Thinking About Children collects thirty-one papers, of which twenty-eight have never previously been published. As might be expected, they range widely in tone and content from concise clinical observations to more general meditations including the landmark paper "Towards an objective study of human nature".

PART ONE Observation, intuition, and empathy PART TWO Early infant development PART THREE The family PART FOUR Starting school PART FIVE Case studies and observations PART SIX Adoption PART SEVEN Psychosomatic problems PART EIGHT Autism and schizophrenia PART NINE Professional care of the growing child

D. W. Winnicott (1896-1974), pediatrician and psychoanalyst, influenced several generations in the fields of child psychiatry, social work, and child development as well as psychoanalysis. He is known especially for his bold and brilliant imagination, and his unique, even poetic style.