The Child by Maria Montessori

Published 1936 · 271,496 words · about 12 hours at an average pace · Education & Reference, Nonfiction, Psychology

How hard is The Child to read?

The Child scores 19 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it relatively accessible. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 28 out of 100
Developmental psychology terms. Some dated terminology.
Sentence structure: 30 out of 100
Abstraction: 35 out of 100
Developmental theory grounded in specific behavioral observations.
Information density: 42 out of 100
Rich in observed detail and developmental theory.
Narrative indirection: 80 out of 100
Systematic presentation of developmental stages.
Symbolic density: 12 out of 100
The child as embodiment of untapped human potential.
Ironic distance: 80 out of 100
Earnest, passionate advocacy for children's autonomy.
Resolution withholding: 100 out of 100
Montessori provides a clear alternative vision.
Structural complexity: 22 out of 100
Three parts covering development, education, and society.

How The Child is regarded

The Child holds a literary regard score of 63 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

About the author

Maria Montessori