Tales from the Playground – playwork stories from contemporary adventure playgrounds

Tales from the Playground – playwork stories from contemporary adventure playgrounds is a unique collection of international narratives from adventure playgrounds, those most mythical of spaces for children. The book provides a rare glimpse into twelve modern adventure playgrounds (or ‘junk playgrounds’ as invented by CT Sorensen), the staff and volunteers who nurture them and the children and families who treasure them. Each chapter reflects the individuality – and sometimes even eccentricity – of the adventure playgrounds themselves, weaving together history, theory, practice and personal testimony to bring each playground to life in the context of their individual social, historical, political and cultural landscapes.

Tales from the Playground includes chapters from playworkers working on adventure playgrounds in Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, UK and USA. It is illustrated throughout with colour photographs which show the similarities and differences between adventure playgrounds around the world.

This book dispels the commonly-held belief that ‘you can’t let them play like that anymore’ and that real adventure playgrounds, where children build, dig, create and generally take control of their own affairs, are a thing of the past. Tales from the Playground provides a rich resource for practitioners, parents and researchers who want to know more about the possibilities that the adventure playground concept offers for increasing children’s freedom. From small scale adventure projects in Shanghai to an internationally renowned Texan school, and from a former goat farm in France to pop-up projects at festivals across the UK, these ‘tales’ challenge the adult world to consider how the adult imagination can either hem children in – or set them free.

The cover is from an original painting by Donne Buck, an adventure playground worker in the UK from 1957 – 1980s. The foreword is written by Donne’s brother, Graeme Buck. The book also includes an introduction by Angus Gorrie, who originally came up with the idea of uniting international adventure playgrounds in one illustrated volume.