Secret Spaces of Childhood

by Elizabeth N. Goodenough (Editor)

Whether it's real or imaginary, every child has a secret space, and this remarkable book explores them all. For some it's a treehouse or a hidden spot beneath a bush; for others it's a private psychic refuge--a favorite book, or a dollhouse that becomes a stage for a young imagination. As the more than four dozen pieces collected here reveal, such spaces play a key role in a child's development and retain a symbolic power that resonates throughout our adult lives. No reader will put this book down without experiencing a rush of familiar memories and new insights into that bygone world.

Poet Diane Ackerman evokes that "parallel universe behind the eyes / which no one shared, or dare discover"; Paul Brodeur recalls the "fort" where he and his brother defended Cape Cod against invaders in World War II; Nobelist Wole Soyinka offers a poignant verse portrait of Africa's lost children; and Paul West remembers youthful encounters with his eccentric neighbors Edith and Osbert Sitwell. Elsewhere, Robert Coles summons up memories of his first years as a doctor and a wise young patient who taught him a lesson he has never forgotten, and Mary Galbraith shows how childhood loss is transformed into art in Ludwig Bemelmans's classic Madeline. And these are just a few of the gems in a treasury that includes Anne Frank, the controversial photographs of Sally Mann and the crudely eloquent drawings of young South African refugees, clinical case studies and profoundly personal imagery.

A perceptive, thought-provoking work for general readers, Secret Spaces of Childhood opens a wonderful window on the world of the young.

Elizabeth Goodenough is Lecturer in Comparative Literature, the Residential College, University of Michigan.

Genres: Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2003

Reviews

[Jody Rambo]

this book has left me a little obsessed with the desire to get my children playing outdoors everyday. with a backyard the size of a tennis court, we're planning "secret spaces" upwards, dreaming of treehouses, and three-story forts.(question is, will i let them play in it or want it to myself.)

[Akilah]

I read this for class. I liked quite a few of the reflections on secret spaces, but a lot were really boring/dense/uninteresting. The introduction was a chore to get through. I knew what she was talking about, but it seemed to be all over the place. And the last story was awful. Really not a good note to end on at all.

[Annie Waddoups]

I loved this book when I read it several years ago so I'm pulling it back out as I think about my own and my kids' secret spaces. Goodenough compiled essays, photos, and poetry commemorating those hidden secret places where some of the magic of childhood takes place.

[Elizabeth]

I love this book!