The first thing that I noticed about this new, fourth edition, of this book is the full colour illustrations and beautiful layout. This makes it almost impossible not to pick up and look through, as well as giving prominence to the reflection points and practical suggestions.

It still has all the well phrased and very useful information that previous editions had (see full review here) but with the addition of chapters on Independent Thinkers (chapter 6); Nurturing Dispositions to Learn (chapter 10); Achieving Self Regulated Behaviour (chapter 12) and Vulnerable Children and Fragile Families (chapter 16).

As you might expect from the chapter titles, these are some of the more complex and problematic issues that practitioners will have to deal with. However, Marion Dowling has, as ever, handled these delicate topics with sensitivity, solid research and perception.

For example, ‘In order to access the treasures in young children’s thoughts, we must be prepared to observe their behaviour, note their actions, listen to them closely, and then take an inspired leap into their minds’ (p. 84) and ‘Children must be secure in the knowledge that they are loved, despite their wrong actions’ (p. 170).

The new edition of this seminal book has so much new information and such an engaging new format, that I would recommend it to you – even if you already have one of the earlier issues.

** NOW ** You can win a FREE copy of this excellent book, by entering this competition: https://www.kathybrodie.com/giveaways/psed/

But hurry, it closes on 31st October 2014

You can buy a copy of the Young Children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development 4th Edition here

Disclaimer: I was lucky enough to get a preview copy for free.