Children's Fears, Dreams, Wishes, Daydreams, Likes, Dislikes, Pleasant and Unpleasant Memories. A Study by the Interview Method of 400 Children Aged 5 to 12: By Arthur T. Jersild, Frances V. Markey and Catherine Jersild. (Child Development Monographs No. 12. Lois Hayden Meek, Editor.) New York City: Bureau of Publications, Teacher's College, Columbia University, 1933. xl+172 p.

It is unfortunately necessary to say that despite the effort and technical care put into this statistical compilation of various phenomena in the fantasy life of children, the study yields rather barren results. The title promises much more than it fulfils, and the psychoanalyst whom it might attract is disappointed in his anticipation that here may be significant comparative statements drawn from extensive research. He finds that the most that this survey yields is corroboration of long-established psychoanalytic knowledge, usually in the form of understatement; and that where the data collected might suggest new and valuable conclusions, these are usually overlooked.

The fault of the study lies with the underlying preconceptions—or lack of them—on the part of the authors, which have placed more limitations than they recognize not only on their methods but also on their insight in appraising their data. Professor Meek considers the value of the study to be "the picture we see of children wishing for everything under the sun, carrying a heavy burden of apparently irrational fears, dreaming dreams of terror and delight". "Many of the findings substantiate opinions of child life which have been held for some years," she adds, "but much of the material will be new to most readers and may be used as a basis … for the