The Personality of the Young Child. An Introduction for Puzzled Parents: By Margaret A. Ribble, M.D. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. 126 pp.

Dr. Ribble's book is a remarkable brief review of the development of the young child. It resembles in content and purpose Anna Freud's Psychoanalysis for Teachers and Parents but devotes more attention to the development of the child's ego, of its social relations, and of its awareness of the world. On nearly every page occurs a remark or observation of challenging originality. For example, Dr. Ribble is describing a child's history:

The insistent crying which followed over a period of six months indicates some physiological difficulty with respiration which is sometimes seen in young infants who are suddenly weaned and who have insufficient stimulus from parental care (p. 85).

One would like to know more about this observation by Dr. Ribble. Elsewhere she expresses an idea in a way that stimulates the reader to think of an old fact in a new way:

Not being identical with both parents is a difficult idea to tolerate because it implies some defect in the child itself (p. 73).

Vital and important functions carry a charge of pleasure energy which tends to insure their repeated performance. When parents set themselves against this natural force they are opposing a part of the life instinct (p. 25).

Constantly in this book one gets the impression that Dr. Ribble has by keen observation and reflection discovered things about children of which she gives us no more than a tantalizing glimpse.