Sources and inspirations
Reference bibliography, literary, anthropological, pedagogical and psychological references of the project
First section
Theoretical, literary and interpretive references
The classic authors used to read symbols, fairy tale, development, attachment, narrative structure and family relationships.
Literary references
The structure of the fairy tale, the child hero's journey and the building of an original mythology.
Propp, V. (1928). Morfologija skazki. Academia.
The morphology of the fairy tale: the narrative functions underpinning Solomon J.'s departure, trial and return.
Bettelheim, B. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment. Alfred A. Knopf.
The fairy tale as a space in which the child works through fears and conflicts by means of images.
Rodari, G. (1973). Grammatica della fantasia. Einaudi.
The invention of words and worlds as an educational act: the source of the language of the Pepileni and of the Takaró.
Anthropological references
The village as a structure of collective care, the symbols and rites that accompany growing up.
Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Pantheon Books.
The monomyth and its stages, reread through the eyes of a child searching for his father.
Turner, V. (1969). The Ritual Process. Aldine.
Threshold and liminality: the passage from the "city of dead dogs" to Pepilandia as a rite of transition.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development. Harvard University Press.
The ecological model that grounds the idea of the village as a network of contexts that raise a child.
Pedagogical references
Learning, adult mediation and the recognition of high cognitive potential.
Vygotskij, L. S. (1934). Myšlenie i reč'. Gosudarstvennoe Social'no-Ekonomičeskoe Izdatel'stvo.
The zone of proximal development: the adult who accompanies and waits for the child's own pace.
Dąbrowski, K. (1964). Positive Disintegration. Little, Brown & Co.
The concept of overexcitability within the theory of positive disintegration, subsequently explored by research also in relation to giftedness.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogia do oprimido. Paz e Terra.
Education as a practice of mutual recognition between the one who teaches and the one who learns.
Psychological references
Attachment, absence, trauma and the building of identity in childhood.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. Basic Books.
Attachment theory as the key to the relationship between Solomon J. and his mother.
Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment. Hogarth Press.
The good enough environment and the transitional object: the Takaró as a blanket that holds the world together.
Miller, A. (1979). Das Drama des begabten Kindes. Suhrkamp.
The gifted child who adapts to adult expectations and loses touch with his own feelings.
Mahler, M. S., Pine, F., & Bergman, A. (1975). The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant. Basic Books.
Separation and individuation, the movement that the protagonist's journey stages.
Green, A. (1993). Le travail du négatif. Éditions de Minuit.
The absence that structures the psyche: the missing father as a presence in the negative.
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and Family Therapy. Harvard University Press.
The systemic reading of the family, the backdrop of the village that is missing and must be rebuilt.
van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.
The somatic memory of trauma, held in the body before it finds words.
Second section
Contemporary scientific and policy sources
Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, peer reviewed articles and institutional documents on high cognitive potential, teaching and bibliotherapy.
High cognitive potential and identification
Contemporary sources on the heterogeneity of profiles and on the psychological assessment of cognitive functioning.
Pfeiffer, S. I. (Ed.) (2018). Handbook of Giftedness in Children: Psychoeducational Theory, Research, and Best Practices (2nd ed.). Springer.
A reference framework for the identification of high potential and the variety of individual profiles.
Subotnik, R. F., Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Worrell, F. C. (2011). Rethinking Giftedness and Gifted Education. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 12(1), 3-54.
A key review describing talent development as a process rather than a label.
Carman, C. A. (2013). Comparing Apples and Oranges: Fifteen Years of Definitions of Giftedness in Research. Journal of Advanced Academics, 24(1), 52-70.
A systematic analysis of the definitions of giftedness used in research.
Non cognitive characteristics and sensitivity
Studies on emotional intensity, overexcitabilities, perfectionism and sensory sensitivity, with attention to individual variability.
Vuyk, M. A., Krieshok, T. S., & Kerr, B. A. (2016). Openness to Experience Rather Than Overexcitabilities. Gifted Child Quarterly, 60(3), 192-211.
A critical rereading of Dąbrowski's overexcitabilities in the light of personality research.
Pluess, M. (2015). Individual Differences in Environmental Sensitivity. Child Development Perspectives, 9(3), 138-143.
A model of environmental sensitivity, useful for distinguishing sensitivity from high potential.
Stricker, J., Buecker, S., Schneider, M., & Preckel, F. (2020). Multidimensional Perfectionism and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Meta-analysis. European Journal of Personality, 34(2), 176-196.
A meta-analysis on perfectionism as a variable dimension, not a diagnostic indicator.
Tourreix, E., Besançon, M., & Gonthier, C. (2023). Non-Cognitive Specificities of Intellectually Gifted Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Intelligence, 11(7), 141.
A systematic review of 240 studies on the non cognitive characteristics associated with giftedness, highlighting the heterogeneity of profiles and the absence of any stable set of characteristics able to identify high potential on its own.
Pouilloux, G., Sido, H., Polin, C., & Paquet, A. (2026). Extreme sensory processing in high intellectual potential individuals: a systematic review. BMC Psychology, 14, 1243.
A systematic review of sensory processing in high potential, useful for describing the theme with particular caution given the still limited number of available studies.
School boredom, differentiation and acceleration
Research on boredom, curriculum compacting, enrichment and acceleration in gifted education.
Preckel, F., Götz, T., & Frenzel, A. (2010). Ability Grouping of Gifted Students: Effects on Academic Self-Concept and Boredom. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(3), 451-472.
An empirical study of school boredom in relation to the level of challenge offered in class.
Reis, S. M., & Renzulli, J. S. (2010). Is There Still a Need for Gifted Education? Learning and Individual Differences, 20(4), 308-317.
A review of enrichment, curriculum compacting and personalised pathways.
Assouline, S. G., Colangelo, N., VanTassel-Baska, J., & Lupkowski-Shoplik, A. (Eds.) (2015). A Nation Empowered. Belin-Blank Center.
A synthesis of the literature on academic acceleration and its documented outcomes.
Bibliotherapy and shared reading
Studies on the use of narrative in educational and care settings, distinguishing shared reading from clinical intervention.
Montgomery, P., & Maunders, K. (2015). The Effectiveness of Creative Bibliotherapy for Internalizing, Externalizing, and Prosocial Behaviours in Children: A Systematic Review. Children and Youth Services Review, 55, 37-47.
A systematic review of creative bibliotherapy in childhood and of the limits of available evidence.
Heath, M. A., Sheen, D., Leavy, D., Young, E., & Money, K. (2005). Bibliotherapy: A Resource to Facilitate Emotional Healing and Growth. School Psychology International, 26(5), 563-580.
The use of narrative in school settings, with the professional competences it requires.
Redman, H., Mutanda, D., Bethel, A., Miller, R., Melendez-Torres, G. J., & Green, J. (2026). Does Creative Bibliotherapy delivered in schools improve mental health-related outcomes for 5-16 year olds? A systematic review. Arts & Health, 18(2), 164-186.
A systematic review of creative bibliotherapy in schools. The results point to interesting potential together with the need for caution regarding the strength of the evidence and clinical effects.
Italian institutional and policy references
Ministerial and professional documents on Special Educational Needs and high cognitive potential.
MIUR (2019). Nota n. 562 of 3 April 2019, Alunni con bisogni educativi speciali. Chiarimenti.
Acknowledges that pupils with high cognitive potential may be considered within Special Educational Needs when specific educational needs emerge.
MIUR (2012). Direttiva ministeriale 27 dicembre 2012, Strumenti d'intervento per alunni con bisogni educativi speciali.
The general framework of Special Educational Needs and personalised teaching in Italy.
Consiglio Nazionale dell'Ordine degli Psicologi. (2021). I DSA e gli altri BES. Indicazioni per la pratica professionale. CNOP.
Professional guidance on Specific Learning Disorders and Special Educational Needs in psychological practice.
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