For children in Portsmouth, the 1950s was an exciting time. With the war over and a renewed enthusiasm in the air, life was good. There was a range of entertainment – as well as day trips and holidays to the beach, families could relax in front of the television, enjoy their favourite stars on the big screen and dance along to the radio. For Valerie Reilly, the '50s was a time of celebration of national, local and personal events, which she recalls in absorbing detail here. If you remember the docks, trips to Southsea and exploring bombed-out buildings, then you'll enjoy this charming look back at an exciting era.

Full of the warmth and excitement of growing up in the 1950s, awakening nostalgia for times that seemed cosy and carefree with families at last enjoying peacetime, this book is packed with the experience of school days, playtime, holidays, toys, games, clubs and hobbies conjuring up the genuine atmosphere of a bygone era. As the decade progressed, rationing ended and children's pocket money was spent on goodies like Chocstix, Spangles, Wagon Wheels and Fry's Five Boys. Television brought Bill and Ben, The Adventures of Robin Hood and, for teenagers, The Six-Five Special, along with coffee bars and rock 'n' roll. This book opens a window on an exciting period of optimism, when anything seemed possible, described by the children and teenagers who experienced it. Liverpool's traditional sense of community, strengthened by the war years, provided a secure background from which children and teenagers could welcome a second Elizabethan era.

This international handbook gives a comprehensive overview of findings from longstanding and contemporary research, theory, and practices in early childhood education in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The first volume of the handbook addresses theory, methodology, and the research activities and research needs of particular regions. The second volume examines in detail innovations and longstanding programs, curriculum and assessment, and conceptions and research into child, family and communities. The two volumes of this handbook address the current theory, methodologies and research needs of specific countries and provide insight into existing global similarities in early childhood practices. By paying special attention to what is happening in the larger world contexts, the volumes provide a representative overview of early childhood education practices and research, and redress the current North-South imbalance of published work on the subject.

Images of America: Portsmouth, Virginia is an educational and entertaining volume that will delight residents and visitors as well as lovers of history everywhere. Located in heart of the Chesapeake Bay at the zero milepost on the Intracoastal Waterway, Portsmouth's five historic districts and its thriving downtown are living landmarks, reminding onlookers of the gracious living, perilous times, and exciting events that often played a crucial role in the life of the nation. Here the last Colonial governor of Virginia took refuge, and here Lord Cornwallis garrisoned his British troops before going to Yorktown, where his defeat gave birth to the United States. Here the first ironclad ship, the first battleship, and the first aircraft carrier were designed and built, and here the wounded from all of America's wars since 1830 have been brought to recover at Portsmouth's naval hospital. Vintage photographs within these pages capture the everyday lives of almost four centuries of residents. The ferries that connected Portsmouth to nearby Norfolk, the trains that made it the gateway to the South, and the city's center-its commercial district-all come alive through the images. Focusing on the Olde Towne historic district, the Naval Hospital, the Naval Shipyard, and the downtown area district, this volume provides a tour of the quaint structures of the oldest part of the city and preserves part of the nation's heritage. Author, and lifelong Portsmouth resident, Robert Albertson draws together postcards, photographs, paintings, and engravings that capture the drama of the city's past and disclose the charm of its neighborhoods.

At the heart of this volume is the recognition that children’s engagement with play and story are intrinsically and intricately linked. The contributing authors share a passionate interest in the development and well-being of children, in particular through their use of imagination and adaptation of the everyday into play and stories. Following these principles, the volume explores the connections between play, story, and pretense with regard to many cultural and contextual factors that influence the way these elements vary in children’s lives. In a departure from earlier collections on play and story, the authors take a particular focus on normative as compared with atypical development. This collection begins with an approach to understanding the developmental relationship between play and story, which recognizes their similarities while acknowledging their differences. Much of the collection addresses pretend play and story in children with autism spectrum disorder, an understudied but important group for consideration, as these dimensions of their lives and development have often been considered problematic. The volume also includes sections on play and story in classroom settings and play and story across cultures, including non-English-speaking environments such as Israel, Romania, China, and Mexico. It concludes with a discussion of how play differs across sociocultural and economic contexts, making a unifying claim for the importance of play in children’s lives but also calling for an understanding of what play means to very different groups of children.