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I have seen three-year-olds, immersed in their world of play, using
these cubes as school desks for their assorted collection of soft toys,
and instructing them in the rudiments of good manners.
With regard to soft toys, their appeal lies entirely in the expression
and the realism of shape, also colour and feel. It is important for a
child to be able to identify the toy as an object seen before, either
in real life or in a book. A mask with comical grin or sad drooping
features or a shape exaggerated in line and size, so often seen in
modern soft toys, deprives a child of the fantasy it needs to express through play. Any little boy or girl will soon make the toy into a character they want it to be. One day Teddy will be a "naughty boy" punished for bad behaviour, to become later on, even the same day, a "poor darling" loved and nursed as only a sick child can be during an illness. This change of mood in play belongs to the child alone and is, in fact, the essence of play.