Russ (child clinical psychology, Case Western Reserve U.) posits that pretend play in childhood has an integral role in adult creativity by introducing the child to the creative experience and nurturing cognitive and affective processes central to creativity. She reviews the evolutionary, psychoanalytic, and developmental theories of pretend play and creativity and the cognitive and affective processes involved (with transcripts of children's play for illustration), and presents case studies of adults like Steve Jobs, Barbara McClintock, Temple Grandin, Bob Dylan, Stanley Kunitz, and Frida Kahlo that look at the processes involved in science, technology, and the arts. She also details how to facilitate pretend play and creativity with children at home and in school, and cultural differences (particularly between the US and Italy) and changes in play over the past 23 years, including the impact of video games. Annotation ©2014 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)