Chapter One--Introduction: learning with Minecraft and YouTube
Chapter Two--Minecraft's digital media literacies and learning
Chapter Three--The Let's Play genre, micro-celebrity and learning
Chapter Four--Peer pedagogies and digital platforms
Chapter Five--Exploring YouTube 'Let's Plays' and peer pedagogies
Chapter Six--Stampy's Lovely World
Chapter Seven--Animal rescue with StacyPlays
Chapter Eight--Hanging out with GamerGirl
Chapter Nine--What I learnt from Stampylonghead, StacyPlays and KarinaOMG
Chapter Ten--Afterword: Media literacy in the age of Minecraft and YouTube

How a popular entertainment genre on YouTube—Let's Play videos created by Minecraft players—offers opportunities for children to learn from their peers.

Every day millions of children around the world watch video gameplay on YouTube in the form of a popular entertainment genre known as Let's Play videos. These videos, which present a player's gameplay and commentary, offer children opportunities for interaction and learning not available in traditional television viewing or solo video gameplay. In this book, Michael Dezuanni examines why Let's Play videos are so appealing to children, looking in particular at videos of Minecraft gameplay. He finds that a significant aspect of the popularity of these videos is the opportunity for knowledge and skill exchange.

Focusing on Let's Play practices, the videos themselves, and fans' responses, Dezuanni argues that learning takes place through what he terms peer pedagogy—a type of nonhierarchical learning that is grounded in the personal relationships fans and players feel toward one another. Moreover, the Let's Play platform is part of a larger digital ecosystem that enables children to learn from one another in unique ways. Dezuanni explores how Let's Players enable learning opportunities, examining digital literacies, the Let's Play genre, and peer pedagogies. He then presents case studies of three successful family-friendly Let's Players of Minecraft: Stampylonghead, StacyPlays, and KarinaOMG, microcelebrities in a microindustry. Dezuanni analyzes the specific practices and characteristics of these players, paying particular attention to how they create opportunities for peer pedagogies to emerge.