Clever Creations. (2001). By Dottie Zimmerman. Thinking Publications, 424 Galloway St., Eau Claire, WI 54703. 196-page workbook, $35. Reviewed by Nancy Lucker-Lazerson, Carlsbad, CA.

Clever Creations is a workbook of hands-on, developmentally appropriate activities for preschoolers (age 2–6). The activities call for the use of common objects, recyclable materials, or what the author refers to as "freebies," in a variety of ways. The activities are designed to be easy to create and to provide children with "exploration time." The activities are described as "language based", although a variety of basic concepts and early academic skills are addressed. The author bases the activities on 10 characteristics of good early childhood programs as described by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC); these characteristics describe an active, participatory learning philosophy. The author states that Clever Creations is designed for use by early-childhood educators, preschool teachers, speech-language pathologists, and parents.

Clever Creations is divided into two sections: Learning Activities and Storytelling Activities. Included with each activity is a list of the appropriate instructional setting (group size), skills, themes, materials, preparation, activity, "a little something else" (expansion activities), and a space for notes from the teacher. Age guidelines are included for each activity, as well as a chart cross-referencing the activities by skill and theme.

The skills addressed range from sorting, matching, and identifying concepts to counting, number concepts, predictions, and part-whole relationships, as well as pre-academic skills (letter recognition, rhyming).

Clever Creations includes activities that are fun, motivating, and easy to assemble. These activities appear to be most appropriate for a preschool or early childhood development classroom. While the author states that they are "language based," each activity addresses such a broad scope of skills that they would need to be fine-tuned and simplified for children with language disorders. The activities would provide good language reinforcement and opportunity for generalization of skills in a special education classroom. While the activities could be used in individual therapy, they seem to be best suited for small instructional groups. Because the activities use inexpensive, easy-to-obtain items (most parents would be able to contribute components), Clever Creations does not require an excessive amount of preparation time.

I think that this is a useful material for inclusion in a preschool classroom. The activities are developmentally appropriate, although too broad in their scope to be used without simplification for children with severe language impairments. I see limited use for Clever Creations in individual speech and language therapy, but it could be a useful program for SLPs working in preschool classrooms.