to the kinetic pleasures of "airplane."”
“A worker at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum who fed redeye and rudd coaxed them to rest in his hand as he held it near the water's surface. The worker then began to lift the fish from the water and toss them back in. For the fish, the experience was evidently pleasurable, since most swam back to the worker's hand and allowed themselves to be tossed again.”
“Although we have not made sustained or concerted efforts to preserve the culture of birds, one bird for a brief period may have preserved part of our own. Darwin: "The partial and complete extinction of many races and sub-races of man are historically known events. Humboldt saw in South America a parrot which was the sole living creature that could speak the language of a lost tribe." Descent of Man, pt. 1, 236.”
“In 1988 a female bottlenose dolphin named Billie was rescued from a polluted creek near Adelaide, Australia, and housed temporarily at a local marine mammal park. There she kept company with five other dolphins. The others, so they might make public performances, had been trained to "tail-walk"-forcing most of their bodies vertically out of the water and maintaining the position by vigorously pumping their tails. Billie was never given such training, but she observed the others as they rehearsed and performed. Some weeks after her rescue she was returned to the wild. She was later sighted in the open ocean, tail-walking with a female dolphin named Wave. Other dolphins in the pod were sighted tail-walking, too.”
“Romanes announced triumphantly, "I have now got a monkey. Sclater let me choose one from the Zoo, and it is a very intelligent, affectionate little animal." Then, in the sentence following, he acknowledged a minor difficulty: "I wanted to keep it in the nursery for purposes of comparison, but the proposal met with so much opposition that I had to give way."
One assumes that the opposition arose from Mrs. Romanes.
Fortunately, for both the general advancement of scientific inquiry as well as the Romanes marriage, Romanes's sister Charlotte, who lived near him, was willing to keep the monkey and take notes for her brother, giving particular attention to behavior that signified intelligence. On December 18, 1880, a tufted capuchin (Cebus apella fatullus) was delivered to her well-appointed apartments in the City of Westminster, where it resided for ten weeks. During that time the monkey enjoyed much of what Groos would call the pleasure of having an effect, and quite often that effect was chaos.”
“A young male elephant was said to wait high on an embankment as two others climbed the slope. When they were halfway up, he sat on his haunches, slid, and collided—it seemed deliberately-with one of the others, who then slid with him. Upon reaching the bottom, they both headed back up the embankment, but the third elephant was now sliding down the slope. He collided with them, and all three ended at the bottom in a great muddy heap.”
“…after launching themselves from the branch, [patas monkeys] spread-eagled and belly flopped onto the ground with [loud thuds]. The hard landings were not accidental. Far from it. Each monkey, after taking a moment to regain his composure, climbed the tree and did it again—at least ten more times.”
“Romanes’ 1882 work Animal Intelligence, overflows with anecdotes: a baboon taking revenge, an elephant concealing a theft, birds engaging in piracy, and swans demonstrating conjugal fidelity.”
“Gorilla mothers don't just nurse, protect, cuddle, and groom their infants. They also play with them. They swing them, engage them in peekaboo, and, as many a delighted human observer can attest, treat them to the kinetic pleasures of "airplane."”
“A worker at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum who fed redeye and rudd coaxed them to rest in his hand as he held it near the water's surface. The worker then began to lift the fish from the water and toss them back in. For the fish, the experience was evidently pleasurable, since most swam back to the worker's hand and allowed themselves to be tossed again.”
“Although we have not made sustained or concerted efforts to preserve the culture of birds, one bird for a brief period may have preserved part of our own. Darwin: "The partial and complete extinction of many races and sub-races of man are historically known events. Humboldt saw in South America a parrot which was the sole living creature that could speak the language of a lost tribe." Descent of Man, pt. 1, 236.”
“In 1988 a female bottlenose dolphin named Billie was rescued from a polluted creek near Adelaide, Australia, and housed temporarily at a local marine mammal park. There she kept company with five other dolphins. The others, so they might make public performances, had been trained to "tail-walk"-forcing most of their bodies vertically out of the water and maintaining the position by vigorously pumping their tails. Billie was never given such training, but she observed the others as they rehearsed and performed. Some weeks after her rescue she was returned to the wild. She was later sighted in the open ocean, tail-walking with a female dolphin named Wave. Other dolphins in the pod were sighted tail-walking, too.”
“Romanes announced triumphantly, "I have now got a monkey. Sclater let me choose one from the Zoo, and it is a very intelligent, affectionate little animal." Then, in the sentence following, he acknowledged a minor difficulty: "I wanted to keep it in the nursery for purposes of comparison, but the proposal met with so much opposition that I had to give way."
One assumes that the opposition arose from Mrs. Romanes.
Fortunately, for both the general advancement of scientific inquiry as well as the Romanes marriage, Romanes's sister Charlotte, who lived near him, was willing to keep the monkey and take notes for her brother, giving particular attention to behavior that signified intelligence. On December 18, 1880, a tufted capuchin (Cebus apella fatullus) was delivered to her well-appointed apartments in the City of Westminster, where it resided for ten weeks. During that time the monkey enjoyed much of what Groos would call the pleasure of having an effect, and quite often that effect was chaos.”
“A young male elephant was said to wait high on an embankment as two others climbed the slope. When they were halfway up, he sat on his haunches, slid, and collided—it seemed deliberately-with one of the others, who then slid with him. Upon reaching the bottom, they both headed back up the embankment, but the third elephant was now sliding down the slope. He collided with them, and all three ended at the bottom in a great muddy heap.”
“…after launching themselves from the branch, [patas monkeys] spread-eagled and belly flopped onto the ground with [loud thuds]. The hard landings were not accidental. Far from it. Each monkey, after taking a moment to regain his composure, climbed the tree and did it again—at least ten more times.”
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March 26, 2024Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
"Kingdom of Play" by David Toomey is a fascinating exploration into the playful behaviors of animals and what these actions reveal about life itself. Toomey delves deep into the science of play, examining not just the how, but the why behind the seemingly frivolous activities of creatures great and small.
The book is a delightful treasure trove of anecdotes and insights, shedding light on the curious playtime routines of species from octopuses to elephants. Toomey's narrative is engaging, filled with vivid descriptions that bring the reader closer to understanding the significance of play in the animal kingdom. He navigates through various theories and studies with a storyteller's grace, making complex concepts accessible and entertaining.
What stands out in "Kingdom of Play" is Toomey's ability to connect the dots between play and broader biological functions. He posits that play is not merely a distraction but a critical component of social bonding, stress reduction, and even conflict resolution among animals. The book also touches on the evolutionary aspects of play, suggesting that the roots of this behavior may be as old as life itself.
Toomey's work is a compelling read for anyone interested in animal behavior, psychology, or simply the joy of discovery. It's a reminder that play is not just a human luxury but a fundamental aspect of existence for all species.
"Kingdom of Play" by David Toomey is a fascinating exploration into the playful behaviors of animals and what these actions reveal about life itself. Toomey delves deep into the science of play, examining not just the how, but the why behind the seemingly frivolous activities of creatures great and small.
The book is a delightful treasure trove of anecdotes and insights, shedding light on the curious playtime routines of species from octopuses to elephants. Toomey's narrative is engaging, filled with vivid descriptions that bring the reader closer to understanding the significance of play in the animal kingdom. He navigates through various theories and studies with a storyteller's grace, making complex concepts accessible and entertaining.
What stands out in "Kingdom of Play" is Toomey's ability to connect the dots between play and broader biological functions. He posits that play is not merely a distraction but a critical component of social bonding, stress reduction, and even conflict resolution among animals. The book also touches on the evolutionary aspects of play, suggesting that the roots of this behavior may be as old as life itself.
Toomey's work is a compelling read for anyone interested in animal behavior, psychology, or simply the joy of discovery. It's a reminder that play is not just a human luxury but a fundamental aspect of existence for all species.
February 11, 2025
For various professional reasons, I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking about animal consciousness over the past year and change. I bet that, if this had been one of the first books I'd read on the subject, I would have liked it more. So maybe ignore this.
October 3, 2024
I come from a family that takes play very seriously. Lol. I've always enjoyed being silly, playing dress up and splashing in mud puddles. I've lived near elementary schools enough to watch the amount of unstructured play time diminish with each year of childhood.
This book covers what little science has been published and extrapolates without making stuff up. There are plenty of things we don't know about play in a variety of animals - bees, it turns out, we do know enjoy playing! I want that job!
If you've read the rat play study (and heard the sounds of their laughter), this book is for you. If you enjoyed The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness or What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds, you'll enjoy this read. It's a more pared down and manageable version An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.
This book covers what little science has been published and extrapolates without making stuff up. There are plenty of things we don't know about play in a variety of animals - bees, it turns out, we do know enjoy playing! I want that job!
If you've read the rat play study (and heard the sounds of their laughter), this book is for you. If you enjoyed The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness or What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds, you'll enjoy this read. It's a more pared down and manageable version An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.
March 26, 2024
If we didn't have personal experience of other animals - pets in particular - it might be easy to consider play as a particularly human behaviour, yet, as David Toomey shows, a wide range of animals resort to play, even including some non-mammalian species.
A starting point is the relative paucity of study of play in other animals - Toomey points out that this may partly be because it can be difficult to be sure if an action is play - it's very easy to anthropomorphise and interpret an action in another species in the same way we might see it in humans. It also does seem to be the case that many of those who study animals either consider play to be unimportant, or think of it primarily a function of pets, which they consider of little interest because they aren't animals in nature.
There are certainly plenty of questions here (even if answers are more thin on the ground) - why animals play, whether it's learned or built-in, does it have a developmental function, what determines whether a species will or won't play (somehow, playful scorpions seem an unlikely prospect)... and so on.
Toomey presents us with a number of interesting examples, but I am less certain we can draw enough conclusions to make this a scientifically useful topic as yet. In the end it is always going to be difficult both to assess whether a behaviour is play, or simply looks like play, and what is happening as a result in - at least, in non-human species. Having said that, some of the interpretations seem reasonable - for example the aspect of play as a way of training for the unexpected: this perhaps also limits the concept of play to animals that distinguish the expected and the unexpected. We also meet along the way scientists unfamiliar to many popular science readers, such as American psychologist James Mark Baldwin.
Toomey justifies the subtitle of the book by saying 'Since natural selection shares a great many features with play, something I don't think he presents any good argument for being true, we require no great leap of reasoning to say that life itself, in the most fundamental self, is playful.' I really can't accept the logic of this. In the end, we are surely presented with the same philosophical problem that Thomas Nagel addressed in his famous 'What is it like to be a bat?' paper - we simply can't put ourselves into the heads of another species. There will always be guesswork involved.
Despite these concerns about the how far Toomey goes with his conclusions, there is no doubt that this is a thought-provoking title. Toomey's writing style can sometimes be a little obscuring of the point he is trying to get across, but it's a topic that deserves more exploration.
A starting point is the relative paucity of study of play in other animals - Toomey points out that this may partly be because it can be difficult to be sure if an action is play - it's very easy to anthropomorphise and interpret an action in another species in the same way we might see it in humans. It also does seem to be the case that many of those who study animals either consider play to be unimportant, or think of it primarily a function of pets, which they consider of little interest because they aren't animals in nature.
There are certainly plenty of questions here (even if answers are more thin on the ground) - why animals play, whether it's learned or built-in, does it have a developmental function, what determines whether a species will or won't play (somehow, playful scorpions seem an unlikely prospect)... and so on.
Toomey presents us with a number of interesting examples, but I am less certain we can draw enough conclusions to make this a scientifically useful topic as yet. In the end it is always going to be difficult both to assess whether a behaviour is play, or simply looks like play, and what is happening as a result in - at least, in non-human species. Having said that, some of the interpretations seem reasonable - for example the aspect of play as a way of training for the unexpected: this perhaps also limits the concept of play to animals that distinguish the expected and the unexpected. We also meet along the way scientists unfamiliar to many popular science readers, such as American psychologist James Mark Baldwin.
Toomey justifies the subtitle of the book by saying 'Since natural selection shares a great many features with play, something I don't think he presents any good argument for being true, we require no great leap of reasoning to say that life itself, in the most fundamental self, is playful.' I really can't accept the logic of this. In the end, we are surely presented with the same philosophical problem that Thomas Nagel addressed in his famous 'What is it like to be a bat?' paper - we simply can't put ourselves into the heads of another species. There will always be guesswork involved.
Despite these concerns about the how far Toomey goes with his conclusions, there is no doubt that this is a thought-provoking title. Toomey's writing style can sometimes be a little obscuring of the point he is trying to get across, but it's a topic that deserves more exploration.
March 20, 2024
This book offers a wealth of examples of playing behavior among animals, especially (but not exclusively) birds and mammals, and also cephalopods. It goes on to sort through various scientific theories about why play exists, how it evolves, and what it means. Since natural selection can be ruthlessly efficient, eliminating any traits (physical or behavioral) that are less than optimal (or less successful in terms of ultimate contribution to reproduction than others), there has been reason to question how play evolved, and why it is so common. Playful behavior might seem to be wasteful; energy is expended in activity that doesn't have any immediate purpose in survival and reproduction. But from a broader viewpoint, such narrow utilitarianism does not make sense. Play allows animals to explore ranges of behavior, to innovate within limits, to strengthen social ties, to respond flexibly to events, and to practice actions and responses that might be seriously necessary in other circumstances. Play also is only possible if animals have a degree of conscious reflectiveness, interiority, and emotional depth. Toomey's book covers all of these possibilities, as well as giving us fascinating examples of the actual things that animals do when they are playing, i.e. when they have other concerns and horizons than the necessity of immediate survival and/or procreation. The book is lucidly written, and up to date in terms of its accounts of scientific findings, observations, and theorizations. (In addition, I think that it overlaps with earlier theorizations that see living beings as not just utility maximizers in the reductive sense -- I think that this book resonates especially with Bruce Bagemihl's Biological Exuberance, and with Morse Peckham's arguments about art as a sort of rehearsal for lived experience, one that expands possibilities and makes innovation possible, in his book Man's Rage for Chaos).
February 10, 2024
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was one ancestor who gave way to every single one of us. Dogs, octopuses, bears, elephants and humans alike. At first, we thought that we had little in common but, the more humans have tried to understand other animals, we’ve realized how much we share. Play is one of those things and David Toomey has compiled the most recent studies on the subject, writing a very entertaining, approachable and mind-blowing volume. We still don’t know much about why we play and why., but he explains what is known. He uses fascinating anecdotes and theories from all groups in the animal kingdom. The chapters devoted to science, genetics and natural selection are entertaining and easy to understand. But my favorite were the examples and experiments featuring the most unlikely subjects, including bees and fish. The part discussing dreaming and its relationship with play was astounding (humans are not the only ones who talk in our sleep - what I learned here is amazing!). For animal lovers and science readers alike, this is a wonderful book.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Scribner.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Scribner.
September 8, 2025
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, although it mostly rehashes studies and theories that I'm already familiar with and presents conflicting arguments about what truly constitutes play. Still, it's nice to get a refresher every now and again, and I always enjoy a good animal story.
My favorite part of this book occurred near the beginning, when David Toomey's footnote anticipated one of my constant concerns/frustrations: People often say "humans and animals," as though humans are not animals. Toomey made it clear that he would like to say "humans and other animals" but will stick to the more conventional "humans and animals," to save on word count and with the understanding that humans are definitely animals and not so separate from other species as we might think.
I also enjoyed Toomey's story of the mouse who roasted nuts in his home. I've heard people, in their search for what makes humans different from other animals, suggest that humans are the only species to cook. Whether we can properly call Toomey's anecdote or any proper experiments cooking remains a matter of debate. But it's likely that we will have to keep looking for the singular quality that sets humans apart from other animals, if indeed such a quality exists.
My favorite part of this book occurred near the beginning, when David Toomey's footnote anticipated one of my constant concerns/frustrations: People often say "humans and animals," as though humans are not animals. Toomey made it clear that he would like to say "humans and other animals" but will stick to the more conventional "humans and animals," to save on word count and with the understanding that humans are definitely animals and not so separate from other species as we might think.
I also enjoyed Toomey's story of the mouse who roasted nuts in his home. I've heard people, in their search for what makes humans different from other animals, suggest that humans are the only species to cook. Whether we can properly call Toomey's anecdote or any proper experiments cooking remains a matter of debate. But it's likely that we will have to keep looking for the singular quality that sets humans apart from other animals, if indeed such a quality exists.
September 9, 2025
very interesting book, i appreciate the open minded way the author approached concepts like animal culture and cognition while still maintaining his scientific integrity by approaching them critically without writing them off as purely ascientific anthropomorphism.
his contrast with and inclusion of humans in this evaluation is also refreshing, amid a body of literature in the field that often focuses on study of nonhuman animals without drawing contrast with humans.
i also appreciate his discussions of evolution, and that his philosophical analysis seems to hit the goldilocks zone of addressing the "why" of research methodology without waxing overly existential.
overall, 9/10, i'd recommend this book to anyone interested in animal behavior and psychology, theories of evolution, or zoology, with the caveat of recommending a mid level background knowledge of the subjects (or a willingness to pause and find definitions), as it gets a bit dense at times.
regardless, great book!
his contrast with and inclusion of humans in this evaluation is also refreshing, amid a body of literature in the field that often focuses on study of nonhuman animals without drawing contrast with humans.
i also appreciate his discussions of evolution, and that his philosophical analysis seems to hit the goldilocks zone of addressing the "why" of research methodology without waxing overly existential.
overall, 9/10, i'd recommend this book to anyone interested in animal behavior and psychology, theories of evolution, or zoology, with the caveat of recommending a mid level background knowledge of the subjects (or a willingness to pause and find definitions), as it gets a bit dense at times.
regardless, great book!
September 17, 2024
Usually I love science books, especially when they delve into philosophical issues, but I am afraid that I found this one a bit dull. Perhaps the reason is that the author is a Professor of English who is merely writing about the work of others, rather than being one of the researchers himself. His own contribution, a comparison between the concept of Play and the very different concept of Natural Selection, seems strained. By choosing his words carefully, he manages to make them sound analogous in some ways, but not in any ways that are measurable or testable, of course. He expends quite a few words on this thesis, but in the end is is just that -- a lot of words (in my opinion).
I did, however, learn that a badger den is call a sett, which proved useful in a crossword puzzle the very next day, so thanks to the author for that!
I did, however, learn that a badger den is call a sett, which proved useful in a crossword puzzle the very next day, so thanks to the author for that!
April 7, 2024
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What author David Toomey shows us in Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself, is that the animal kingdom is full of intelligent life and a place where joy can be found, if we take the time to notice.
How many people have watched funny cat-playing piano videos online to cheer them up after a less than stellar day? You cannot help but feel happy reading David Toomey’s excellent new book.
This book reveals moments of celebration, filled with interesting facts about our previously misunderstood and underestimated friends from the animal kingdom.
I highly recommend this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What author David Toomey shows us in Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself, is that the animal kingdom is full of intelligent life and a place where joy can be found, if we take the time to notice.
How many people have watched funny cat-playing piano videos online to cheer them up after a less than stellar day? You cannot help but feel happy reading David Toomey’s excellent new book.
This book reveals moments of celebration, filled with interesting facts about our previously misunderstood and underestimated friends from the animal kingdom.
I highly recommend this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 12, 2024
If play weren't so important, so advantageous, it wouldn't appear in SO many animals, and yet there's not much written for the layman about research on animal play. Toomey's book remedies that, delightfully, with a fascinating bevy of arcane facts amusingly told. This book is a thoughtful presentation of various hypothesis presented clearly and, I trust, scientifically soundly. Thank goodness there are writers who can get the spoonfuls of science sugared- up with story telling to get the freshest and most interesting contemporary research to readers like myself. I appreciated that such diverse animals, including insects, fish, birds, were included ....lots of "who knew" moments. Loved it, highly recommend.
January 19, 2025
Pondering of nature of Nature through different theories of evolution and play; Darwin's natural selection, Neo-Lamarckians and Badwin's organic selection
Plus a great pleasure reading about other animals 'play'- agree with a challenge of defining 'play' in general and measurable ways so we can study using scientific method, but also funny we need such elaborate efforts to define play when it's so obvious when you witness one.
Also interesting to note that the author is a faculty in English department (teaching history of science).
Plus a great pleasure reading about other animals 'play'- agree with a challenge of defining 'play' in general and measurable ways so we can study using scientific method, but also funny we need such elaborate efforts to define play when it's so obvious when you witness one.
Also interesting to note that the author is a faculty in English department (teaching history of science).
November 9, 2025
The nature of play is explored thru animal behavior. Unfortunately, almost inconceivably, the author seems to have found a way to actually make play seem humdrum & boring, by turning this book into an intellectualized catalog of footnotes & various studies. Like reading a textbook... Zzzzzzz … Still, there are some bright spots: my outstanding favorite is the chapter on creativity, play & dreaming (which likens dreaming to "playing without a body").
March 11, 2024
Delve into the world of animal play—as revealed by researchers studying the origins, brain-shaping effects, and evolutionary influence of play. Explore play across various species, from belly-flopping monkeys to tail-walking dolphins. This entertaining, fun-to-read book is packed with fascinating information.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
May 21, 2024
My favorite part about this book was learning that an acceptable plural for octopus is "octopodes".
My least favorite part of this book was almost every single other part of it. The sheer lack of focus on any real single point. The constant meandering between various, often unrelated, animal anecdotes. Reading this is what I'd imagine listening to someone filibuster for 7 hours would be like.
The entirety of this book's argument could be summed up by stating that animals like to play and the author would like you to make the immense stretch of imagination that is connecting play to, for reasons somewhat hazy and arbitrary, being the cause of evolution.
Also - Toomey's decision to just throw in an entire section dedicated to explaining what selkies are and a couple selkie stories for no other reason than to explain that "man and animal are connnected" was absolutely wild and infuriating to me.
My least favorite part of this book was almost every single other part of it. The sheer lack of focus on any real single point. The constant meandering between various, often unrelated, animal anecdotes. Reading this is what I'd imagine listening to someone filibuster for 7 hours would be like.
The entirety of this book's argument could be summed up by stating that animals like to play and the author would like you to make the immense stretch of imagination that is connecting play to, for reasons somewhat hazy and arbitrary, being the cause of evolution.
Also - Toomey's decision to just throw in an entire section dedicated to explaining what selkies are and a couple selkie stories for no other reason than to explain that "man and animal are connnected" was absolutely wild and infuriating to me.
July 26, 2024
(Please note that my reviews are intended to be notes to myself - my memory is failing, and I need reminders about books I want to reread and books I didn’t finish. My reviews are not intended to be particularly useful for other readers.)
Didn’t finish.
Not what I expected - which would’ve been more stories of animals playing.
Didn’t finish.
Not what I expected - which would’ve been more stories of animals playing.
August 10, 2024
Insightful, often humorous and informative without ever becoming tedious this book explores the importance of play in the development and evolution of animals.
The writing is engaging, full of anecdotes, theories and studies that try to explain why animals play, what function it has in their lives and how it evolves. It is an informative and very pleasant read, fantastically narrated by Jaques Roy.
If you're interested in biology or science in general, this book is a good choice.
The writing is engaging, full of anecdotes, theories and studies that try to explain why animals play, what function it has in their lives and how it evolves. It is an informative and very pleasant read, fantastically narrated by Jaques Roy.
If you're interested in biology or science in general, this book is a good choice.
December 21, 2024
really enjoyed this! I was very new to this as an academic concept beyond a brief study of play as a concept in humans but this book was really enjoyable and accessible as someone who doesn’t read a huge amount of academic literature! nicely balanced theory with interesting stories and case studies
October 1, 2025
This provides a summary of a lot of scientific studies with a huge bibliography section of each study cited. It isore of a surface level or pop science style book but it's interesting and cute and provides a little information about a lot of things which is fun and accessible to people who don't have previous knowledge on the subject.
August 28, 2024
An interesting concept and book on play behaviors in animals and its history of study. It got repetitive at times and by the end I lost some interest but overall a decent book if you’re interested in animals
November 26, 2024
This may explain why the boys have been play-fighting since we got back to in-person schooling after covid. They used to grow out of it by high school but they seem to have missed a few crucial years.
November 8, 2025
A light, quick, and enjoyable read. I was surprised to find it something of a bridge between Frans de Waal's _Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?_ and Andreas Wagner's _ Arrival of the Fittest_.
March 30, 2024
An educational and entertaining read about the numerous and sundry ways that non human animals play.
Want to read
April 17, 2024A book for animal lovers. If you are a animal person this book is for you!
May 3, 2024
Science can be fun! And fun can be science!
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