Designed as a resource and as a guide for professionals who work with children and their families, this book explores the cathartic effect of humor on children, and looks at humor as an infusion of energy that promotes healthy growth, development, and adjustment in children of all ages. The chapters are as follows: (1) "Introduction: A Global Perspective of Humor" (Amelia J. Klein); (2) "Humor, Play, and Child Development" (Doris Bergen); (3) "Humor in Clinical Therapy with Children" (Laurie Kilgore); (4) "Gravity and Levity--Pain and Play: The Child and the Clown in the Pediatric Health Care Setting" (Shobhana Schwekbe and Camilla Gryski); (5) "Laughing on Camera: Humor in Videos Produced by Children" (Michael R. Mosher); (6) "No Laughing! Playing with Humor in the Classroom" (Amelia Struthers); (7) "Humor, Health, and Healing at Children's Respite Care, Inc.: A Day-Care Program for Children with Chronic and Life-Threatening Illnesses" (Mary Ellen Rivera); and (8) "A Course on Children's Humor: A Model for Training Practitioners" (Amelia J. Klein). Each chapter contains reference notes. (HTH)