ABSTRACT
The production and articulation of story within pretend play is a complex cognitive task. In some cases, play may encode or enact stories that are, in some sense, preexisting. In others, the stories emerge as part of play and necessitate online and often collaborative production of the plot. Narrating pretend play also requires the storyteller to manage multiple roles such as those of the narrator, the different characters, and possibly even the role of director if the pretend play is collaborative. Children need to manage the manipulation of props to set the scene for the narrative and act out the story as it unfolds—all while simultaneously producing the articulated narrative. Thus, narrative within pretend play is a unique mode of storytelling with important features to consider when undertaking analysis.
