Bers (child development, computer science, Tufts University) shows how to use LEGO robots in the early childhood classroom to allow children to explore complex concepts in a concrete and fun way. She also addresses how this technology engages sensorimotor and socioemotional skills in young children. In the first part of the book, she deals with the broad issue of children and technology; in the second part of the book, she looks at the issue of developmentally appropriate practice with robotics. Vignettes demonstrate projects in real kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. Sample curriculum starter activities are included, along with forms and charts that children can use to chronicle the progress of their projects. The material is based on the work of the author's mentor, Seymour Papert, who argues that, when children create their own objects that integrate the mechanical with the electronic, their inventions give rise to a new mode of understanding the concepts of space, time, and causality, which Papert calls "constructionism." Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)