"This is a path-breaking book on children's conceptual development with important implications for virtually all of cognitive science." —Douglas Medin, Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University

"Like all of Susan Gelman's writings, this book is lucid, comprehensive, and compelling. In it she makes a detailed and convincing case that the human mind naturally tends to construe things as possessing hidden essences, and that children display this 'essentializing bent," as she calls it, from an early age. Gelman also goes on to argue that essentialism is itself the consequence of other, more basic capacities, such as the ability to appreciate the appearance-reality distinction and the assumption that properties and events are casual. Much of the evidence supporting Gelman's claims comes from her own ingenious studies of young children's thinking, studies that have won her acclaim as one of the best developmental psychologists in the world. On all counts, then, this is a truly excellent book."—John H. Flavell, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

"Gelman's book is a superb analysis of how essentialist tendencies emerge in childhood. She develops in detail an important new theoretical account of how essentialist biases develop and the implications of these developmental patterns for broader issues in cognition and cognitive development. This book is 'essential' reading for cognitive and social scientists interested in understanding this important aspect of being human."—Frank C. Keil, Professor of Psychology, Yale University

"This beautifully written book unifies large and varied strands of research into a compelling, coherent picture about a fundamentally important problem. It is a real achievement, and will make a genuinely important contribution to developmental psychology."—Ellen M. Markman, Lewis M. Terman Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

"The idea that people conceive of natural things as having an essence is one of the most interesting proposals in cognitive development of the past two decades. Susan Gelman is a pioneer of this area of research, and this lovely volume showcases her insight, experimental ingenuity, and theoretical depth. The Essential Child is a fascinating contribution to our understanding of human rationality."—Steven Pinker, Peter de Florez Professor of Psychology, MIT, and author of The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Blank Slate.