For three decades, Corsaro (sociology, Indiana U., Bloomington) has conducted intensive ethnographic fieldwork on the culture of children. In this comparative analysis, he explores private middle-class preschools and government-supported Head Start programs for economically disadvantaged children in the U.S., and public preschools in Italy. He finds that children from all three groups want to gain control over their lives and share that sense of control with their peers, but they differ in their interpersonal styles of interaction, formation and maintenance of friendships, and strategies for engaging in and settling conflicts. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)