Bestselling author Laura Berk is joined by new coauthor Adena Meyers. “Our distinct areas of specialization make us a great team for coauthoring,” says Berk. Berk and Meyers’ teaching, research and practical experience bring tremendous expertise and insight to this new edition.

Berk and Meyers are faculty colleagues in the Department of Psychology at Illinois State University. They have collaborated on numerous projects, most recently coauthoring the chapter on make-believe play and self-regulation for the Sage Handbook of Play and Learning in Early Childhood.

Laura E. Berk is a distinguished professor of psychology at Illinois State University, where she has taught child, adolescent, and lifespan development for more than three decades. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in child development and educational psychology from the University of Chicago.

Berk has been a visiting scholar at Cornell University, UCLA, Stanford University, and the University of South Australia. She has published widely on effects of school environments on children’s development, the development of children’s private speech, and the role of make-believe play in development. She has been featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and in Parents Magazine, Wondertime, and Readers’ Digest, and has contributed to Psychology Today and Scientific American.

In addition to Infants, Children, and Adolescents, Berk's best-selling texts include Child Development, Development Through the Lifespan, and Exploring Lifespan Development, published by Pearson. Her other books include Private Speech: From Social Interaction to Self-Regulation; Scaffolding Children’s Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education; Awakening Children’s Minds: How Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference; and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool: Presenting the Evidence.

Berk is active in work for children’s causes. She recently completed nine years of service on the national board of Jumpstart for Young Children and currently serves on the governing board of the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 7: Developmental Psychology.