Dave Nettell's New Books Page
Recent "finds" -- an eclectic bunch of stuff from a number of different areas of interest. Click on the title for more information, including details about how to order online.
Updated: 04/23/06 09:07 AM
Hayes, Stephen C.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change
"
A
significant and novel contribution....This book presents an innovative approach
to helping clients accept their thoughts and feelings and overcome experiential
avoidance. The authors delineate a solid clinical rationale and provide clear
guidelines for ACT implementation. A real strength of this book is the chapters
on each stage of treatment, which detail a wealth of strategies and
interventions and include excellent exercises, therapist-client dialogues, and
pointers for practice." --Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD, York University, Canada
Reynolds, Peter. The Dot. Candlewick, 2003.
A frustrated grade school artist,
Vashti sits slumped over her blank piece of paper at the end of art class. "I
just CAN'T draw!" she tells her teacher. Her teacher first uses wit, then subtle
yet clever encouragement to inspire her student to go beyond her insecurities
and become, in the words of a younger boy who "can’t" draw either, "a really
great artist."Peter H. Reynolds crafts a quiet, pleasing story in The Dot--one that will strike a chord with children who have outgrown the self-assurance of kindergarten and begun to doubt their own greatness. His marvelous watercolor, ink, and, yes, tea illustrations are appealing in a Quentin Blakey way, especially as Vashti begins to go wild with her dots. The delightfully open-ended conclusion will have readers of all ages contemplating how they can make their own mark in the world. Highly recommended.
Shannon, David. A Bad Case of Stripes. Blue Sky, 1998.
A highly original moral tale
acquires mythic proportions when Camilla Cream worries too much about what
others think of her and tries desperately to please everyone. First stripes,
then stars and stripes, and finally anything anyone suggests (including tree
limbs, feathers, and a tail) appear vividly all over her body. The solution:
lima beans, loved by Camilla, but disdained for fear they'll promote
unpopularity with her classmates. Shannon's exaggerated, surreal, full-color
illustrations take advantage of shadow, light, and shifting perspective to show
the girl's plight. Bordered pages barely contain the energy of the artwork;
close-ups emphasize the remarkable characters that inhabit the tale.
McBrier, Paige. Beatrice's Goat. Atheneum, 2001.
When her
family's fat, sleek new goat arrives in her poor Ugandan village, little
Beatrice hugs her close and whispers, "Mama says you are our lucky gift...." And
indeed it is true. Soon the goat bears two kids and provides enough milk to both
feed the family and sell for profit. Until the goat arrived, life was very hard
for Beatrice and her five brothers and sisters. The family could not afford to
send the children to school, and it was difficult to make ends meet. Magically
this one small animal, one of 12 given the village, opens up a new world of
health and prosperity. Before the year is out, Beatrice happily realizes her
dream of becoming a school girl and her delighted family moves into a sturdy new
house.Based on the true account of one family who received aid from Heifer Project International, a charitable organization that donates livestock to poor communities around the world, this moving story is eloquently and gracefully recounted. Vividly evoking the lush tropical landscape of central Africa, Lohstoeter's rich, deeply-hued illustrations perfectly complement the text and make Beatrice and her world affectingly real. Although she may live far removed from the comfortable middle-class lives of many young readers, it is clear that Beatrice is a girl of unusual heart and, like any child, filled with hopes and dreams. In her afterword Hillary Rodham Clinton writes, "Beatrice's Goat is a heartwarming reminder that families, wherever they live, can change their lives for the better." A portion of the publisher's proceeds goes to support the Heifer Project.
Coles, Robert. The Story of Ruby Bridges. Scholastic, 1995.
Ruby Bridges was the sole African
American child to attend a New Orleans elementary school after court-ordered
desegregation in 1960. Noted research psychiatrist Coles tells how federal
marshals escorted the intrepid six-year-old past angry crowds of white
protestors thronging the school. Parents of the white students kept them home,
and so Ruby "began learning how to read and write in an empty classroom, an
empty building." Although there are disappointingly few words from Ruby herself,
Coles's use of quotes from her teacher adds to the story's poignancy ("Sometimes
I'd look at her and wonder how she did it.... How she went by those mobs and sat
here all by herself and yet seemed so relaxed and comfortable"). The story has a
rather abrupt ending; the concluding page reprints the prayer that Ruby said
daily, asking God to forgive the protesters. Coles cursorily finishes the tale
of Ruby's unsettling year in an afterword (two boys and then the rest of the
students returned to school; the mobs dispersed by the time Ruby entered second
grade). Ford (Bright Eyes, Brown Skin; Paul Robeson) contributes affecting
watercolors that play up Ruby's moral courage.
Spinelli. Eileen. Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. Sagebrush, 1999.
Colorless Mr. Hatch--who works in
a shoelace factory and eats a cheese and mustard sandwich for lunch every day
with, just occasionally, a prune--is jarred from his reserve by receiving a huge
Valentine box of candy with a card that says only, ``Somebody loves you.''
Amazed, he samples it, shares it at work and, buoyed by his friendly reception,
sympathetically helps several people out on the way home (e.g., he watches the
newspaper stall so that its proprietor can take his cold to the doctor). He's
soon baking brownies, hosting a neighborhood picnic, and reading to the local
kids. Then the postman arrives with the news that the candy was delivered to the
wrong address, putting poor Mr. Hatch into a funk; but his devoted new friends
rally round to bring him back into their cheerful society. Told with warmth and
a light touch, the story easily transcends its predictability. It's much
enhanced by Yalowitz's mellow color- pencil illustrations. His unique elongated
characters with their extra-tall heads are at once animated and serene; the
smooth clarity of his scenes is enlivened with many amusing details. A charming
book with a real plot, its amiable tone beautifully complemented by the
intriguing illustrations.
Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius, Puffin, 1985.
As
a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to
faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the
world more beautiful--and she does all those things, the last being the most
difficult of all.
I found out about this book while reading the following article in the Boston Globe:
A Beautiful Way to Help Children
Boston Globe, 8/10/04
A routine school assignment landed little Kaylee Wallace in Children's
Hospital yesterday -- which was just what she wanted.
Kaylee's first-grade teacher at Wellfleet Elementary School, on Cape Cod, had
asked the class to write about how they would make the world more beautiful.
Kaylee, 7, wrote that she would buy toys for sick children. Then, she told her
parents, who had adopted her from China six years ago, that she actually wanted
to do it.
"She said, 'We're going to sell lemonade,' " recalled Kaylee's father, John
Wallace.
That's how Kaylee raked in more than $850 to buy toys that filled several large
boxes, which she and her parents delivered to a playroom in Children's Hospital
yesterday. The toys will be distributed to the hospital's several playrooms.
The writing assignment that inspired Kaylee was given after her class read
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, a story told by a young girl about her
great-aunt, who scatters flower seeds around the world because her grandfather
had told her when she was little that she needed to do something to make the
world more beautiful.
Fox, Mem. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. Kane/Miller, 1985.
A small boy, Wilfrid Gordon
McDonald Partridge, knows and likes all of the old folks in the home next door,
but his favorite is Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper she has four names, too.
Hearing that she has lost her memory, he asks the old folks what a memory is
("Something from long ago" ; "Something that makes you laugh;" "Something warm;"
etc.), ponders the answers, then gathers up memories of his own (seashells
collected long ago last summer, a feathered puppet with a goofy expression, a
warm egg fresh from the hen) to give her. In handling Wilfrid's memories, Nancy
finds and shares her own. The illustrations splashy, slightly hazy watercolors
in rosy pastels contrast the boy's fidgety energy with his friends' slow,
careful movements and capture the story's warmth and sentiment.
Kohn, Alfie. Unconditional Parenting : Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason. Atria, 2005.
Author of nine books, including
the controversial Punished by Rewards, Kohn expands upon the theme of what's
wrong with our society's emphasis on punishments and rewards. Kohn, the father
of young children, sprinkles his text with anecdotes that shore up his
well-researched hypothesis that children do best with unconditional love,
respect and the opportunity to make their own choices. Kohn questions why
parents and parenting literature focus on compliance and quick fixes, and points
out that docility and short-term obedience are not what most parents desire of
their children in the long run. He insists that "controlling parents" are
actually conveying to their kids that they love them conditionally—that is, only
when they achieve or behave. Tactics like time-out, bribes and threats, Kohn
claims, just worsen matters. Caustic, witty and thought-provoking, Kohn's
arguments challenge much of today's parenting wisdom, yet his assertion that
"the way kids learn to make good decisions is by making decisions, not by
following directions" rings true. Kohn suggests parents help kids solve
problems; provide them with choices; and use reason, humor and, as a last
resort, a restorative time away (not a punitive time-out). This lively book will
surely rile parents who want to be boss. Those seeking alternative methods of
raising confident, well-loved children, however, will warmly embrace Kohn's
message. (Mar.)Forecast: Kohn is a controversial and popular author/speaker,
well regarded by scholars and educators. This title should appeal to parents who
want to explore the "whys" and not just the "hows" of raising kids.
Brady, Katheryn (et al). Rules in School (Strategies for Teachers, 4) NEFC, 2003.
Learn an
approach for helping students become invested in creating and living by
classroom rules. K-8 teachers in a wide range of settings have used this
approach to establish calm, safe learning environments and teach children
self-discipline.
Written by four experineced classroom teachers, this book offers practical
techniques for: * Helping students articulate their hopes and dreams for school.
* Involving students in generating classroom rules that grow out of their hopes
and dreams. * Modeling, practicing, and role playing the rules. * Using teacher
language effectively to reinforce the rules. * Teaching children about logical
consequences for rule breaking. * Choosing effective logical consequences. *
Teaching children to live by the rules outside of the classroom.
Trelease, Jim.
The Read-Aloud Handbook: Fourth Edition. Penguin, 2001.
Since the publication of his
first Read-Aloud Handbook, Trelease has made a serious avocation of spreading
his gospel about the value of reading aloud to children and teens. To spread the
word via audio is a natural transition and one that works beautifully. Trelease
shares his message with clarity and fervor. He moves smoothly from the obvious
educational and social advantages to the rationale for reading aloud to older
offspring and students. Overall, this is an audiobook that takes full advantage
of the medium, entertaining by moving gracefully between lecture mode,
demonstrations and success stories.
Stewart, Jon. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.
American-style democracy is the world's most beloved
form of government, which explains why so many other nations are eager for us to
impose it on them. But what is American democracy? In America (The Book), Jon
Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff offer their insights into our unique
system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and
processes, and exploring the reasons why concepts like one man, one vote,
government by the people, and every vote counts have become such popular urban
myths. Topics include: Ancient Rome: The First Republicans; The Founding
Fathers: Young, Gifted, and White; The Media: Can it Be Stopped?; and more!
McMackin, Mary C. & Siegel, Barbara S. Knowing How: Researching and Writing Nonfiction, 3-8. Stenhouse, 2002.
When you assign a research report, do you hear groans of dismay? Audible groans from the students and your own internal groan, because you know that most of what you read, and have to grade, will be a lifeless string of facts, as devoid of the writer's voice as an encyclopedia entry?
It doesn't have to be that way. Combining research with compelling writing is challenging for upper elementary and middle school students, but when done well reports embody the passion that every student brings to the subject she or he loves.
Mary McMackin and Barbara Siegel sought a way to help students bring real vitality to this crucial assignment, to tap into their true interests, energies, and imagination, and to help students unlock the complex, nonlinear process of researching and reporting. To do this Mary and Barbara each chose a research topic and worked alongside Barbara's fifth graders at each stage of the research and writing process.
In Knowing How, they demystify the research process and provide tools students need to shape their research into substantive, well-written products that communicate with readers.
Stenhouse Publishing link to this book -- includes study guide online.
Lindsay, Norman. The Magic Pudding: Being the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and His Friends Bill Barnacle & Sam Sawnoff (New York Review Children's Collection).
The Magic Pudding is a pie, except when it's something else, like a steak, or
a jam donut, or an apple dumpling. But it's also alive. It walks, it talks, and
it's got a personality like no other. A meaner, sulkier, snarlinger Pudding
you've never met. So discovers koala Bunyip Bluegum when he joins a sailor and a
penguin as members of Noble Society of Pudding Owners, whose "members are
required to wander along the roads, indulgin' in conversation, song and story,
and eatin' at regular intervals from the Pudding." Wild and woolly, funny and
outrageously fun, The Magic Pudding stands with Alice in Wonderland as one of
the craziest books ever written for young readers.
Review by Phillip Pullman in Salon.com
For more children's books, check out my
Children's Books Bibliography.
Kovalik, Susan J. & Olsen, Karen D. Exceeding Expectations: A User's Guide to Implementing Brain Research in the Classroom. Susan Kovalik & Associates, 2002.
Meier, Deborah.
In
Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and
Standardization. Beacon Press, 2002.
While
policy makers agree that big city public schools are failing to meet children's
needs, their solutions usually involve shifting responsibility to distant
figures chancellors, mayors and relying on abstract performance evaluation
tools, like standardized tests. From her own experience designing and operating
various alternative public schools, progressive educator Meier (The Power of
Their Ideas) has a different assessment: schools must be smaller, more
self-governed and places of choice, so kids and their families feel they are
truly part of these communities of learning. Students need to spend more time
around adults who are doing adult work, which builds familiarity, trust and
respect, as well as exposure to new skills. Families also need to be brought
into the mix, so they're comfortable with the school, the teachers and the
educational agenda. Teachers need time and space to develop collegial relations
with each other, both to improve educational practices and to model responsible
critical behavior for students. According to Meier, the currently fashionable
educational panacea increased standardized testing is either irrelevant to
academic excellence or an actual deterrent, as teachers teach to the test and
ignore everything that's not on it. Likewise, teaching children test-taking
techniques trains them to distrust their own intuition about what's right or
wrong. Reliance on test results (which are largely meaningless, Meier says)
denies parents' and teachers' ability to assess learning. This is a passionate,
jargon-free plea for a rerouting of educational reform, sure to energize
committed parents, progressive educators and maybe even a politician or two.
Riera, Michael & Di Prisco, Joseph. Right from Wrong: Instilling a Sense of Integrity in Your Child. Perseus, 2002.
Never preachy and always practical, Right from Wrong is an important and inspiring book about raising children with a conscience. Educators Michael Riera and Joseph Di Prisco focus on integrity rather than morality in their provocative and persuasive thesis: "The most direct way for children to take lessons of integrity to heart is by being out of integrity," they explain.
Targeted for preschoolers through preteens, each
chapter is organized around evocative vignettes about finding integrity. Among
them: a kindergartner stealing a candy bar, the death of a family pet, a dustup
on the soccer field, an 11-year-old who gives her phone number to a teenage boy
at the movies. The authors imaginatively explore how parents can leverage kids'
everyday experiences--homework, competition, tattling, awakening sexuality, or
surfing the Internet--into teachable moments of integrity.
Overall, don't take your child's behavior personally, the book cautions. Avoid
the trap of being so disappointed or panicked by children's behavior that you
lose an opportunity for them to unpack conflicting emotions and learn to value
integrity. Sound advice is underlined with sample parent-child dialogues,
asking, for example, "What stopped you from listening to the part of you that
knew the right thing to do?" This book is simply a gem--and a must-read for
parents and teachers of young children alike.
Riera, Michael. Staying Connected to Your Teenager: How to Keep Them Talking to You and How to Hear What They're Really Saying. Perseus, 2003.
The
first step is simple: realizing that inside every teen resides two very
different people-the regressed child and the emergent adult. The emergent adult
is seen at school, on the playing field, in his first job, and in front of his
friends' families. Unfortunately, his parents usually see only the regressed
child-moody and defiant-and, if they're not on the lookout, they'll miss seeing
the more agreeable, increasingly adult thinker in their midst. With ingenious
strategies for coaxing the more attractive of the two teen personalities into
the home, family psychologist Mike Riera gives new hope to beleaguered and
harried parents. From moving from a "managing" to a "consulting" role in a
teen's life, from working with a teen's uniquely exasperating sleep rhythms to
having real conversations when only monosyllables have been previously possible,
Staying Connected to Your Teenager demonstrates ways to bring out the best in a
teen-and, consequently, in an entire family.
Ayers, William. To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. Teachers College Press, 2001.
"No one since John Holt has written so thoughtfully about the things that actually happen in the classroom. Ayers has been there and he knows, and he shares what he has learned with tremendous sensitivity . . . Ayers writes so beautifully of children he has known--there are so many unforgettable vignettes--that this book will touch the heart of almost anyone who loves the authenticity of oral history".--Jonathan Kozol Pub: 4/93.
Developmental Studies Center. Ways We Want Our Class to Be: Class Meetings That Build Commitment to Kindness and Learning. DSC, 2001.
This book is a wonderful resource for classroom
teachers who are interested in, or already have, classroom meetings. Its teacher
friendly format makes the book applicable to the classroom and provides
strategies for implementing meetings in the room. Strategies for grades K-5 are
explained in the book and various meetings (including ideas for starting,
questions to ask, wait time, building consensus and follow up activities) are
explained in detail. Another benefit to this book is the reference guide
provided at the end of the book. The reference guide is a great summary, but
could also be used by the reader to evaluate their own classroom meetings. As a
teacher, I really enjoyed this book and believe it offers great insight into the
classroom.
Riera, Michael & Di Prisco, Joseph. Field Guide to the American Teenager: A Parent's Companion. Perseus, 2001.
Invaluable
analysis of teenage behavior and uncommonly wise advice for apprehensive
parents.
Addressing the isolation, fear, and silence parents endure during their child's
adolescence, authors Michael Riera and Joseph Di Prisco get beyond the
stereotypes to expertly guide parents to a better appreciation of their
teenager's frustrating if not completely troubling behavior.
Through stories and conversations, Field Guide to the American Teenager
dramatizes teens living their lives on their own terms, illuminating for
bewildered and sometimes beleaguered parents what is extraordinary in the
ordinary reality of everyday teenage life. Complete with suggestions for parents
to improve communication, Field Guide lets parents stand briefly in their
teenager's shoes, ultimately guiding families toward genuine mutual respect and
understanding.
Thompson, Michael.
Best Friends, Worst Enemies : Understanding the Social Lives of Children.
Ballantine, 2001.
Friends broaden our children’s horizons, share their
joys and secrets, and accompany them on their journeys into ever wider worlds.
But friends can also gossip and betray, tease and exclude. Children can cause
untold suffering, not only for their peers but for parents as well. In this wise
and insightful book, psychologist Michael Thompson, Ph.D., and children’s book
author Catherine O’Neill Grace, illuminate the crucial and often hidden role
that friendship plays in the lives of children from birth through adolescence.
Drawing on fascinating new research as well as their own extensive experience in
schools, Thompson and Grace demonstrate that children’s friendships begin
early–in infancy–and run exceptionally deep in intensity and loyalty. As
children grow, their friendships become more complex and layered but also more
emotionally fraught, marked by both extraordinary intimacy and bewildering
cruelty. As parents, we watch, and often live through vicariously, the tumult
that our children experience as they encounter the “cool” crowd, shifting
alliances, bullies, and disloyal best friends.
Best Friends, Worst Enemies brings to life the drama of childhood relationships,
guiding parents to a deeper understanding of the motives and meanings of social
behavior. Here you will find penetrating discussions of the difference between
friendship and popularity, how boys and girls deal in unique ways with intimacy
and commitment, whether all kids need a best friend, why cliques form and what
you can do about them.
Filled with anecdotes that ring amazingly true to life, Best Friends, Worst
Enemies probes the magic and the heartbreak that all children experience with
their friends. Parents, teachers, counselors–indeed anyone who cares about
children–will find this an eye-opening and wonderfully affirming book.
Clinton, Bill. My Life. Knopf, 2004.
I wasn't sure that I would but I'm finding this an interesting and absorbing "summer read."
Johnson, Peter H.
Choice Words -- How Our Language Affects
Children's Learning.
Stenhouse Publishing, 2004
In
productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build
emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create
intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students,
but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.
Choice Words shows how teachers
accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout,
Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses
of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in
a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things
we say (and don’t say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and
for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to
become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In
addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in
classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by
policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is
vitally important.
This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious
of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view
the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.
Charney, Ruth. Teaching Children to Care: Classroom Management for Ethical and Academic Growth, K-8. Northeast Foundation for Children, 2002.
This definitive work about classroom management will show teachers how to turn their vision of respectful, friendly, academically rigorous classrooms into reality. Chapter after chapter offers no-nonsense steps that will help teachers move from inspiration to implementation.
Loehr, Jim & Schwartz, Tony. The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. Free Press, 2003.
We
live in digital time. Our pace is rushed, rapid-fire, and relentless. Facing
crushing workloads, we try to cram as much as possible into every day. We're
wired up, but we're melting down. Time management is no longer a viable
solution. As bestselling authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz demonstrate in this
groundbreaking book, managing energy, not time, is the key to enduring high
performance as well as to health, happiness, and life balance.
The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy
available to us is not. This fundamental insight has the power to revolutionize
the way you live your life. The Power of Full Engagement is a highly practical,
scientifically based approach to managing your energy more skillfully both on
and off the job.
Wood, Chip.
Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14 : A Resource for Parents and
Teachers, Northeast Foundation for Children, 1997.
This
popular Guidebook which has helped thousands of teachers and parents to better
understand children has now been expanded to include ages 13 and 14. Written
with warmth, humor and deep reverence for children, Yardsticks offers clear and
concise descriptions of the developmental characteristics of children at
different ages. Teachers appreciate the user-friendly format as they use these
"yardsticks" to shape curriculum. Straightforward descriptions of each age are
followed by easy-to-read charts identifying developmental "yardsticks" in the
areas of physical, social, language, and cognitive growth. Also included are
curriculum suggestions and guidelines, a list of favorite books for different
ages, and a bibliography with books on child development, curriculum content
areas and parenting. 162 pages, paper.
Watson, Marilyn & Ecken, Laura. Learning to Trust: Transforming Difficult Elementary Classrooms Through Developmental Discipline. Josey-Bass, 2003.
Faced
with increasing numbers of children who are difficult to manage and the
pervasive presence of high stakes testing, many teachers feel frustrated and
compelled to reduce their attention to building relationships with and among
their students and their focus on social and ethical development. In Learning to
Trust, an educational psychologist and a classroom teacher collaborate to
demonstrate through an in-depth case study of an inner-city classroom the power
and importance of caring, trusting relationships for fostering children's
academic growth as well as their social and ethical development.
Marilyn Watson explains and describes the ups and downs of Laura Ecken's classroom through the lens of attachment theory, while Laura describes in vivid detail the ongoing life of her classroom, revealing throughout her challenges, thoughts, fears, failures and successes. Together they explore a fundamentally new approach to classroom management and present many practical strategies for helping all children develop the social and emotional skills needed to live harmonious and productive lives, the self confidence and curiosity to invest wholeheartedly in learning, and the empathy and moral understanding to be caring and responsible young people.
Kriete, Roxann & Bechtel, Lynn.
The
Morning Meeting Book. Northeast Foundation for Children,
2002.
Since its publication three years ago, "The Morning
Meeting Book" has introduced thousands of teachers to this powerful teaching
tool that builds community, increases student investment, and improves academic
and social skills. The book's step-by-step implementation guidelines; clear
explanations of purposes; and specific examples of activities, greetings, and
charts have helped teachers across the country launch their school days with
Morning Meeting.
Denton, Paula & Kriete, Roxann. The First Six Weeks of School. Northeast Foundation for Children, 2000.
Learn
how to structure the first six weeks of school in order to lay the groundwork
for a productive year of learning. This comprehensive guidebook for teachers
includes: * Daily plans for the first three weeks and commentary about these
plans at three grade levels: primary (K-2), middle (3-4), and upper (5-6). *
Detailed guidelines for building community; creating rules and teaching
routines; introducing engaging curriculum; fostering autonomy; integrating
social and academic learning. * An extensive collection of games, activities,
greetings, songs, read-alouds, and resources especially useful during the early
weeks of school.
Clayton, Marlynn K.. Off to a Good Start: Launching the School Year (The Responsive Classroom Series, #1) Northeast Foundation for Children, 1997.
Here's
the first book in an exciting new series offering information about schooling
which promotes the strong intellectual, social and ethical development of
children, grades K-8. The Responsive Classroom Series will include writings
about classroom and school-wide practice as well as relevant theory and
research.
Off to a Good Start collects nine of the most frequently requested reprints from
Responsive Classroom: A Newsletter for Teachers offering strategies for building
a strong foundation for the school year.
Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. Broadway Books, 1999.
Bill
Bryson has made a living out of traveling and then writing about it. In The Lost
Continent he re-created the road trips of his childhood; in Neither Here nor
There he retraced the route he followed as a young backpacker traversing Europe.
When this American transplant to Britain decided to return home, he made a
farewell walking tour of the British countryside and produced Notes from a Small
Island. Once back on American soil and safely settled in New Hampshire, Bryson
once again hears the siren call of the open road--only this time it's a trail.
The Appalachian Trail, to be exact. In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles
what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness. Accompanied
only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning
in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop
Maine's Mount Katahdin.
If nothing else, A Walk in the Woods is proof positive
that the journey is the destination. As Bryson and Katz haul their out-of-shape,
middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny
personal memoir and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created
it, and the places it passes through. Whether you plan to make a trip like this
one yourself one day or only care to read about it, A Walk in the Woods is a
great way to spend an afternoon. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of
print or unavailable edition of this title.
Graves, Donald.
The Energy to Teach. Heinemann, 2001.
It's
no wonder that many teachers these days are feeling drained, and it's no
surprise that Don Graves is ready to offer his uncommon insight, unwavering
support, and unbounded hope for the future.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara.
The Essential Conversation : What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each Other.
Random House, 2003.
On
the surface, this book is about that most ordinary of human encounters-the
parent/teacher meeting-that takes place more than 100 million times a year,
usually in uncomfortable, undersized chairs. Beneath the smooth surface of this
mostly polite exchange, according to Harvard education professor
Lawrence-Lightfoot, lurk ancestral ghosts and ancient psychological themes, a
turbulent mix of fears, anxieties, drives and biases that both parties bring to
the table. Add to this the vectors of race, class, gender, culture and language,
and you have a set of complex and passionate dynamics that often have as much to
do with the adults' desires and needs as with those of the children. Parents and
teachers have a lot to learn from each other, says Lawrence-Lightfoot, and these
essential conversations are a crucial if neglected aspect of children's
educational success. As in her previous works,
Worlds Apart: Relationships Between Families and Schools and
The Good High School: Portraits of Character and Culture, Lawrence-Lightfoot
draws readers in with elegant prose and carefully drawn narrative portraits.
Curiously, she does not feature any male elementary school teachers; their
inclusion could have made the discussions of gender and power even more thought
provoking and complex. But this is a minor shortcoming in an otherwise
significant and thoughtfully rendered exploration of a social ritual many adults
commonly experience but seldom examine. Anyone who has ever sat through a
parent/teacher conference, on either side of the tiny table, will find much to
consider in these pages.
Bluestein, Jane PhD. Creating Emotionally Safe Schools : A Guide for Educators and Parents. Health Communications, 2001.
Educational counselor Jane Bluestein (21st-Century Discipline) challenges educators, parents, communities and corporate citizens to consider school safety beyond the presence or absence of violence. School safety can be measured psychologically, she claims, and is influenced by everything from a school system that does not respect the expertise and individual styles of its teachers to teachers who use grades and pop quizzes to ridicule slow learners and students who tease and harass even one classmate. In Creating Emotionally Safe Schools: A Guide for Educators and Parents, Bluestein brings together social, biological, educational and environmental perspectives in a weighty and timely book.
Carson, Rick.
Taming Your Gremlin (Revised Edition): A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting
Out of Your Own Way. Quill Publishers, 2003.
This
is a completely updated edition of the 1983 classic that introduced a powerful
method for gaining freedom from self-defeating behaviors and beliefs. Rick
Carson, creator of the renowned Gremlin-Taming? Method, has revised the book to
include fresh interactive activities, real-life vignettes we can all identify
with, and new loathsome gremlins ripe for taming. Carson blends his laid-back
style, Taoist wisdom, the Zen Theory of Change, and sound psychology in an
easy-to-understand, unique, and practical system for banishing the nemesis
within. Among the things you will learn are:
- Techniques for getting a sliver of light between the natural you and the monster of your mind.
- The extraordinary power of simply noticing and playing with options.
- Six keys to maintaining emotional balance amid upheaval.
Shaw, Robert, M.D.
The Epidemic: The Rot of American Culture, Absentee and Permissive Parenting,
and the Resultant Plague of Joyless, Selfish Children. Regan
Books, 2003.
Take
a good look around you: You can't go into stores or restaurants without seeing
joyless children screaming, sulking, resisting their parents, or pulling things
off shelves. Parents, in turn, nag, complain, and often try desperately to
ignore their unruly, surly offspring.
In today's world, both parents and children are suffering all around us.
But it takes a catastrophic event like the tragedy at Columbine High School --
or one of any number of other frightening examples that make headlines weekly --
to get us to acknowledge that something terrible is happening to our children.
We have lost touch with what they need from us to grow and thrive, and in the
process we've created enormous numbers of children who are disaffected,
alienated, amoral, emotionally stunted, and even violent. In The Epidemic,
esteemed child and family psychiatrist Robert Shaw brings to bear a lifetime of
firsthand experience with and knowledge of this plague, which has become so much
the norm that we often don't even recognize its warning signs.
This bold and timely book tells you how to save your child and yourself from
this epidemic, but its suggestions will not be the ones that today's parents are
used to hearing. While the media is far from innocent, the bulk of the blame
lies with the faddish, both neglectful and overindulgent, child-rearing
practices that experts have promoted for the past three decades. "These children
are not an aberration. They are the natural outcome of the way we have been
raising them," Shaw notes. But there is hope, and Shaw's commonsense approach
cuts to the core of the problem and shows us the cure, covering such important
and controversial issues as:
- The myths and realities of bonding and attachment
- How to recognize when nonparental care is working -- and when it isn't
- Milestones in your child's moral and ethical development
- The difference between self-centeredness and self-esteem
- Why you must stop the media from mugging your child
- Strategies for bringing children back from the edge
The Epidemic is not just a "how-to" book, it is a "what is necessary" book
-- a call for parents to take responsibility for their children and give them
what they truly need in order to grow, thrive, and love.
Lareau, Annette.
Unequal Childhoods : Class, Race, and Family Life. University
of CA Press, 2003.
Class
does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children. Drawing on
in-depth observations of black and white middle-class, working-class, and poor
families, Unequal Childhoods explores this fact, offering a picture of childhood
today. Here are the frenetic families managing their children's hectic schedules
of "leisure" activities; and here are families with plenty of time but little
economic security. Lareau shows how middle-class parents, whether black or
white, engage in a process of "concerted cultivation" designed to draw out
children's talents and skills, while working-class and poor families rely on
"the accomplishment of natural growth," in which a child's development unfolds
spontaneously--as long as basic comfort, food, and shelter are provided. Each of
these approaches to childrearing brings its own benefits and its own drawbacks.
In identifying and analyzing differences between the two, Lareau demonstrates
the power, and limits, of social class in shaping the lives of America's
children.
Spinelli, Jerry.
Loser. HarperCollins, 2002.
Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for
snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also
raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls
down with laughter over a word like "Jabip."
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear
it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's
differences show that any name can someday become "hero."
Damm, Antje. Ask Me. Roaring Brook, 2003.
PreSchool-Grade
3-Declaring the goal of strengthening parent-child relationships by providing
100 conversation-starter questions, this book does much more. It's actually an
invitation for parents and children alike to open their minds. Damm's questions
range from the ordinary ("Who is your best friend?") to the provocative ("Do you
have a guardian angel?" or "Did you ever find a dead animal? What did you do
with it?"). Most parents don't need the questions fed to them because such
inquiries reside at the core of family understanding, nurturing, and curiosity
based on loving. It's Damm's mixed-media illustrations, one per question, that
give value to Ask Me. From specific questions ("What special thing can you do
with your hands?" illustrated with a photograph of a child's hand with a face
painted on it) to general inspiration ("Have you ever picked fruit off a tree?"
accompanied by a pen/ink/crayon picture of a girl with cherries looped over her
ears as earrings), the text and art will open conversations. The book's six-inch
square format enhances its layout design. The question is posed cleanly and
opposite the illustration that prompts myriad responses. Ask Me is unique,
fresh, inspiring, iconoclastic. It's charged with possibilities for adult and
child interaction.
Stock, Gregory. The Kids' Book of Questions. Scott Foresman, 1988.
Here
is a collection of questions specially designed to challenge, provoke, entertain
and expand young minds. Discovery and controversy lurk in every question,
whether discussed kid to kid, in class or with the whole family. Poses
thought-provoking questions to the reader about such issues as trust, fear,
ethics, family problems, social pressures, and friendship.
Finchler, Judy. Testing Miss Malarky. Walker & Company, 2000.
Ages
6-9. Miss Malarkey is back, this time dealing with standardized tests, but the
tone of this story is surprisingly sarcastic. The Principal is literally
flipping his wig over which pencils to order, students in art class learn the
correct way to fill in circles, and Mr. Fitanuff is teaching yoga to help
de-stress kids before the test. Even worse, children are denied recess, and
parents are concerned about property values. The last illustration shows
teachers celebrating under a banner proclaiming "County Champions," but it's
clear the children are unaware of the honor. Listeners will enjoy the silly
humor and joyful, creative illustrations, with thought balloons providing snappy
asides, but the book may be most appealing to adults who have already done their
share of test preparation.
Forsten, Char & Grant, Jim. If You're Riding a Horse and It Dies, Get Off. Crystal Springs Books, 1999.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5). Scholastic, June 21, 2003.
From
the publisher: "We are thrilled to announce the publication date.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is absolutely superb and will
delight all J.K. Rowling's fans. She has written a brilliant and utterly
compelling new adventure, which begins with the words:
"The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy
silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.... The only
person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a
flowerbed outside number four."
"Later in the novel, J.K.Rowling writes:
"Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon
glasses. 'It is time,' he said 'for me to tell you what I should have told
you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you
everything.'"
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is over 255,000 words compared to
over l9l,000 words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The new book is
38 chapters long, one more than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Sachar, Louis. There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom. Random, 1987.
Fifth
grader Bradley Chalkers is bright, imaginative, antisocial and friendless.
Unlike the kids at school, who hate him, Bradley's collection of chipped and
broken little pottery animals allows him to be brave, smart and vulnerable; he
uses them to resolve the rejection of peers and adults. Jeff, a new boy at
school, offers friendship but then withdraws his offer, because Bradley is hard
to like. Enter Carla Davis, new school counselor, who is caring and funny, and
who gradually helps restore Bradley's self-confidence. Feelings and emotions are
strongly evoked in this touching and serious story of a disturbed child that is
infused with humor and insight.
Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. Sunburst, 1988.
Imagine
coming upon a fountain of youth in a forest. To live forever--isn't that
everyone's ideal? For the Tuck family, eternal life is a reality, but their
reaction to their fate is surprising. Award winner Natalie Babbitt (Knee-Knock
Rise, The Search for Delicious) outdoes herself in this sensitive, moving
adventure in which 10-year-old Winnie Foster is kidnapped, finds herself helping
a murderer out of jail, and is eventually offered the ultimate gift--but doesn't
know whether to accept it. Babbitt asks profound questions about the meaning of
life and death, and leaves the reader with a greater appreciation for the
perfect cycle of nature. Intense and powerful, exciting and poignant, Tuck
Everlasting will last forever--in the reader's imagination. An ALA Notable Book.
(Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
Spinelli, Jerry. Loser. Colter Books, 2002.
Donald
Zinkoff is one of the greatest kids you could ever hope to meet. He laughs
easily, he likes people, he loves school, he tries to rescue lost girls in
blizzards, he talks to old ladies. The only problem is, he's a loser. Until
fourth grade, Zinkoff's uncontrollable giggling in class, sloppy handwriting,
horrible flute playing, bad grades, clumsiness, and ineptitude at sports go
largely unnoticed. When he blows a race for his team, however, his transition to
loserdom is complete: "[Loser] is the word. It is Zinkoff's new name. It is not
in the roll book." Fortunately, he doesn't really notice. As he did in Stargirl,
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli again explores the cruelty of a
student body and how it does and doesn't affect one student, pure of spirit.
Presumably if Loser makes one child view a "different kid" as a
three-dimensional character, Spinelli will consider his book successful.
The author recounts Zinkoff's story--a case study of sorts--in short sentences from a deliberately reportorial point of view, documenting the first years of the boy's life and his evolution into a loser. What makes the book charming and buoyant is that the reader, like Zinkoff's parents and his favorite teacher, appreciates the boy's oblivious joie de vivre and his divine quirks. What is less compelling about the novel is the "let this be a lesson to us" heavy-handedness that accompanies the reportorial approach. Still, Spinelli comes through again with a lively, often moving story with humor and heart to spare. (Ages 8 to 12) --Karin Snelson
Ohanian, Susan. What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten? McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Arms
parents with everything they need to know to fight the pro-standards movements.
Parents all across the political spectrum have united on one issue: when it
comes to standardized testing, they all lean toward some kind of educational
reform. Drawing on her 20 years of classroom experience and enriched by
real-life anecdotes, Susan Ohanian's What Happened to Recess, and Why Are Our
Children Struggling in Kindergarten? explains the misguided mania for testing
children, why a child's success or failure is currently determined by a set of
tests, and what parents are doing to change public policy on education. Even
children who are able test takers are hurt by the politics surrounding testing.
Ohanian's moving insider's view imparts a sense of urgency about the situation
of individual children caught on the front line of our treacherous education
system. This beacon will inspire parents who are confused, angered, or
intimidated by the forces that control their children's education to take
action.
Ohanian, Susan. Non Standard Kids and a Killing Curriculum. Heinemann, 2001.
As
one of the country's most outspoken critics of standards and testing, and a
former inner-city teacher, Susan Ohanian is no stranger to the "f" word:
failure. She often referred to it in her best-seller, One Size Fits Few, to
point out "the folly of educational standards." And now, in her follow-up book,
Caught in the Middle, it's the fulcrum upon which she dares to reveal what
schools are really like when nonstandard kids and a standardized curriculum
collide in the classroom. Offering both a warning and a clarion to teachers
everywhere--Susan tells an insider's story of living day in and day out with
students who are not likely to succeed in a world with only one definition of
success. In the first of a series of heart-wrenching and heroic portraits,
you'll meet twelve-year-old Sylvia ("Nobody messes with Sylvia"), who is failing
all her courses but, somehow, teams up with the author in a bizarre mutual-aid
arrangement. Next, one by one, you'll get to know Anita (sweet, compliant, and
then pregnant) . . . Jimmy (who discovers fairy tales ten years after all his
peers did) . . . Tiffany (unkempt, unwashed, whiny, and then suddenly
transformed into the proud owner of words when introduced to a thesaurus) . . .
Jean (teller of tall tales, including a whopper Susan fell for) . . . Clarice
(the most polite kid in school, but with a locker bursting with stolen goods) .
. . and Arnold ("certifiably crazy," but who is always promoted because nobody
wanted him to stay another year).
Although admitting to failure, Caught in the Middle is not a downer. Hope shines
through, and it comes, not from political initiatives or even from wonderful
programs, but from individual interactions between teacher and students; it
comes from matters of the heart.
Levine, Mel. A Mind at a Time. Simon and Schuster, 2002.
Children
have different ways of learning, argues Levine, a professor of pediatrics at the
University of North Carolina Medical School and director of its Clinical Center
for the Study of Development and Learning, so why do schools behave as though a
one-size-fits-all education will work for everyone? Like Howard Gardner's Frames
of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983), Levine's book argues that
our educational shortsightedness results in a loss of human potential on a grand
scale, as kids who don't fit the mold are misclassified, stigmatized and then
fail. If educators could assess differences more intelligently and redesign
educational models to account for these differences, they would radically
improve people's prospects for success in and out of school. Based on his work
with children who have learning or behavioral problems, Levine has isolated
eight areas of learning (the memory system, the language system, the spatial
ordering system, the motor system, etc.). He provides chapters describing how
each type of learning works and advises parents and teachers on how to help kids
struggling in these areas. Levine emphasizes that all minds have some areas of
giftedness and pleads for educators to "make a firm social and political
commitment to neurodevelopmental pluralism." Such a plea may seem daunting, but
Levine's compassionate, accessible text, framed around actual case studies,
makes it seem do-able. This is a must-read for parents and educators who want to
understand and improve the school lives of children.
Simmons, Rachel. Odd Girl Out -- the Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. Harcourt Brace, 2002.
There is little sugar but lots
of spice in journalist Rachel Simmons's brave and brilliant book that skewers
the stereotype of girls as the kinder, gentler gender. Odd Girl Out begins with
the premise that girls are socialized to be sweet with a double bind: they must
value friendships; but they must not express the anger that might destroy them.
Lacking cultural permission to acknowledge conflict, girls develop what Simmons
calls "a hidden culture of silent and indirect aggression."
The author, who visited 30 schools and talked to 300 girls, catalogues chilling
and heartbreaking acts of aggression, including the silent treatment,
note-passing, glaring, gossiping, ganging up, fashion police, and being nice in
private/mean in public. She decodes the vocabulary of these sneak attacks,
explaining, for example, three ways to parse the meaning of "I'm fat."
Simmons is a gifted writer who is skilled at describing destructive patterns and
prescribing clear-cut strategies for parents, teachers, and girls to resist
them. "The heart of resistance is truth telling," advises Simmons. She guides
readers to nurture emotional honesty in girls and to discover a language for
public discussions of bullying. She offers innovative ideas for changing the
dynamics of the classroom, sample dialogues for talking to daughters, and
exercises for girls and their friends to explore and resolve messy feelings and
conflicts head-on.
One intriguing chapter contrasts truth telling in white middle class,
African-American, Latino, and working-class communities. Odd Girl Out is that
rare book with the power to touch individual lives and transform the culture
that constrains girls--and boys--from speaking the truth. --Barbara Mackoff
Glasser, William, M.D. Unhappy Teenagers -- A Way for Parents and Teachers to Reach Them. Harpercollins, 2002.
During
his decades-long career as a therapist, Dr. William Glasser has often counseled
parents and teenagers, healing shattered families and changing lives with his
advice. Now, in his first book on the lessons he has learned, he asks parents to
reject the "common sense" that tells them to "lay down the law" by grounding
teens, or to try to coerce them into changing their behavior. These strategies
have never worked, asserts Dr. Glasser, and never will. Instead he offers a
different approach based upon Choice Theory.
Glasser spells out the seven deadly habits parents practice, and then shows them
how to accomplish goals by changing their own behavior. Most important, however,
in Unhappy Teenagers, Dr. Glasser provides a groundbreaking method that all
parents can use with confidence and love to keep a strong relationship with
their child.
Pogue, David. Mac OS-X: The Missing Manual. O'Reilly & Associates, 2001.
Widely
esteemed Mac authority David Pogue weighs in on the latest offering from
Cupertino with Mac OS X: The Missing Manual. It's a fact-packed romp through the
operating system and the extras that come with it, made resoundingly more
readable by the depth of Pogue's knowledge, his familiarity with Mac history,
and his eagerness to engage novices as members of the Mac user community. Unlike
most books about Mac OS X, this one explores its Unix-like underpinnings (the
Apple implementation is called Darwin) pretty thoroughly. However, based on the
logic that if you wanted to use Unix, you would, Pogue emphasizes the
traditional, graphical Mac interface over the Terminal window.
Tharp, Roland (editor). Teaching Transformed: Achieving Excellence, Fairness, Inclusion, and Harmony.
The social organization of teaching and learning, particularly in
classrooms, has not yet been recognized as a foundational element of education.
However, social constructionist views of human development, cognition, and
schooling, as well as the increasing challenges of cultural and linguistic
diversity, make it a vital concern for teachers, researchers, and policymakers.
This book introduces the concept of educational social organization, assembles
the pertinent theory and evidence, and suggests future directions for training
and policy.
Shields, Captain Ed. Salt of the Sea: The Pacific Coast Cod Fishery And The Last Days Of Sail. Pacific Heritage Press, 2001.
When the Puget Sound cod fleet sailed out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the grey Pacific in 1934, it represented the waning years of a great tradition. Captain Ed Shields made his first voyage that year past the Graveyard of the Pacific to the Bering Sea and would ultimately steer the last ship north in 1950.
Captured on tape by publisher/editor Jeremy Snapp, Ed Shield's narrative of the last five decades of the codfish harvest is balanced by dramatic first-time-published photos from the Shield family collection.
Editor's Note: Captain Shields, who sailed the schooner C.A.THAYER (now berthed at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park) on her last commercial voyage to the Bering Sea for codfish in 1950 has finally published this book. The manuscript has been floating around for decades. I read it in the San Francisco Maritime archives years ago and, at that time, knew that it needed a lot of editorial work. There was, however, a lot of interesting information as well as dozens of pictures that I hope made it into the final edition. I ordered a copy and will post a more-informed review after I receive it.
REVIEWS
Wise Brown, Margaret & Hurd, Clement.
My World: A Companion to Goodnight, Moon
HarperCollins, 9/2001 (Reprint)
For
a small bunny, the big world can be boiled down to "My slippers. / My
pajamas. / Daddy's pajamas," and "Mother's chair. / My chair. / A low
chair. / A high chair. / But certainly my chair." Back in print after more
than 30 years, My World by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd is every
bit as reassuring and appealing to young children as its more famous
companion,
Goodnight Moon. Using the same format, this tale features the
rabbit family as they go through their day: brushing teeth, eating
breakfast, going fishing, reading stories, and climbing into bed.
Black-and-white illustrations alternate with full-color scenes depicting
the ever-expanding (yet still comfortably contained) boundaries of a
child's life. In one image, the young bunny, clad in blue coveralls,
hammers happily on his wooden truck, while Daddy, in matching coveralls,
works on his own (real) car just outside the garage. Very young fans of the
classic Goodnight Moon will delight in recognizing the characters,
illustration style, and gentle rhythmic words in this over-50-year-old
picture book. For that matter, older fans will be pretty tickled, too!
(Ages 2 to 6)
Greene, Ross. The Explosive Child -- A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children. Harpercollins, 2001.
Flexibility
and tolerance are learned skills, as any parent knows if they've seen an
irascible 2-year-old grow into a pleasant, thoughtful, and considerate
older child. Unfortunately, for reasons that are poorly understood, a few
children don't "get" this part of socialization. Years after toddler
tantrums should have become an unpleasant memory, a few unlucky parents
find themselves battling with sudden, inexplicable, disturbingly violent
rages--along with crushing guilt about what they "did wrong." Medical
experts haven't helped much: the flurry of acronyms and labels (Tourette's,
ADHD, ADD, etc.) seems to proffer new discoveries about the causes of such
explosions, when in fact the only new development is alternative vocabulary
to describe the effects. Ross Greene, a pediatric psychologist who also
teaches at Harvard Medical School, makes a bold and humane attempt in this
book to cut through the blather and speak directly to the (usually
desperate) parents of explosive children. His text is long and serious, and
has the advantage of covering an enormous amount of ground with nuance,
detail, and sympathy, but also perhaps the disadvantage that only those
parents who are not chronically tired and time-deprived are likely to get
through the entire book. Quoted dialogue from actual sessions with parents
and children is interspersed with analysis that is always oriented toward
understanding the origins of "meltdowns" and developing workable strategies
for avoidance. Although pharmacological treatment is not the book's focus,
there is a chapter on drug therapies.
Glasser, William. Counseling with Choice Theory. Quill Publishing, 2001.
The
backlash may be on. Turn away from "organic psychiatry,'' urges Glasser
(Choice Theory, 1998, etc.); help patients with mental illness accept that
they are responsible for their behavior; and drastically reduce our
reliance on medications for treating mental illness. Joined by a growing
crowd (Peter Breggin, for instance, and Schaler, below), Glasser reiterates
his opposition to the theory that mental illness is caused by chemical
imbalances in the brain. Instead, he insists that "what is labeled mental
illness . . . are the hundreds of ways people choose to behave when they
are unable to satisfy basic genetic needs, such as love and power.'' He
interprets brain scan research to show that as patients work in (non-drug)
therapy, they begin to make better choices in life, and that as a result,
brain chemistry changes. This collection of case histories and commentary
ranges over marital discord, panic attacks, alcoholism,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. Glasser demonstrates how
he conducts therapy that helps patients take responsibility for their
actions, gradually find better ways to meet their needs, and change
inappropriate patterns of behavior. He is generally against "external
control psychology,'' arguing again that patients must learn to control
themselves. Though his views are sometimes remote from the current
mainstream ("A major purpose of all psychological symptoms is to get
sympathy and attention''), he makes a cogent case for his dissent. For
those looking for a new view of psychology and psychiatry, either for
personal help or to follow the current state of the art.
Hafner, Katie. The Well: A Story of Love, Death & Real Life in the Seminal Online Community. Carroll & Graf, 2001.
If
this slim volume about a model online community is any indication, there's
no end in sight to accounts of the trailblazers of the Internet revolution,
despite the recent fits in the market. Standing for Whole Earth `Lectronic
Link, the Well was founded in 1984 by two visionary men: Stewart Brand and
the aptly named Larry Brilliant. Brand was the legendary founder of the
holistic do-it-yourself guide The Whole Earth Catalog, who contributed
space in Sausalito, Calif., to the project, while Brilliant was a
millionaire philanthropist who put up the software and hardware. They went
online in 1985 with the idea of creating a virtual, latter-day salon rather
than just another electronic bulletin board. Word of mouth spread quickly
and soon the Well developed a distinctly Bay Area, post-hippie ambience
that proved intensely magnetic to its members. Although membership peaked
at only around 10,000, the Well's influence extended well beyond its
members (another book could be written on the failed craze to build
Well-like online communities throughout the Web). Hafner spices up the
not-always dramatic story of the Well's business troubles with lengthy
examples of the sort of literate, leftist, free-range discussions that were
its bread and butter. Avoiding hyperbole, her style reflects her ease with
a topic she's covered for the New York Times and in such respected books as
Cyberpunk and Where Wizards Stay Up Late, though some readers may feel she
skims too quickly over some dramatic stories about the love, rage and tears
that the Well Beings (as they called themselves) poured into their
keyboards over the years.
Foltz Jones, Charlotte. Mistakes that Worked. Doubleday, 1991.
This
intriguing book reveals the often bizarre stories behind the accidental
invention or naming of many of today's successful products, including
ice-cream cones, aspirin, and doughnut holes. Comical ink-and-watercolor
illustrations capitalize on the quirkiness of the theme.
Polacco, Patricia. Thank You, Mr. Falker. Philomel Books, 1998.
Tricia,
who has a yearning to learn to read because of her family's love of
learning, discovers that letters in books seem to be all wiggling shapes.
As she progresses through school, her classmates scorn her as dumb. She
believes them . . . until Fifth Grade when she is blessed with a
wonderful teacher, Mr. Falker.
Based on her own bleak difficulties in elementary school, the author/illustrator has dedicated this touching picture book memoir to the real Mr. Falker. Every classroom should not only have this book, it should be read aloud. Without saying the word "dyslexia" or preaching, Polacco has produced a compassionate story that will comfort the troubled and trouble the comfortable. A 1998 Parents' Choice® Gold Award.
Alef, Daniel. The
Pale Truth -- The California Chronicles, Book 1. 2000.
The
novel Pale Truth by Daniel Alef is a unique blend of masterful storytelling
combined with incredible historical events. It is hard to separate fact
from fiction and that makes Pale Truth even more exciting. Alef’s
technique is simple: he hooks you from the beginning with the story of Mary
Ellen and Colbraith O’Brien, and digs the hook deeper with each chapter,
basically preventing you from leaving. You will be drawn into the story
and, as one best-selling author who read the book remarked, put the rest of
your life on hold because you won’t want to put the book down. The
setting and events that take place really took place. As a publisher we
recognized that Pale Truth is something special and required special
treatment. Like novels of yore we have added illustrations – real
illustrations of the people and events that took place. A timeline
memorializes many of the lesser-known incidents that took place. Finally,
an extensive bibliography gives the r! eader an opportunity to look more
deeply into this rich tapestry of historical events that few of us ever
knew. We are pleased that our view of this powerful novel has been
confirmed by such diverse organizations and people as Publishers Weekly,
the American Library Association’s Booklist, San Francisco Mayor Willie
Brown, Jr., High School Superintendent Dr. Fred Van Leuvan, and
international best-selling author Noah benShea. They all agree that this
novel is entertaining, fast-paced, historically rich and moving. We do too.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter Schoolbooks: Quidditch Through the Ages & Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them. A. Levine, 3/12/2001.
Now
you can read two of Harry Potter's Hogwarts textbooks--Quidditch Through
the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, penned by J.K.
Rowling herself under two delightful noms de plume. All proceeds from the
sale of these 64-page paperbacks are being donated to Comic Relief, an
organization which "exists to tackle poverty and promote social
justice by helping disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa to realize
their aspirations and potential." Quidditch Through the
Ages--charmingly reproduced as if it were a facsimile of the copy from
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry--starts with the history of
broomsticks, describes the evolution of Quidditch through the generations,
and includes the rules of the game as well as a chapter on modern-day play.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the most complete A to Z listing
of magical beasts that exists, and includes their classifications. From
Basiliks to Jarveys to Werewolves, this book covers all the magical beasts
you've only heard of and will introduce you to a host of new ones you
haven't.
Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. Philomel, 1992
A
many-talented illustrator (Lon Po Po, 1989, Caldecott Medal) uses a new
medium--collage--in an innovative reworking of ``The Blind Men and the
Elephant,'' with splendid results: a book that casually rehearses the days
of the week, numbers (ordinal and cardinal), and colors while memorably
explicating and extending the theme: ``Knowing in part may make a fine
tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole.'' The mice (first seen as an
intriguing row of bright tails on the elegantly spare black title spread)
are the colors of the rainbow plus white; they, the white text, and the
parts of the elephant (as they really are and as the mice imagine them) are
superimposed on a dramatic black ground. The real elephant is skillfully
composed with textured and crumpled paper in gentle earth tones; in a sly
philosophical twist, the form each mouse imagines is the color of the
mouse: e.g., Green Mouse says the trunk is a snake, shown as green. On
Sunday, White Mouse (the only female) runs over the entire elephant,
getting the others to join her; now, at last, with her help, they all
understand the whole. Exquisitely crafted: a simple, gracefully honed text,
an appealing story, real but unobtrusive values and levels of meaning, and
outstanding illustrations and design--all add up to a perfect book.
Young, Ed. Voices of the Heart. Scholastic, 1997.
Gr.
4-8. The splendid scarlet-and-gold jacket will entice readers into this
sumptuous picture book, but once in, they might well find themselves
confused. At the beginning, Young lists 26 emotions with their modern
Chinese characters. He then devotes a page to each emotion, breaking each
character into its parts and creating a collage out of the parts and the
figure of a heart to express the feeling of the emotion. For example,
"Contentment" is defined as "a peaceful heart." The
parts of the character are symbols for a claw, work, and a hand; put
together they mean "After a day of hard work, the heart feels peace of
mind. It is content." The accompanying illustration is richly brown
like soil, and the heart shape is flecked with shades of brown. Other
emotions include panic, rudeness, mercy, and loyalty. For those doing a
unit on alphabets or writing, this esoteric book may prove interesting;
however, it will require a sophisticated audience willing to examine it
closely enough to discern its meaning.
Abbott & Costello. Who's on First? VHS Video.
The classic routine. I just ordered one for a friend for Christmas!
Kralovec, Etta and Buell, John. The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning. Beacon Press, 2000.
In
1901, homework was legally banned in California. By 1960, assigning
homework to our children carried a priority equal to national security.
Today, few question the need for homework in preparing children for their
future. How did this dramatic change happen?
In this first book to question the value of homework, Etta Kralovec and John Buell lead us through the history of the American classroom. They tell stories of students who come home to overworked parents and domestic responsibilities faced with hours of work that can effectively be taught in the school. In assigning massive amounts of homework to students, teachers and schools are essentially abdicating their responsibility to teach. The authors forcefully advocate for protecting the leisure time of children, who need a balance —often missing in today's world —of work and play that allows them to prepare for their futures in work and in citizenship. Most important, they offer a way for schools to accomplish the difficult task of educating our children without the bind of homework.
"Homework appears to disadvantage children by assuming they have a 'quiet, well-lit place to study,'" the authors contend. "If we all need [such a] place to study far away from the TV, we know a perfect place that meets those requirements. The schoolhouse." Linking homework with school reform for the first time, The End of Homework convincingly reveals the promise of a society that recognizes the necessity of work without forgetting the significance of leisure.
Northcutt, Wendy. The Darwin Awards -- Evolution in Action. Dutton, 2000.
"Only
two things are infinite-the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so
sure about the universe." -Albert Einstein, scientific advisor to
the Darwin Awards, introduces the legendary website that commemorates the
remains of people who have improved our gene pool by killing themselves
in really stupid ways, showing us just how uncommon common sense can be.
Meet the absentminded terrorist who opens a mail bomb returned to him for insufficient postage. Marvel at the thief who steals electrical wires without shutting off the current. Gape at the would-be pilot who flies his lawnchair suspended from helium balloons into air traffic lanes. And learn from the man who peers into a gasoline can using a cigarette lighter. All four contend for Darwin Awards when their choices culminate in magnificent misadventures.
These tales of trial and awe-inspiring error--verified by the author and endorsed by website readers--illustrate the ongoing saga of survival of the fittest in all its selective glory. Including new material never before seen, as well as favorite award winners from years past, The Darwin Awards vividly portrays the finest examples of evolution in action.
Ages
5-8. It's not difficult to see why Patty Jane won't win the title of Miss
Popularity. She's sour and stubborn, and (surprise!) there's no reversal in
this picture book to change her into anything sweeter. After bopping her
brother on the head ("I did not hit Theodore. I touched him
hard."), she's sent to her room. She quickly pledges never to emerge
(except for Lisa's birthday sleepover next Saturday) and spends a glorious,
very funny few pages musing on the myriad ways she can make the most of her
punishment and avenge herself, particularly on her brother. Chast, whose
work has appeared in The New Yorker, uses expressive, snappy, slightly
sophisticated ink-line cartoon drawings, washed in watercolor, to interpret
Patty's tale of childhood woe. Bursting with funny details, they add extra
punch to the wonderful dry humor of the telling. A book with an obstinate,
contrary heroine who, like it or not, may remind readers a little of
themselves.
A
takeoff on Andersen's he Emperor's New Clothes features the principal,
Mr. Bundy, the sharpest dresser in town, and a pair of con artists.
Clever, sly illustrations add a great deal to Mr. Bundy's appearance at
assembly, clad only in his underwear. Funny for the early grades.
Parents
and community activists around the country complain that the education
system is failing our children. They point to students' failure to master
basic skills, even as standardized testing is employed in efforts to
improve the educational system. Contradictions of Reform is a provocative
look into the reality, for students as well as teachers, of standardized
testing. A detailed account of how student "improvement" and
teacher "effectiveness" are evaluated, Contradictions of Reform
argues compellingly that the preparation of students for standardized
tests engenders teaching methods that vastly compromise the quality of
education.
Harry
Potter is loved throughout the world-so is his creator. Joanne Kathleen (J.K.)
Rowling is a true wizard, a woman who has the ability to recall vividly
her days as a child and capture those wild, wonderful, difficult times-an
ability that helps make her creation, Harry Potter, seem so real. In this
revealing look, fans of the Harry Potter series will get to see their
favorite author as they never have before. From a child with a wonderful
imagination who didn't quite fit in, to a single mother with almost
overwhelming responsibilities, the J.K. Rowling story is a wonderful
chance for adults and children to enjoy a heartwarming, magical
story...together. (ages 9-12)
Adolescence
can be shocking and painful both to experience and, as a parent, to
observe. Addressing the isolation, fear, and silence that parents endure
at this developmental stage, authors Michael Riera and Joseph Di Prisco
go beyond the stereotypes and expertly guide parents to a better
appreciation of what they are seeing--and perhaps missing--in their
teenager's frustrating if not completely troubling behavior.
One of the best books for parents I have ever come across. Clear,
concise, and written from a parent-educator's perspective. Am recommending it widely these
days. Along the same lines, the following book is in the same league.
This
song book collects 35 songs from Fred's first three albums, plus three
other songs. Each song features lyrics, notation, chords, and notes by
Fred. With photos from his life and career, you will get a look at how Fred
became a troubadour in the tradition of Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs.
Learning
communities, which bring together students, faculty and staff in a common,
typically interdisciplinary learning enterprise, offer extraordinary
promise for energizing learning and increasing students' success. Whether
residential, course-based, curricular or co-curricular, learning
communities enable students to add depth, diversity and passion to their
scholastic lives, some examples being the new territories of the virtual
classroom, distance learning and service learning. This definitive guide
provides a comprehensive program for education professionals to implement
the learning community approach on any campus.
On
April 20th, 1999, the halls of Columbine High School in Littleton,
Colorado, reverberated with the sound of gunshots as two students, highly
armed and consumed with rage, killed thirteen students and wounded
twenty-three before tuning the guns on themselves. It was the worst
school massacre in our nation's history. Can we prevent a tragedy like
this from happening again?
Extending
the inquiry of his early groundbreaking books, Christopher Small strikes
at the heart of traditional studies of Western music by asserting that
music is not a thing, but rather an activity. This new work outlines a
theory of what Small terms "musicking," a verb that encompasses
all musical activity from composing to performing to listening to a
Walkman to singing in the shower. Using Gregory Bateson's philosophy of
mind and a Geertzian thick description of a typical concert in a typical
symphony hall, Small demonstrates how musicking forms a ritual through
which all the participants explore and celebrate the relationships that
constitute their social identity. This engaging and deftly written trip
through the concert hall will have readers rethinking every aspect of
their musical worlds.