Some New Variations on a Recent Theme

Reviews the book, The Child: An Introduction to Developmental Psychology by Deborah Lott Holmes and Frederick J. Morrison (1979). This textbook is very clear and straightforward, which may be both its principal strength--readability--and its major weakness--lack of novel interest. Its major appeal will be to instructors looking for a complete overview of child development that touches "all the bases." In addition to its clear style, this book has several strengths to increase its appeal. Unfortunately, the book's several strong points are well matched by some troublesome limitations: the first of these is the flip side of a strength. The straightforward, clear prose tends to become dull as one reads on. There is not enough variation in vocabulary and sentence style to hold interest, and really descriptive and interesting examples are missing. The book is not much fun to read. A couple of other weaknesses are more minor but annoying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)