Cool Spaces for kids: creative indoor and outdoor spaces for children of all ages by Sam Scarborough

While this book is shelved in the home-decorating area of the library, it would be almost as appropriate in the Parenting collection. The author provides 20 ideas on “transforming everyday areas into fantasy play spaces for children to explore.” Divided into four sections to exphasize outside, favorite, activity and quiet spaces. The book was published in Great Britain earlier this year, but except for some British spellings of a few words and phrases (”“colourful” or laundry pegs instead of clothes pins) the ideas will transfer to our local Kansas homes quite nicely.

Since I’m not much on fancy decor, the section that inspired me most was on activity spaces for children. Creating a play cupboard allows for a typical play scenario (kitchen, tool workshop, dress up, etc.) to be enclosed in a large cabinet that opens to reveal the scene but closes to clean up again. I love that concept! The idea for turning a small bookshelf into a doll house was also simple and practical. My favorite idea, and the one that I am sure I will be making for my household soon, is the doorway-hanging puppet theatre curtain. Basically just a sheet of fabric with an open window and small curtains added, it can hang from eyehooks in the doorframe or an old tension rod across the doorway. What an imaginative way to transform a space to encourage creative play!

Not all of the ideas seem practical for using with children, and some of the do-it-yourself instructions could be adapted for more pre-assembled supplies for those readers who are less crafty. The photo (page 114) of a child in a starched white dress pouring bottles of food coloring into a giant tub of water to “watch as it makes fascinating patterns” made me cringe a bit, as I imagined how the child would look once they gave in to the temptation to touch that pretty water. Overall, this book is inspiring, the ideas are well presented and the photographs of children in the attractively decorated homes are very appealing too.