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Book Review
Book Review: Inspiring Spaces for Young Children by Jessica DeViney
Review by Rebecca Fox
Description: A photo-rich guide to transforming early childhood environments into nurturing, beautiful, and developmentally supportive spaces that inspire curiosity, creativity, and connection.
Key Words: environment design, early childhood, Reggio-inspired
Beauty as a Birthright: Designing with Heart, Intention, and Child-First Values
Inspiring Spaces for Young Children is a book that immediately draws the reader into a visual experience of warmth, possibility, and reverence for childhood. Unlike many design-focused books, this one feels more like a conversation than a manual. The authors—Jessica DeViney, Sandra Duncan, Sara Harris, and Mary Ann Rody—are educators and designers who understand that the learning environment is not a backdrop, but an active participant in the life of a child.
Their premise echoes a foundational Reggio Emilia principle: the environment as the third teacher. But rather than strictly academic prose, the book is crafted in a style that’s accessible and practical, inviting educators and caregivers alike to slow down and see their spaces with new eyes. In many ways, it reminds us that children deserve to be in spaces as thoughtfully composed and lovingly curated as any adult’s. There’s a subtle but powerful ethos running through these pages: beauty, calm, and order are not luxuries—they are conditions for well-being.
Structure and Approach
The book is organized around several key design principles, with each chapter exploring an aspect of classroom or home design that supports both aesthetic and functional goals. Topics include:
- Nature-Inspired Materials
- Color and Light
- Furnishings and Layout
- Textures and Fabric
- Displays and Documentation
- Transitions and Pathways
Each chapter offers:
- Photographic examples from real classrooms,
- Reflections from educators,
- Practical design tips,
- And checklists that help readers move from inspiration to action.
This layering of ideas with practical guidance makes the book not only beautiful but usable. Whether you're working with a shoestring budget or designing a new center from scratch, the ideas scale up or down.
A Pedagogy of Place
What stands out most in Inspiring Spaces is its quiet insistence that every decision—what’s on the wall, how materials are stored, where light enters—carries pedagogical weight. The space teaches. The space speaks. And what it says should be intentional.
There’s also a clear continuity with the values of Reggio Emilia and other progressive educational approaches: the belief that children are competent, that environments shape interactions, and that beauty can be a vehicle for care. One could call this book a bridge between theory and tactility—it brings abstract educational philosophy into the grain of wood, the placement of a rug, the hue of a painted wall.
Yet, unlike some Reggio-inspired resources that delve heavily into the theoretical, this book stays close to the earth. It is grounded in experience and oriented toward doing. You can feel the authors’ deep respect for children, not in lofty rhetoric, but in their suggestions for soft lighting, quiet corners, and uncluttered sensory invitations. These are not merely design choices—they are ethical ones.
Not Just Aesthetic—Psychological
What may not be immediately obvious is how Inspiring Spaces addresses the psychology of space. Through tone and structure, it gently guides adults to reflect on their own nervous systems, their own sense of calm or chaos, and how that bleeds into children’s experiences. Reading it is a form of re-regulation: you begin to see mess differently, light differently, space differently.
One section on clutter—how visual overload affects children—brings home a quiet revolution. By inviting less, the authors suggest, we invite more depth. And in a culture that rewards overstimulation and consumption, that’s a radical act.
Connections to Other Works and Philosophies
This book sits alongside others that champion the importance of space in pedagogy, including:
- The Hundred Languages of Children (Edwards, Gandini, Forman)
- Designs for Living and Learning by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter
- Bringing Reggio Emilia Home by Louise Boyd Cadwell
- The Language of Art by Ann Pelo
Yet Inspiring Spaces has a voice of its own. It’s less conceptual than The Hundred Languages, more tactile than Bringing Reggio Emilia Home, and perhaps more inviting to the novice than Curtis and Carter’s deeper dives. In this way, it could be considered a gateway book—a threshold for those just beginning to reimagine how environment shapes experience.
Related Movements and Resources
- Reggio Emilia Approach – especially its core principle of “the environment as the third teacher”
- Waldorf Early Childhood Environments – for their attention to simplicity and natural materials
- Montessori Prepared Environments – particularly the emphasis on order, autonomy, and accessibility
- Slow Pedagogy – a movement that values slow time, attentiveness, and reflective presence
- Nature-Based Education – for its overlapping focus on sensory connection and outdoor classrooms
Final Reflection
Ultimately, Inspiring Spaces for Young Children is not about design in the way that design is often understood. It is about relationship—between child and material, adult and space, curiosity and calm. The book whispers rather than shouts, but its message is radical in its simplicity: environments matter, deeply. And when we design with love, clarity, and attentiveness, we are not just arranging furniture. We are arranging lives.
Related Books & Resources
- Designs for Living and Learning – Curtis & Carter
- The Language of Art – Ann Pelo
- Bringing Reggio Emilia Home – Louise Boyd Cadwell
- The Hundred Languages of Children – Edwards, Gandini, Forman
- Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens – David Sobel
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
What You Can Do Tomorrow
- Remove or relocate three items in your space that feel visually overwhelming or unnecessary.
- Add one element from nature: a stone, shell, plant, or branch placed thoughtfully.
- Create a quiet, cozy nook using a curtain, pillow, or fabric canopy—even a repurposed cardboard box can do.
- Lower some displays or mirrors to child height. Notice how that small change shifts engagement.
Longer-Term Shifts to Consider
- Reevaluate how materials are stored and presented. Open baskets, low shelves, and labeled containers can foster independence and invitation.
- Begin to see classroom design as part of your curriculum. The layout and choices you make teach values—collaboration, respect, curiosity.
- Transition from decoration to documentation. Instead of posters or themes, feature children's work and thinking. Let the walls tell the story of their inquiry.
- Move away from plastic and synthetic materials where possible, especially in high-touch areas. Consider how textures shape sensory experience.
Questions to Live With
- What messages does this space send about what (and who) is valued?
- If the room could speak, what would it say to a child entering it?
- What does beauty mean in a learning environment—and who decides?
- How do I feel in this space? Does it support my own sense of calm and creativity?
- What would it look like to design with children, not just for them?
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