This enduring classic of educational thought offers teachers and parents deep, original insight into the nature of early learning. John Holt was the first to make clear that, for small children, "learning is as natural as breathing." In this delightful yet profound book, he looks at how we learn to talk, to read, to count, and to reason, and how we can nurture and encourage these natural abilities in our children. "Holt is a class with Piaget." ― New York Review of Books "By his vision of what can be done in education, he makes us think in new ways about what is being done." ― The Wall Street Journal "One of the most profoundly moving books I've ever read, the truest account of how I remember my best learning experiences as a child and an adult." ― Cory Doctorow, author of Walkaway and Little Brother "The gentle voice of reason." ― Life magazine John Holt (1927-1985), one of this country's leading educational and social critics, was the author of ten influential books which have been translated into fourteen languages. Known both as a passionate reformer and as "the gentle voice of reason" ( LIFE magazine), John Holt offers insights into the nature of learning that are more relevant today than ever before.