This clearly written and generously illustrated book unravels how children make sense of place. The author demonstrates that, either at birth or shortly after, all children are natural environmental mappers and protogeographers. Matthews, a geographer who is equally at ease with psychological research, also makes valuable suggestions on how adults can make provisions for play and schooling which take into account children's environmental needs and capabilities. This is the most comprehensive, and current, work to date on the psychology of children's understanding of geography.