Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child's Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Birth Through Adolescence

Cutting edge scientific research has shown that exposure to the right kind of environment during the first years of life actually affects the physical structure of a child's brain, vastly increasing the number of neuron branches—the "magic trees of the mind"—that help us to learn, think, and remember. At each stage of development, the brain's ability to gain new skills and process information is refined.

As a leading researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, Marion Diamond has been a pioneer in this field of research. Now, Diamond and award-winning science writer Janet Hopson present a comprehensive enrichment program designed to help parents prepare their children for a lifetime of learning.

“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

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.