The World of Children (2nd Edition)

For the undergraduate child development course taught chronologically.

The World of Children is a  chronological child development textbook by Joan Littlefield Cook and Greg Cook that helps students connect the science and the practice of child development in a way that can positively change lives. This exciting new text features an active learning system that exposes students to real people facing real world child development challenges, and encourages them to think critically about issues from multiple perspectives.

The World of Children demonstrates the practical applications of child development through interviews with a diverse group of real parents and a variety of professionals who rely upon child development information in their jobs. Each chapter also spotlights the ways programs, laws, regulations, and other governing aspects of society can affect children.

Looking for additional resources to help you understand the material and succeed in this course? MyDevelopmentLab contains study tools such as flashcards, self tests, videos, as well as MyVirtualChild which allows you to raise your own virtual child from birth through age 18 and monitor the results. 

Want to learn more about MyVirtualChild? Visit www.mydevelopmentlab.com and click on the ‘watch this video’ link to learn about MyVirtualChild.

MyDevelpmentLab with MyVirtualChild is available at www.mydevelopmentlab.com.

Greg Cook is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Greg majored in Psychology at the University of Dayton and later received his Ph.D. in Psychology at Vanderbilt University. For over 20 years he has taught courses in child development, research methods, statistics, and related topics at Whitewater as well as at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Vanderbilt University. At Whitewater Greg received a department award and also a College of Letters and Sciences award for excellence in teaching. Students consistently comment on his ability to present difficult information in a clear and understandable way. Greg’s research on cognitive development has been published in scholarly journals such as Child Development, Developmental Psychology, and the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. He also collaborated with colleagues in the College of Education on studies published in the Journal of Experimental Education, the Journal of Research & Development in Education, and the Journal of Reading Education. Greg is a former chairperson in the Department of Psychology and has also worked in the Associate Dean’s Office in his college, and currently serves as as Director of Academic Assessment.  Teaching students in face-to-face and in online formats is still his main passion.

Joan Littlefield Cook is a Professor of Psychology and current chairperson of the Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. As an undergraduate she majored in Psychology at Tennessee Technological University. She earned a Master’s and Ph.D. in Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University.  Joan has taught courses for more than 20 years related to child and adolescent development, educational psychology, and cognitive psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Middle Tennessee State University. Her classes have ranged from large lecture courses with 250 students to small seminars. Students have always appreciated her knowledge of the field and her ability to present information in a way that is useful, motivating, and friendly. The Student Association at the University of Wisconsin-Madison voted her as one of their most outstanding professors, and the UW-Whitewater Psychology Student Organization presented her with their Excellence in Teaching Award. Joan's research is on mathematical problem solving and cognitive development. She and her colleagues have published papers in the Cognition & Instruction, Journal of Educational Psychology, Intelligence, Memory & Cognition, the Gifted Child Quarterly, and the Journal of Experimental Psychology. She has co-authored two other books and numerous instructional materials.

Greg and Joan also co-authored Child Development: Principles and Perspectives, a fresh and widely-acclaimed textbook (published by Allyn & Bacon) that explores child development within a topical framework.