Books about Playful from Amazon.com

Witty, one-of-a-kind imaginative cupcake designs using candies from the local convenience store.

America's favorite food photography team, responsible for the covers of America's top magazines, shows how to create funny, scary, and sophisticated masterpieces, using a zipper lock bag and common candies and snack items.With these easy-to-follow techniques, even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can

• raise a big-top circus cupcake tier for a kid's birthday
• plant candy vegetables on Oreo earth cupcakes for a garden party
• trot out a line of confectionery "pupcakes" for a dog fancier
• serve sausage and pepperoni pizza cupcakes for April Fool's Day
• bewitch trick-or-treaters with chilly ghost chocolate cupcakes
• create holidays on icing with turkey cupcake place cards, a white cupcake Christmas wreath, and Easter egg cupcakes

No baking skills or fancy pastry equipment is required. Spotting the familiar items in the hundreds of brilliant photos is at least half the fun..
Price: $10.27 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If missionary has become monotonous, and doggy has gotten dull, then turn to the Sex Deck. Tonight, skip the same-old-same-old and give Leg Wrap, Easy Rider, or The Sun Worshiper a try. This provocative and inspiring deck from the international best-seller, The Lover's Guide, offers over 50 ways for lovers to spice up their sex play. Pull a card at random for some steamy spontaneity, leave a suggestion in a lover's briefcase or purse, or slip it under their pillow..
Price: $5.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Tag, you're it! In Playful Parenting, Lawrence Cohen demonstrates that parents need to lighten up and spend a few hours giggling with their kids. Play is inherently educational for children, he claims, and parents can learn plenty by examining the games kids play--from peekaboo to practical jokes.

Cohen is quick to point out that no matter what your child's temperament, she has a playful side. In its most basic form, play is a way to communicate. The author examines, with plenty of hilarious personal anecdotes, the details of play at every age and across genders. From his daughter and a new male friend discussing how "cool" nuclear weapons are and how "gross" a love song is, to a younger child zooming full-speed around a park at a birthday party, we're shown the exuberant truth behind playing: not only is it just plain fun, it can spark a variety of important sensations. One short section discusses the common phenomenon of happy giggling turning instantly to tears. Cohen suggests that "the fun play opens the emotional door to let out the giggles, and a flood of other feelings come pouring out after." Some specific ideas for games are included, and you'll find recommendations for everything from play wrestling to gentle storytelling. One chapter focuses on how to cope with play you don't find enjoyable, and how learning to appreciate these games can lead to surprising emotional insights. This is where Cohen's years of practice come in handy--it may be true that we all play, but not everyone immediately grasps the underlying messages. This is not simply a book filled with family activities, but rather an exploration of play for all ages. --Jill Lightner.
Price: $8.07 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Every dog owner must make a choice: Do you want a fearful and submissive pet, or do you want a happy, joyful, and well-mannered member of the family?

Tamar Geller's mission in life is to teach her cruelty-free method of "life coaching" for dogs and their people. Her revolutionary play-training uses mutual understanding and respect -- and puts an end to outdated methods that rely on physical exhaustion, choke chains, prong collars, dominance rollovers, or stressful aggression of any kind.

A former Israeli intelligence officer who witnessed the horrors of military dog training methods, Tamar went on to observe wolves in the wild. She discovered that wolves educate and socialize their cubs with games, bonding, and body language, not dominance or punishment. As a result, she developed teaching systems that address a dog's authentic nature, part wolflike and part toddlerlike. Learning can be a positive experience that dogs enjoy and look forward to, and we can actually make it fun for our dogs to listen to us and behave as we want them to.

Tamar's insights have brought dog training into the twenty-first century, and her groundbreaking techniques have won the approval of the Humane Society of the United States, for which she is a longtime advisor. Her celebrity clients include Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Courteney Cox-Arquette, Owen Wilson, and the Osbournes, and she has appeared as an expert on the Today show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Animal Planet, and more.

In The Loved Dog, Tamar gives you all the instruction, insights, and tips you need to teach your dog good manners, as well as to troubleshoot specific problems and unwanted behaviors. She helps you and your dog learn a common language, resulting in a loving, respectful relationship that will bring you years of joy and companionship. Tamar's play-training approach is so gentle, even children can get involved.

Whether you use Tamar's methods to raise a puppy or teach an old dog new tricks, you'll love The Loved Dog..
Price: $6.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $9.03 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Making the Brain Body Connection is one of the top 100 best selling books in Cognitive Psychology, and has been embraced by the mass market and professionals alike for its playful, yet effective, approach to changing behavior, enhancing performance & increasing learning potential. Based on the latest neuroscience this international best seller provides a comprehensive array of techniques, pulled from eastern and western health practices, to help you feel better, be more effective and deal with life changes easily & effectively. The book culminates with the 10 Step Change Process, providing a strong framework for working through any personal issue effectively. Making the Brain/Body Connection gives readers a clear understanding of the elements necessary to achieve permanent change in how they feel and perform, and a template that can be used to deal with all aspects of their life. A practical and completely refreshing way to approach the mind-body connection, this book is designed and cartoon illustrated for brain friendly reading and quick reference..
Price: $11.78 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Every parent’s dream—the secrets of acclaimed kindergarten teachers revealed!

Countless parents have imagined how much easier life would be if they could get their children to listen and cooperate at home just as they do with their favorite teachers.

This book offers creative tips and activities from award-winning teachers nationwide, detailing the simple techniques they use, why they work, and how to adapt them for use at home. For example, good teachers would never demand their students’ attention by instructing them to “Listen!”—but they might say, “Put on your elephant ears.” And instead of telling them to “Walk quietly,” they might remind them to “Wear your marshmallow feet.”

The book also helps parents of 3- to 6-year-olds support their child’s development the way the best early childhood teachers do—by fostering independence and self-reliance. Parents learn to:

• Understand how children grow and develop
• Realize the importance of rules and controlling Frustration
• Organize their household and create routines
• Handle transitions smoothly
• Give children tools to resolve problems themselves
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Price: $7.66 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $11.80 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Picture a childhood void of the joyful images and sensations we associate with play--a childhood lacking in curiosity, diversity and symbolic meaning--a childhood without playmates or friends. Children on the autism spectrum are among those who face serious challenges learning how to play in both social and imaginative ways.

But no longer do these children have to remain lost souls on the fringes of playgrounds and other social gathering places. In Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination, Pamela Wolfberg turns her award-winning research into a practical manual for practitioners and caregivers seeking to address the unique and complex challenges children on the autism spectrum experience.

This practical guide offers an introduction to the basic principles, tools and techniques that comprise the Integrated Play Groups model, designed to support children of diverse ages and abilities on the autism spectrum (novice players) in mutual play experiences with typical peers and siblings (expert players). Small groups of children regularly play together under the guidance of an adult facilitator (play guide) through a carefully tailored system of support. The emphasis is on maximizing children's developmental potential as well as intrinsic desire to play, socialize and form meaningful relationships with peers. At the same time, an equally important focus is on teaching the peer group to be more accepting, responsive and inclusive of children who relate and play in different ways. This innovative book is full of forms, checklists and other tools to facilitate implementation..
Price: $27.16 [Notify me when price goes down.]