這本書是基於兩位作者對70多位國際學術專家和教育家的訪談而創作的。本書包括我們在美國、芬蘭、加拿大、新加坡、澳大利亞、新西蘭、日本、中國、冰島、挪威、瑞典、英格蘭、蘇格蘭、克羅地亞和世界各地的學校及幼兒園實地考察期間，與教師、家長和學生的進行的觀察和對話；以及我們對有關兒童教育和玩耍的廣泛研究文獻的批判性評論。
我們感謝這些專家慷慨地同意與我們分享他們的想法、觀點和研究發現。他們是：
Abrams,S.E.(2011,January 17).The children must play.The New Republic.Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/82329/education-reform-finland-us.
Barros,R.M.,Silver,E.J.,& Stein,R.E.K.(2009).School recess and group classroom behavior.Pediatrics,123(2),431–436.
Bassok,D.,Claessens,A.,& Engel,M.(2014,June 4).The case for the new kindergarten:Challenging and playful.Education Week.Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/06/04/33bassok_ ep.h33.html.
Baumer,S.,Ferholt,B.,& Lecusay,R.(2005).Promoting narrative competence through adult–child joint pretense:Lessons from the Scandinavian educational practice of playworld.Cognitive Development,20,576–590.
Becker,D.R.,McClelland,M.M.,Loprinzi,P.,& Trost,S.G.(2014).Physical activity,self-regulation,and early academic achievement in preschool children.Early Education & Development,25(1),56–70.
Bickham,D.,Kavanaugh,J.,Alden,S.,& Rich,M.(2015).The state of play:How play affects developmental outcomes.Center on Media and Child Health,Boston Children’s Hospital.
Bodrova,E.,Germeroth,C.,& Leong,D.J.(2013).Play and self-regulation:Lessons from Vygotsky.American Journal of Play,6(1),111.
Bodrova,E.,& Leong,D.J.(2015).Vygotskian and post-Vygotskian views on children’s play.American Journal of Play,7,371–388.
Bonawitz,E.,Shafto,P.,Gweon,H.,Goodman,N.D.,Spelke,E.,& Schulz,L.(2011).The double-edged sword of pedagogy:Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery.Cognition,120(3),322–330.