
Transcriber’s Note:
PREFACE.
I. INTRODUCTORY.
II. THE AGE OF IMAGINATION.
III. THE DAWN OF REASON.
IV. PRODUCTS OF CHILD-THOUGHT.
V. THE LITTLE LINGUIST.
VI. SUBJECT TO FEAR.
VII. RAW MATERIAL OF MORALITY.
VIII. UNDER LAW.
A careful observer of young minds invites listeners into a series of compact essays that blend scholarly exactness with a warm, conversational tone. Written for psychologists, parents and teachers alike, the book offers a vivid snapshot of how children experience the world in their earliest years, without demanding prior expertise.
The author walks through the stages of imagination, showing how play transforms ordinary objects into story‑landscapes, then moves on to the dawning of reason, early language experiments and the shy emergence of logical thought. Later chapters explore the origins of fear, the first stirrings of morality, and the surprising talent children display for drawing and appreciating beauty. Personal diary excerpts and real‑world observations give each idea a lived, relatable texture.
Overall, the work feels like a gentle guide that respects the complexity of childhood while remaining readable and engaging, making it a valuable companion for anyone curious about the foundations of thought and feeling in young people.
Language
en
Duration
~17 hours (1035K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by KD Weeks, Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
May 18, 2020
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1842–1923
A key early psychologist in Britain, he helped bring the study of mind and childhood into public view through clear, lively books. His work ranges from philosophy and illusion to some of the best-known writing on child observation in the late 19th century.
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