Magic Trees of the Mind

Marian Diamond has taught for more than thirty years at U.C. Berkeley, where she directed the Lawrence Hall of Science. She is the author of Magic Trees of the Mind, Enriching Heredity and The Human Brain Coloring Book.Janet Hopson is a journalist, editor, and columnist for Science News and Outside magazines, as well as the New York Times, Smithsonian, Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, Psychology Today, and Cosmopolitan. She is the author of six books, including The Nature of Life and Scent Signals: The Silent Language of Sex.

“Wonderful… an excellent resource and activity guide for children ages one through twelve.”—Rebecca Shore, Baby Teacher: Nurturing Neural Networks from Birth to Age Five  “More than 35 years ago, Marian Diamond, a distinguished neuroanatomist in Berkeley, was part of a University of California research team whose imaginative experiments yielded a wealth of insights into rat behavior—and later into the plasticity of the growing human brain. A consequence of that groundbreaking research, and much that followed, is this remarkable book—both a guide for perplexed parents and an absorbing tale of scientific discovery. Its provocative subtitle offers a promise that the authors fulfill abundantly.”—David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle  “Diamond and Hopson bring hard science up to the standards of common sense… Diamond, a researcher at UC-Berkeley, and science journalist Hopson bring a clear and steady gaze to material that could have overwhelmed less able writers. The valuable nearly 100-page resource guide includes extensive lists of recommended books and toys for children grouped by age level and by gender.”—Publishers Weekly

• Magic Trees of the MindPrologue and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Experience Is the Best Sculptor1: Trees That Grow So Fair: Neural Forests of the Mind2: An Enchanted Thing: The Brain's Network of Connections3: Feed My Brain: Influences in the WombAn Enrichment Program for the Unborn Child4: Dreaming Eyes of Wonder: Nurturing the Very YoungAn Enrichment Program for Babies and Toddlers5: These Become Part of the Child: Stimulating the Mind in the Preschool YearsAn Enrichment Program for Preschool Children6: Letting the Future In: The Power Of Experience in Middle ChildhoodAn Enrichment Program for Grade School Children7: Plant Another Tree: Continuing Mental Development in AdolescenceAn Enrichment Program for Teenagers8: Learning Not by Chance: Enrichment in the Classroom9: As Morning Shows the Day: How Social Factors Shape Future MindsResource Guide: Additional Tools for Enrichment Articles / Books / Organizations / On-line Resources / Catalogs and Commercial Sources / Parent-Recommended Enrichment ToolsNotesIndex