This collection explores how storytelling and pretence interconnect, diverge, and influence each other in the course of development-both in neurotypical children and in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

1. Young Children's Pretend Play and Storytelling as Modes of Narrative Activity: From Complementarity to Cross-Fertilization? Ageliki Nicolopoulou Part 1: Pretence and Storytelling in Autism Spectrum Disorder 2. Pretend Play in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Literature Mahwish Chaudry and Cheryl Dissanayake 3. Play, Narrative, and Children With Autism Karen Stagnitti 4. Developing Reciprocity With Technology and Storytelling: The Design of an Authorable Virtual Peer for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Andrea Tartaro and Justine Cassell 5. Social Robots as Storytellers: Can A Social Robot Encourage Children With ASD To Ask Questions During Playtime? Ramona Simut, Cristina Costescu, Johan Vanderfaeillie, Daniel David and Bram Vanderborght 6. The Intersection of Pretense and Storytelling In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Susan Douglas and Lesley Stirling 7. Dad! You Have to be...: Autism, Narrative And Family Neil Maclean Part 2: Pretence and Storytelling in the Classroom 8. The Wrongheaded Exclusion of Imaginative Storytelling from Kindergarten Writing Instruction Patricia M. Cooper 9. The Development of Subteacher Discourse during Pretend Play in the Wake of Reading A Story Esther Vardi-Rath, Teresa Lewin, Zehava Cohen, Hadassah Aillenberg and Tamar Eylon 10. The Natural World as Content for Interconnection and Divergence of Pretence and Storytelling in Children's Play Kumara Ward Part 3: Pretence and Storytelling in Cross-Cultural Development 11. Using Narratives and Drawings to Assess Creativity in Preschool Age Children Candice M. Mottweiler 12. A Cultural-Historical Reading of Imagination and Creativity in Young Children's Shared Narrative Creations across Cultural Contexts Sue March, Liang Li and Gloria Quiñones 13. Returning To Play: The Critical Location of Play in Children's Sociocultural Lives Artin Göncü and Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur