Click cover to see the book.

Places to Play in Rhode Island will make its official debut at McCoy Stadium on Sunday, but you can get an early look at this wonderful guidebook by clicking the cover at right.

If you think only expensive outings make a child happy, you're in for a pleasant surprise. All of the places the preschoolers drew and described are either free or highly affordable. Parks, neighborhood playgrounds, zoos and beaches come highly recommended. Libraries also make the list, but readers are warned that they're "a quiet place to play."

On June 2 - "Places to Play Day" at McCoy Stadium - many of the young authors will take to the field to instruct the PawSox and the Syracuse Chiefs to "play ball." We'll be distributing more than 1,500 copies of the book at the game, which gets under way at 1:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the gate.

The book highlights drawings and quotes from 31 children, but 136 preschoolers from 10 different centers and home child-care programs participated in the project. Twenty-two educators attended the seven-session course offered at Ready to Learn.

On June 5, 18 children from the Ready to Learn Pre-K Classroom - one of the participating centers - will go to the Statehouse to present Governor Chafee with his personal copy.

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