In recent years, the government has placed a growing emphasis on the need for parents to support their children's learning. Meanwhile, commercial corporations are increasingly targeting the educational aspirations of parents and children. New forms of educational media have emerged, which purport to 'make learning fun' by using devices drawn from popular culture. In the process, the boundaries between homes and schools, and between education and entertainment, are becoming more and more blurred.

This book is based on an extensive research project investigating the developing market in educational materials designed for use in the home. It considers the characteristics of 'edutainment' in children's information books, pre-school magazines and CD-Roms. It discusses the economic forces at work in the production and marketing of these media, and the rhetoric of the sales pitches. Also, it considers how parents and children use them in the home.

As learning itself increasingly becomes a commodity, this book addresses an issue of growing importance for parents, teachers and all those concerned with children's education.