Childhood play and design expert Myriam Sandler has a book coming out — and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the cover!
Playful by Design, out May 13 from Harper Celebrate, is an accessible guide for upgrading your child’s play spaces, with a special focus on creating areas that encourage self-directed, open-ended play.
Sandler — who is the founder of the beloved online parenting community Mothercould — uses colorful illustrations and photos to help parents plan their spaces, declutter, organize, implement a solid toy rotation system and — perhaps most importantly — maintain a system.
In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, the mom of three revealed she was inspired to write her new book after noticing several trends among parents with young children.
“The single most common theme I’ve noticed is parents genuinely want to encourage more play at home, but often feel overwhelmed and intimidated,” she explained. “Year after year, kids are surrounded by toys they barely play …