Articles by Spring Knolls Parents

Spring Knolls parent, Amy Egan, was recently featured in the Washington Parent Magazine.  Click here to read her article "Top Tips for Co-oping Parents and Classroom Volunteers."

Spring Knolls Parent Library

No.	Author	Title
1	Nelsen, Jane; Lott, Lynn; Glenn, H. Stephen	Positive Discipline in the Classroom. Developing Mutual Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in Your Classroom
2	Byrd, Richard E.	Say the Magic Words
3	Turecki, Stanley; Tonner, Leslie	The Difficult Child. A New Step-by-Step Approach by a Noted Child Psychiatrist for Understanding and Managing Hard-to-Raise Children
4	Chenfeld, Mimi Brodsky	Creative Experiences for Young Children
5	Healy, Jane M.	Your Child's Growing Mind. Brain Development and Learning from Birth to Adolescence
6	Egan, Amy; Freedman, Amy; Greenberg, Judi; Anderson, Sharon	Is it a Big Problem or a Little Problem? When to Worry, When not to Worry and What to do
7	Guernsey, Lisa	Into the Minds of Babes. How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age Five
8	Forehand, Rex; Long, Nicholas	Parenting the Strong-Willed Child. The Clinically Proven Five-Week Program for Parents of Two- to Six-Year-Olds
9	Dreikurs, Rudolf; Cassel, Pearl	Discipline without Tears. What to Do with Children Who Misbehave.
10	Hendrix, Harville; Hunt, Helen	The Parenting Companion. Meditations and Exercises for Giving the Love that Heals
11	Elgin, Suzette Haden	The Gentle Art of Communicating with Kids. Toddlers to Teens.
12	Schiller, Pam; Bryant, Tamera	The Values Book. Teaching 16 Basic Values to Young Children
13	Borysenko, Joan	Guilt is the Teacher, Love is the Lesson
14	Borba, Michele	No More Misbehavin'. 38 Difficult Behaviors and How to Stop them.
15	Levine, Mel	A Mind at a Time
16	Powers, Michael D.; Poland, Janet	Asperger Syndrome & Your Child. A Parent's Guide.
17	Smith, Karen A.; Gouze, Karen R.	The Sensory-Sensitive Child. Practical Solutions for Out-of-Bounds Behavior.
18	Kurcinka, Mary Sheedy	Raising Your Spirited Child. A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic.
19	Kranowitz, Carol Stock	The Out-of-Sync Child. Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

Edie Mossberg created this bibliography of the books she has recommended during her parent discussions at SK, broken down by topic area.

When Kids Ask Difficult Questions

For Parents
Coloroso, Barbara. Parenting Through Crisis: Helping Kids in Times of Loss, Grief, and Change. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2000.

Emery, Robert E.. The Truth About Children and Divorce: Dealing with the Emotions So You and Your Children Thrive. New York: Viking, 2004.

Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Dell, 1995.

Greenspan, Stanley I. The Secure Child: Helping Our Children Feel Safe and Confident in an Insecure World. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2002.

Kalter, Neil. Growing Up With Divorce: Helping Your Child Avoid Immediate and Later Emotional Problems. New York: Free Press, 1990.

Roffman, Deborah M. But How’d I Get In There in the First Place? Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2002.

Trozzi, Maria with Kathy Massimini. Talking With Children About Loss: Words, Strategies, and Wisdom to Help Children Cope with Death, Divorce, and Other Difficult Times. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1999.

To Share with Children
Note: Parents should preview all books on difficult topics before sharing with children to be sure that the books truly reflect your family’s philosophy. Some books may be too old for your child, but may still be useful in helping you identify issues and topics for talking with your child.

Brown, Laurene Krasny and Marc Brown. Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 1986. One of a series of books, including When Dinosaurs Die.

Mellonie, Bryan and Robert Ingpen. Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.

Portnoy, Mindy Avra. Where Do People Go When They Die? Minneapolis, MN: Kar-Ben Publishing, Inc., 2004.

Rogers, Fred. Let’s Talk About It: Divorce. New York: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1996. Part of a series including Let’s Talk About It: Adoption.

Skutch, Robert. Who’s In A Family? Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 1995.

Viorst, Judith. The Tenth Good Thing about Barney. New York: Antheneum Books for Young Children, 1971.

Books for Kindergarten Readiness
Your Child’s Growing Mind by Jane M. Healy, Ph. D, Third Edition, 2004, Broadway Books,Random House.

Einstein Never Used Flash Cards by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph. D. and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, 2003, Rodale Press.

Raising a Confident Child
Seligman, Martin E. P., The Optimistic Child (New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.,1995). Deals mostly with school-age children, but presents a good paradigm for parent/child interactions.

Mogel, Wendy, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee (New York: Scribner, 2001). Written from a Jewish perspective but intended as a general use book. Very good on talking about the necessary and proper use of parental authority, and how day-to-day decisions tie in with long-range goals. Good examples.

Keeping Kids Safe (Without Scaring Them or Ourselves)
De Becker, Gavin. Protecting The Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane), New York: Dell Publishing, 1999.

Gottman, John with Joan DeClaire. Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997.

A Few Good Books That Speak to Young Children's Emotions
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Have You Seen My Duckling? By Nancy Trafuri

Henry and Mudge, The First Book by Cynthia Rylant*

Busy Fingers by C.W. Bowie

When Sophie Gets Angry — Really, Really, Angry by Molly Bang

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

Shy Charles by Rosemary Wells

Bunny Cake by Rosemary Wells*

Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China*

Peter’s Chair by Ezra Keats

Alfie Gets in First by Shirley Hughes

Jamaica’s Find by Juanita Havill*

* a bit longer or more appropriate for the older preschooler

Edie's Favorite Books on Discipline
Positive Discipline for Preschoolers: Raising Children Who Are Responsible, Respectful, and Resourceful by Jane Nelsen, Ed. D., Cheryl Erwin, M.A. and Roslyn Duffy, Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA.:1998

Which is based on:

Children: The Challenge by Rudolf Dreikurs, M.D. 1964, Hawthorn, New York: 1965. A classic, currently reprinted by Plume (Penguin Books) as Children the Challenge: The Classic Work on Improving Parent-Child Relations — Intelligent, Humane and Eminently Practical.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Farber and Elaine Mazlish. Avon Books, New York: 1980.

Which is based on:

Between Parent and Child by Haim Ginott, Three Rivers Press (Random House) N.Y., 1965. Also a classic and currently reprinted by Three Rivers as Between Parent and Child: The Bestselling Classic That Revolutionized Parent-Child Communications, Alice Ginott and H. Wallace Goddard, editors: 2003.

Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: The 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict into Cooperation by Becky A. Bailey, Ph.D.. William Morrow and Co., Inc., New York: 2000. (May be a bit “packaged” or “cute” for some, but contains some good ideas.)