Book source

         

Title of the book	You Can’t Say You Can’t Play
Author/ Editor	Vivian Gussin
Publisher	Paley
Year of publication	1992
City of publication	Cambridge, MA.
Mode of access	Print
Edition	N/A

5 Facts from the source (Embedded)

Because kids are influential, they are much more susceptible to fall in a bad position for themselves and in the eyes of others. “At a young age, kids get a general idea of who their peers are, and feel a sense to be like them. This can influence negative behavior later on.” (Gussin, 49)

Exclusion at a young age exiles a child from social interactions later on. “James had to stay after school with the teacher so she can ask him why he wouldn’t leave the class during recess.” (Gussin, 17)

A single friend can change the course of a child’s life, by providing an outlet outside of their home socially and personally. “A child expects others their age to interact with them as they would, and when that doesn’t happen, an immediate distance emerges between the two.” (Gussin, 28)

Parents often play a huge role in the growth of a child, if they aren’t there to guide them, serious consequences can come about. “Most single parent families simply don’t have the time to connect with each other, a sort of alienation and loss of identity builds whenever a child doesn’t receive attention from their parent, which could lead to certain issues later on in life.” (Gussin, 13)

Having friends doesn’t exactly guarantee an easier life as a child, “As a child I wondered why Dennis had so many friends at school, he was always mean to them. I later found out that his dad had left his family and wasn’t around anymore, I felt bad for him after that. I don’t know how I could go on if I lost my father.” (Gussin, 63)

Who, What, Where, Why, How?

This story is a mix between analysis written in first person by the author, and multiple short stories about kids dealing with their issues. It takes place in America but it includes immigrants as well, it tells stories of isolation, rejection, beatings, and ridicule.

Credibility of source.

After receiving her degree in psychology, Vivian Gussin taught pre-school and kindergarten for about 30 or 40 years, she learned behaviors of children and wrote numerous award winning books for her insight and understanding to children.

Bias?

I feel that Gussin’s topic is pretty much one sided, it goes straight into psychology and behavior and all that. But it does take the side of the victim more often than it should sometimes, because a lot of the time I felt that the damages portrayed in the book was definitely in the individuals control and could have been avoided. Yet at times Gussin blames some event on unrelated and random circumstances.