Playful

Book excerpt: What would you do if you woke up today and realized you once had a chest of jewels, but you’d forgotten and left them behind somewhere? Playful is a treasure map for regaining what’s often discarded in growing up: pure, unstructured play – no rules, no goals. This book thus provides treatment for a societal disorder, Preadolescent-onset Loss of Playfulness (POLOP). The format: an illustrated dialogue between Warren and elle, twelve chapters of a teasing debate. Topics include singing and songwriting, drawing without judgement, jokes, masks, and making messes. Warren and elle assert that these arts are too important to be left to “professionals.” (This also applies to the simple illustrations by the author, a non-artist.) Playful points the reader to multiple paths that enliven the spirit, via a dialogue that’s wide-ranging, flirtatious and fun.