Parenting Concerns

The Seven Common Sins of Parenting an Only Child by Carolyn White
As the parent of an only child are you frustrated because you find yourself overindulging and overcompensating? Do you treat your child like an adult, over praise, or overprotect him? Have you expected perfection from your child yet have failed to make rules and implement them consistently? If you are not a perfect parent of an only child... you are not alone. Based on the real-life experiences of Carolyn White, editor of Only Child, parent, and educator - and hundreds of interviews with only children and parents of only children, The Seven Common Sins of Parenting An Only Child celebrates the special rewards and opportunities of the single child family and offers a practical (and often humorous) guide for overcoming the most common errors parents can make when rearing an only child

Parenting an Only Child: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Your One and Only by Susan Newman Ph.D

Freeing Your Child from Anxiety by Tamar E. Chansky
Powerful and practical solutions to overcome your child's fears, worries and phobias.

Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane) by Gavin De Becker
Practical suggestions for keeping children and teenagers safe and parents sane.

Parenting Well in a Media Age: Keeping Our Kids Human by Gloria DeGaetano
Confronts important questions about the impact of media immersion, consumerism and violence in modern society and provides common sense answers for parents.

The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children by Steven Vannoy
Simple, effective methods of imparting priceless values to our children…ways to encourage children to develop their own character.

Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting by Bobbi Connor
Helps parents understand the emotional, intellectual, physical and social context of their children's actions and offers simple ways for developing the positive skills parents want their children to have.

Raising Everyday Heroes: Parenting Children To Be Self-Reliant by Elisa Medhus
Living in a culture saturated with media messages focused on fame, wealth and beauty, it's easy for today's youth to rely on these external messages for guidance.

Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times by Zoe Weil
Offers solutions to the problems of apathy, materialism and dangerous peer influences by showing parents how to raise their children to be humane, to become more compassionate in their interactions with family and friends and to grow to make life choices that respect the environment and all people.

kids are worth it! Revised Edition: Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline by Barbara Coloroso
Coloroso believes that good parenting begins with treating children with respect, instilling in them a sense of power in their own lives, allowing them opportunities to make decisions and helping them take responsibility for their actions. She rejects the “quick fix” of punishment/reward. She offers parents sound strategies to give children inner discipline and self-confidence.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Faber & Mazlish
A guide to the happier and more effective parenting of children. Through a series of practical exercises and personal stories, you'll learn ways to interact with your children that are nurturing, effective and reduce conflict in your home.

Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child : Eliminating Conflict by Establishing Clear, Firm, and Respectful Boundaries Robert J. MacKenzie
Does you child constantly misbehave, ignore or refuse requests? Is your relationship with your child based on conflict instead of mutual respect and cooperation? This book helps reduce conflict by establishing clear, firm and respectful boundaries.

1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 by Thomas W. Phelan
Phelan addresses the difficult task of child discipline with humor, keen insight and proven experience. Discusses effective discipline for children ages 2-12.

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogul, Ph.D.
Every parent hopes their child will be self-reliant, optimistic, and well mannered, a challenge in our current culture. Clinical psychologist Wendy Mogel distills the ancient teachings of the Torah, the Talmud, important Jewish thinkers, and contemporary psychological insights into nine blessings that address key parenting issues such as: realistic expectations for each child, respect for adults, chores, coping with frustration, developing independence and self-control, resisting over-scheduling and over-indulgence.

Raising Self-reliant Children In An Indulgent World by Glenn and Nelsen
H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelsen have written a book to help parents raise responsible and self-reliant children. They do this through an approach, which teaches the child to feel accountability for their own actions and commitments.

The Edison Trait, Saving The Spirit of Your Non-conforming Child by Lucy Palladino
Edison Trait children combine cognitive ability, active imaginations, and free-spiritedness and are a constant challenge to everyone around them. Dr. Palladino helps parents and teachers appreciate these special children. She describes the various styles of Edison Trait Kids and offers guidelines and practical help for parents/educators involved with these special divergent thinkers.

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kucinka
The spirited child is often termed difficult and can overwhelm parents- more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent and perhaps rigid than the average child. Kucinka helps parents gain insight into their child's temperament and offers support and strategies.


Child Development

The Shy Child: Helping Children Triumph over Shyness by Ward K. Swallow
Understanding shyness in children and age-appropriate strategies for helping your child manage shyness.

The First Three Years of Life by Dr. Burton White
Are the limits of your child's capacity for achievement irrevocably fixed during the first three years of life? White, a director of Harvard University's Pre-School Project, answers this question with this guide to the intellectual and emotional development of the very young child.

Playground Politics, Understanding The Emotional Life of Your School-Age Child by Dr. Stanley Greenspan
Greenspan helps parents define and understand the emotional challenges and changes that children face. He gives the reader insight into the private world of children and gives sound advice on how to better support them during these years.

Yardsticks, Children in The Classroom Ages 4 -14 by Chip Wood
Wood offers clear and concise descriptions of the characteristics of children at different ages. Teachers can use Yardsticks to help shape curriculum and parents can use it to better understand their child's development within an educational setting.

The Roller-Coaster Years: Raising Your Child Through the Maddening Yet Magical Middle School Years by Giannetti and Sagarese
Giannetti and Sagarese have written an invaluable tool for parents with children between the ages of 10 to 15: a guide to the ups and downs of these years and the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development and challenges of early adolescents.

Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul: 101 Stories of Loving, Learning and Parenting by Canfield & Hansen
Collection of inspirational stories that celebrate the joys/challenges of parenthood and family life.

Believing it All: Lessons I Learned from My Children by Marc Parent
A series of essays celebrating the wonders of childhood and parenting.


On Boys

Oh Boy, Babies by Herzig and Mali
A candid, funny, touching story about what happens when a group of fifth/sixth graders at an all-boys school enroll in an infant care class - full of quotes from the boys. Their experiences are recorded with photographs that capture the spontaneity and warmth of the sessions.

The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian
What parents, mentors and educators can do to shape boys into exceptional men.

Speaking of Boys by Michael Thompson, Ph.D. and Teresa Barker
Answers to the most asked questions about raising sons. Covers hot-button topics such as peer pressure, ADHD/ADD, and body image as well as friendship, divorce and college & career development.

Raising Cain, Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Kindlon and Thompson
Drs. Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson share what they have learned from over thirty-five years of combined experience working with boys and their families--studying a nation of boys in crisis who are systematically cut off from their emotional lives by forces that teach them to be stoic and strong. They make a compelling case that emotional literacy is the most valuable gift that we can give our sons and teaches parents how to cultivate emotional awareness and empathy.

Real Boys, Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by Dr. William Pollack
This book is based upon Dr. William Pollack's two decades of research on boys at the Harvard Medical School. In it, Dr. Pollack explores the crisis that faces many boys in our culture. He challenges conventional expectations about manhood and masculinity and exposes the harm done to boys by the “toughening up” process that our culture requires. The book helps the reader to understand the true emotional and cognitive lives of boys and teaches the reader to guide boys to greater self-confidence and emotional self-awareness.

Boys Will Be by Bruce Brooks
A wonderful collection of essays written by Brooks for boys (parents will find the book touching, witty, fun and illuminating) about being a boy and growing up in our culture. The book leads all into a wonderful celebration of boyhood.

The Good Son: Shaping the Moral Development of Our Boys and Young Men by Michael Gurian
Gurian offers a comprehensive approach to the moral and emotional development of boys. He shows parents how to instill virtues and values in boys at each developmental stage and also offers sound advice for dealing with “moral emergencies” or severe misbehaviors.


Learning and Literacy

In Their own Way, Discovering and Encouraging Your Child's Personal Learning Style by Thomas Armstrong
Armstrong rejects the terms “underachiever or unmotivated”. He sees children as individuals with distinct learning styles and unique strengths. He teaches us to recognize children's aptitudes and explains how to help children acquire knowledge through their strengths.

Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn, Why They Need to Play by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek
Instead of pushing preschoolers into academically oriented programs focused on early achievement, Hirsch suggests children learn best through simple playtime: enhancing problem-solving skills, attention span, social development and creativity.

101 Ways to Help your Child Learn to Read and Write by Mary and Richard Behm
Ideas that make learning easy and fun for the whole family -- at home, in the car, at the grocery store - just about anywhere you go.

Really Reading!: 10 Simple and Effective Methods to Develop Your Child's Love for Reading by Janet Gardner & Lora Myers
Ten simple and effective methods to develop your child's love for reading.

Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think And What We Can Do About It by Jane Healy
Children's brains are physiologically shaped and changed by experiences. Our children, bombarded by fast-paced culture/media are developing different and destructive “habits of mind.” Healy explains why children today are less able to concentrate, absorb information and “think” than previous generations. She offers strategies to make our children lifelong learners.

Parents Guide To The Best Books For Children by Lipson/ The New York Times
This guide by Lipson, children's book editor of the New York Times, is organized by reading level and contains summaries and bibliographic information on over 1,000 books of the 20th century. The guide features a mixture of classic and well-regarded contemporary readings.

Becoming a Nation of Readers, What Parents Can Do by Binkley/ U.S Department of Education
This is a short and informative pamphlet, specifically for parents, that draws heavily on Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading.

Hey Listen To This - Stories To Read Aloud by Jim Trelease
Trelease invites all to discover the special experience of reading aloud with children. He has collected 48 stores for children ages 5-9 ranging from folktales to classics by favorite authors.

Read To Me, Raising Kids Who Love To Read by Bernice Cullinan
By reading aloud to your child, you can give him/her a head start in school and in life. A professor of education at New York University, has written a guidebook for reading aloud to your child.

Raising Lifelong Learners by Lucy McCormick Calkins and Lydia Bellino
This book helps parents become their children's first and most important teachers - giving practical suggestions for how parents can best nurture initiative, curiosity, thoughtfulness, resourcefulness, perseverance and imagination that are fundamental to a child's success. Parents learn how to be knowledgeable and constructive co-creators of their children's school experience.

For Reading Out Loud! by Kimmel & Segal
A detailed guide with thoughtful descriptions of books recommended by teachers and parents. Mary Margaret Kimmel and Elizabeth Segel have also included a section on reading aloud to children from infancy to kindergarten.


Learning Differences

Attention Deficit Disorder and Learning Disabilities by Ingersoll and Goldstein
Summarizes what is known about the causes, assessment and treatment of ADHD and learning disabilities. They also provide an overview of alternative and controversial treatments so that the reader can evaluate the treatment approach of most personal value.

Putting on the Brakes by Patricia Quinn, M.D. & Judith Stern, M.A.
A young people's guide to understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Jarvis Clutch, Social Spy by Dr. Mel Levine and Jarvis Clutch
A journal-style chronicle, from a student's point of view, about the school social scene.

All Kinds of Minds: A Young Student's Book About Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders by Dr. Mel Levine
A young student's book about learning abilities and learning disorders. An account of learning differences from the child's perspective.

Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents by Russell A. Barkley, PhD
Discusses all facets of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: up-to-date research, behavior management strategies, current controversies about increased diagnosis and stimulant use.

Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.
This book is new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. It instructs parents/teachers in what they can do year-by-year, step by step for the dyslexic child. Guides parents in choosing the best school for their child and provides exercises, teaching aids, information on computer programs and many other valuable resources.

Learning Outside The Lines : Two Ivy League Students With Learning Disabilities And ADHD Give You The Tools by Jonathan Mooney, David Cole, and Edward M. Hallowell
Two Ivy League students with learning differences and ADHD give you the tools for academic success and profound educational change.

Asperger Syndrome and Your Child: A Parent's Guide Michael D. Powers and Janet Poland
Dr. Powers weaves together a compassionate account of everything related to AS, offering such practical advice from getting the right diagnosis to helping your child develop social skills. An important book for parents and teachers who have someone with Asperger Syndrome in their lives.


On Bullying, Teasing and Exclusion

The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Preschool to High School--How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence by Barbara Coloroso
From preschool to high school--how parents and teachers can help break the cycle of violence.

They Don't Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroo by Jane Katch
Lessons on bullying and teasing from a preschool classroom. This book explores the painful problems of bullying, teasing, and exclusion.

You Can't Say, You Can't Play by Vivian Gussin Paley
A look at the moral dimensions of the classroom and what happens when the teacher introduces a new rule: "You can't say, you can't play."

Nobody Knew What To Do, A Story about Bullying by Becky Ray McCain and Todd Leonardo
A picture book story: when bullies pick on a boy at school, a classmate is afraid, but decides that he must do something.

Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain and Elizabeth Verdick
A serious, yet humorous guide to dealing with bullies…using jokes and cartoons written for children.


On Character Education

Teaching Tolerance by Sara Bullard
Shows what parents and teachers can do to raise open-minded, empathetic children.

Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age by Dan Kindlon
Kindlon exposes the danger of emotional and material over-indulgence. He reveals the behaviors that parents must watch for in their children and maps out ways in we can guide their children to experience a sense of engagement, self-worth and emotional maturity.

Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from Wrong: And What We Can Do About It by William Kilpatrick
What schools and parents can do to encourage character formation in their children and a guide to good children's books that transmit moral values.

Bringing Out Their Best: Values Education and Character Development through Traditional Tales by Norma J. Livo
Using the power of story, this is a collection of traditional tales to teach values education and character development.

Books That Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values Through Stories by Kirkpatrick and Wolfe
A guide to classic novels, contemporary fiction, myths and legends, science fiction, fantasy, folktales, picture books and other stories that celebrate virtues and values.

Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues that Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing by Michele Ed.D. Borba
The seven essential virtues that teach kids to do the right thing, including a book discussion guide and resource section with character-building books and videos.

Character Building Activities for Kids: Ready-to-Use Character Educational Lessons & Activities for the Elementary Grades by Darlene Mannix
Provides flexible, ready-to-use ideas for teaching children to understand & apply character traits.

Teaching Tolerance by Sara Bullard
A thoughtful,prescriptive guide for parents/teachers on raising open-minded, empathetic children.


On Helping Children Cope with Death, Old Age and Illness

Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola
A picture book about how 4 year old Tommy enjoys his relationship with his grandmother but eventually learns to face her inevitable death.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
This short chapter book about the true story of a Japanese girl who becomes ill with leukemia.

Packing for Heaven by Debra Delp, Suzanne, Ph.D. Zoglio, and Rob Larsen
A story and adult guide for assisting children through the grieving process.

Talking about Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child by Earl Grollman
A read-along book explaining death to young children with an extensive guide for parents.

Talking about Death by Virginia Morris

Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between by Bryan Mellonie
A picture book that helps parents to explain death to children.

The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst
A picture book about a cat named Barney who dies and how his family and friends cope with the loss.

Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant
A picture book about how God created Dog heaven, where dogs can eat ice cream, sleep on fluffy clouds, run through unending fields.

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Dr. Leo Buscaglia
This picture book story about a leaf named Freddie is an inspiring allegory illustrating the delicate balance between life and death.

Where is Grandpa? by T. A. Barron and Chris Soentpiet
This picture book story about a family reminiscing after the grandfather's death and how a young boy realizes that his grandfather is still with him in all the special places they shared.

The Remembering Box by Eth Clifford
In short chapter book format, nine-year-old Joshua's weekly visits to his beloved grandmother give him an understanding of love, family and tradition which helps him accept her death.

The Key Collection by Andrea Cheng and Yangsook Choi
In chapter book format, a 10-year-old boy in the Midwest misses his Chinese grandmother, who always lived next door until her old age and ill health caused her to move.

Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox & Julie Vivas
In picture book format, a small boy tries to discover the meaning of "memory" so he can restore the memory of an elderly friend.

Grandma's Cobwebs by Ann Frantti
A picture book for children about Alzeimer's Disease with an educational guide for parents/teachers with a questions and answers format.

Sammy and the Robots Sammy and the Robots by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds
A picture book story about a young boy who finds a way to cope with his grandmother's illness and hospital stay.


On Talking with Your Children about Human Sexuality

Did the Sun Shine Before You Were Born? by Judith Gordon, Vivien Cohen, and Sol GordonBR> In picture book format, explains in simple language how a baby begins, grows in the womb, and is born.

But How'd I Get There in the First Place? Talking to Your Young Child About Sex by D. Roffman
For parents of three to six year olds, a wise and charming guide to talking about sex, conception, and birth.

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley
A wonderful guide for young adolescents on puberty. Packed with the vital information they need to quell fears and make wise decisions. Frank yet playful, they portray a reassuring array of body types and ethnic groups and illuminate the richly informative that lets readers develop a healthy respect for their bodies and a better understanding of the role that sexuality plays in the human experience.

A Better Safe Than Sorry Book by Sol Gordon, Judith Gordon, and Vivien Cohen
In picture book format, a family guide for sexual assault prevention.

From Boys to Men:All About Adolescence and You (Plugged In) by Michael Gurian
Practical advice for preteens on how to cope with the emotional and physical changes that typically accompany adolescence. Gurian takes a holistic approach-in addition to the physical aspects of puberty, he addresses such subjects as developing romantic and sexual relationships, friendships, peer pressure, and even nutrition and wellness. The tone is always positive and empathetic.

What's Going On Down There? Answers to Questions Boys Find Hard To Ask by Karen Gravelle, Nick Castro, Chava Castro, and Robert Leighton
A readable guide to puberty for boys which covers physical changes, sexual intercourse, peer pressure, pregnancy and birth. It balances information about being a sexual person with being a responsible person. Provides detailed information on genital size, birth-control devices and sexually transmitted diseases, with an emphasis on psychological changes as well. Homosexuality and bisexuality are also covered

It's So Amazing! A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley
The creators of It's Perfectly Normal, targeted to middle-schoolers, here reach out to a slightly younger audience with candor and humor, neatly distilling various aspects of sex, reproduction and love. Specific topics covered include changes in boys' and girls' bodies during puberty, intercourse, birth control, chromosomes and genes, adoption and adjusting to a newborn sibling. Harris and Emberley handle their treatment of masturbation, sexual abuse, HIV and AIDS and homosexuality with sensitivity and intelligence .

What's the Big Secret?: Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys by Laurie Krasney Brown and Marc Brown
An introduction to sex along with the ways boys and girls differ…and are the same.