Letting Play Bloom

“Lolly Tai’s beautiful book reminds me how fortunate I was growing up building forts and tree houses in the nearby woods, engaging in ‘risky play.’ In this increasingly urbanized world, more and more children have limited opportunities to play in the wild. Letting Play Bloom inspires us by thoroughly documenting the creation of five exemplary playgrounds. These play spaces provide examples of how we can create challenging environments that will foster children’s development through the transformative aspects of nature.”—Andrea Cochran, Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects

“For far too long we have been constrained by regulations that inhibit creative design, resulting in too many places that inhibit creative play. Letting Play Bloom is beautiful, thoughtful, and delightful to read—and combined with all the recent technical and cultural advances in the practice of landscape architecture, it should lead us into a new era where we are designing places for children that exceed our wildest dreams. Letting Play Bloom is the book I’ve long been waiting for.”—W. Gary Smith, Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and author of From Art to Landscape: Unleashing Creativity in Garden Design

"Letting Play Bloom artfully presents issues in balancing creative—some say risky—free play with imagination and safety. It importantly differentiates risky from unsafe play and offers examples from around the world. Five extensive case studies, illustrated with analysis, plans, and beautiful images, explore the process of designing successful nature-based risky play areas. From the creative materials of Adventure Playground to the nature-based de Speeldernis and designed landscape of Slide Hill, readers will learn from exemplary (and fun!) projects."—Mark A. Focht, Past-President of the American Society of Landscape Architects

“Lolly Tai’s Letting Play Bloom pulls back the curtain on designing for risky play—and moves the conversation from why to how. The five unique case studies provide a sampling of blueprints that will empower anyone who designs public spaces to enhance the relevance of their work for children and families. I highly recommend this book.”—Erin Marteal, Executive Director of the Ithaca Children’s Garden

"In this colorful book, Tai details two important themes in scholarship on child's play: nature-based play and risky play. She examines five world-famous public playgrounds in depth.... With more than 200 color photographs this scholarly but accessible text will be a welcome resource for a range of readers, including but not limited to landscape artists, those involved with regulatory apparatuses, and advocates of free play and imaginative play.... [T]his is a solid addition to the literature on playgrounds, a growing genre, and for anyone interested in public playgrounds worldwide.... Summing Up: Recommended."—Choice

"Letting Play Bloom offers [Tai's] most important observations yet around the particularly necessary and increasingly rare type known as risky play.... [T]he book is a solid resource for any landscape architect practicing in this area."—Landscape Architecture Magazine