David Elkind's "The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children" should be required reading for every parent, and particularly for those who think they are giving their babies a leg up over the other babies by exposing them early and often to computer learning games, educational (e.g., Baby Einstein) videos, and specific instruction in reading and math.

Dr. Elkind, a professor of Child Development at Tufts University, brings considerable research and anecdotal evidence to bear when he shows that babies know instinctively how to learn about the world around them and that often our best efforts to speed things along, or to divert children from activities that seem tedious and repetitive to us, are at best useless and at worst harmful.

Elkind lines up with the American Pediatric Academy in recommending no screen time for children under the age of 2 and limited television and computer use for older children, because television viewing and computer use impede a child's ability to develop auditory discrimination skills since such learning as they have achieved will have been from pictures instead of from language.

"The Power of Play" also provides fascinating information about types of play universal to all children -- creating imaginary friends (or scapegoats); building forts; relentless banging or stacking activities.

I can scarcely recommend this book strongly enough to anyone in the business of educating and enjoying their own or others' children. Elkind's thorough research and carefully reasoned presentation serve to emphasize the importance and good sense of what he has to say.

'London Calling'

Time travel books often provide intriguing views into the past that may lead a reader to an enduring interest in the study of history. Just such a volume is Edward Bloor's "London Calling," which tells the story of John Martin Conway, a student at a high-toned prep school who is there because his mother works there, and who is shunned and bullied by the rich kids.

During summer vacation he retreats to the basement of his home where he spends his time sleeping and text-messaging his few friends. When he is allowed to continue his education with a home study project, he tunes in to an old radio bequeathed him by his grandmother, and finds himself keeping company with a boy named Jimmy during the Blitz in London. Johnny has traveled through time to help Jimmy, but neither boy knows how or why.

Their journey to that discovery takes the reader through the world of incendiary bombs, the Home Guard, Britain standing alone against Germany before America joined the war, and the Arsenal Football Club. Even more appealing is John's emergence from the basement and into the world of research and scholarship as he tries to discover whether what he is experiencing is fact or fantasy.

Not only is "London Calling" a good story, but it conveys the utility and pleasure of discovering and knowing.

Laura Wadley is a librarian with the Provo City Library. E-mail her at lauraw@provo.lib.ut.us.