On our current reading list!

This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it.” - Marilynne Robinson

At See Saw Do, we aim to cultivate curiosity and to continually to strive to experience the world with a sense of wonder.

Part of expanding our understanding of ourselves, our community, city and the world is reading!

Below is a list of books on our bookshelf and wishlist:

THE LANGUAGE OF CITIES

by Deyan Sudjik

We live in a world that is now predominantly urban. So how do we define the city as it evolves in the 21st century? Drawing examples from across the globe, Deyan Sudjic decodes the underlying forces that shape our cities, such as resources and land, to the ideas that shape conscious elements of design, whether of buildings or of space. Erudite and entertaining, he considers the differences between capital cities and the rest to understand why it is that we often feel more comfortable in our identities as Londoners, Muscovites, or Mumbaikars than in our national identities.

THE GENDERED BRAIN: THE NEW NEUROSCIENCE THAT SHATTERS THE MYTH OF THE FEMALE BRAIN.

by Gina Rippon

Drawing on her work as a professor of cognitive neuroimaging, Gina Rippon unpacks the stereotypes that bombard us from our earliest moments and shows how these messages mould our ideas of ourselves and even shape our brains. Taking us back through centuries of sexism, The Gendered Brain reveals how science has been misinterpreted or misused to ask the wrong questions. Instead of challenging the status quo, we are still bound by outdated stereotypes and assumptions. However, by exploring new, cutting-edge neuroscience, Rippon urges us to move beyond a binary view of our brains and instead to see these complex organs as highly individualised, profoundly adaptable and full of unbounded potential.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING LITTLE

by Erika Christakis

A bold challenge to the conventional wisdom about early childhood, with a pragmatic program to encourage parents and teachers to rethink how and where young children learn best by taking the child’s eye view of the learning environment In her pathbreaking book, Christakis explores what it’s like to be a young child in America today, in a world designed by and for adults. With school-testing mandates run amok, playfulness squeezed, and young children increasingly pathologized for old-fashioned behaviors like daydreaming and clumsiness, it’s easy to miss what’s important about the crucial years of three to six, and the kind of guidance preschoolers really need. Christakis provides a forensic and far-reaching analysis of today’s whole system of early learning, exploring pedagogy, history, science, policy, and politics. She also offers a wealth of proven strategies about what to do to reimagine the learning environment to suit the child’s real, but often invisible, needs. The ideas range from accommodating children’s sense of time, to decluttering classrooms, to learning how to better observe and listen as children express themselves in pictures and words.

THE HEALING LANDSCAPE: THERAPEUTIC OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

by Martha M Tyson

Based on the principle that the physical environment has a profound effect on well-being, The Healing Landscape is a thoughtful and thorough guide to planning, designing, and building therapeutic gardens for health-care facilities and assisted-living environments. Fully illustrated with detailed descriptions, line drawings, and photographs, this step-by-step guide will enable designers and health-care professionals to work together to create harmonious outdoor spaces that can heal both the body and the spirit.Using classic design theory and people/ environment research, this unique volume covers such topics as the therapeutic aspects of landscapes ... case studies of various settings ... design goals and garden elements ... and integrating indoor and outdoor design.

A practical handbook for landscape architects, architects, planners, and facility managers who wish to make use of the healing powers of outdoor spaces.