In You Can’t Say You Can’t Play, kindergarten teacher and MacArthur Award–winning educator Vivian Gussin Paley examines the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion among young children. Disturbed by the way some students are consistently left out of play, Paley introduces a new classroom rule: “You can’t say you can’t play.” The book follows her experiment as she observes how the rule changes interactions, relationships, and the moral understanding of her students. Through storytelling and dialogue, Paley reveals how children grapple with fairness, empathy, and belonging