Allison, Christine, Teach Your Children Well. A well-rounded collection of excerpts from classic children's literature for reading aloud, organized around traditional values such as courage and kindness.

Armstrong, Thomas, In Their Own Way. Helps parents discover and encourage each child's learning styles, with many specific suggestions. Particularly good for parents of children labeled learning disabled.

Baldwin, Rahima, You Are Your Child's First Teacher. The author, a mother and former Waldorf teacher, gives both a practical and spiritual perspective on the issues of rearing preschool children.

Berends, Polly Berrien, Whole Child/Whole Parent. Applying the idea of the child as a spiritual being to daily problems of parenthood.

Bettelheim, Bruno, The Uses of Enchantment. Classic work on the importance of fairy tales to the psychological growth of the young child.

Bodenhamer, Gregory, Back in Control: How to Get Your Children to Behave. Presents practical, helpful strategies for avoiding manipulation and arguments, which allow parents to regain control of their children's misbehavior, even in very serious cases, in effective and appropriate ways.

Brookes, Mona, Drawing with Children. This "teaching and learning method that works for adults, too" enhances creative expression by showing how to analyze objects into five basic shapes.

Carson, Rachel, The Sense of Wonder. Words and photos help to keep alive the child's inborn sense of wonder and delight in nature.

Chukovsky, Kornei, From Two to Five. Scholarly yet simply-written observations of the intuitive literary processes and needs of the young child.

Cole, Robert, The Spiritual Life of Children. Author's talks with children reveal their innate spirituality and the ideas that many children have on religious subjects.

Copperman, Paul, Taking Books to Heart: How to Develop a Love of Reading in Your Child. A program to help parents encourage their children to want to read on their own and to succeed in reading at school. Also The Literacy Hoax.

Cornell, Joseph Bharat, Sharing Nature with Children. Imaginative activities to help children appreciate and empathize with nature.

Davis, Laura, and Janis Keyser, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: A Sourcebook of Strategies for the First Five Years. Supportive and reassuring presentation helps parents assess their strengths and vulnerabilities, find their own vision of parenthood and family life, and work toward bringing it about.

Dyer, Wayne W., What Do You Really Want for Your Children? Practical strategies for raising "no-limit" children.

Edwards, Betty, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Through practical exercises, the author effectively teaches older children and adults how to "see" -- and therefore draw -- like an artist, with emphasis on drawing people.

Elium, Don and Jeanne, Raising a Daughter. A spiritual perspective and a realistic psychological slant make this a good source for understanding how girls develop and what they need from their parents. Contains useful lists of further resources.

----- Raising a Son. Gives a practical yet inspirational and spiritually-oriented view on what it means to be a man, and how parents can help a boy achieve his positive potential.

Elkind, David, The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast, Too Soon. Points out negative, stressful effects of pressuring children to cope, succeed, and understand, learn, or deal with situations and knowledge for which they are not yet ready.

----- Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk. Examines dangers in pushing young children to learn school-age academic and physical skills; encourages age-appropriate activities that strengthen their spontaneous learning process and concept of self. Gives guidelines for evaluating preschool programs.

Eyre, Linda and Richard, Teaching Children Sensitivity. Designed to help preteens and teens "forget their own problems as they learn to help others." Also Teaching Children Joy and Teaching Children Responsibility apply to preschool and elementary school children respectively.

Friedman, Jenny, The Busy Family's Guide to Volunteering. Ways to involve the entire family in volunteer activities in many fields.

Fisher, Dorothy Canfield, Mothers and Children. Rich in commonsense philosophical values for those raising children today, although written 90 years ago.

Gray, John, Men, Women and Relationships. Illustrates and explains some basic differences between male and female approaches and psychology in order to improve understanding and allow more effective communication between men and women.

Hazard, Paul, Books, Children, and Men. A stimulating and rewarding volume for all interested in children and the books they choose.

Hickman, Danielle and Valerie Teurlay, 101 Great Ways to Keep Your Child Entertained While You Get Something Else Done. Simple, fun ideas for independent play activities for indoors, outdoors, travel, and special occasions.

Jackson, Jane and Joseph, Infant Culture. A review of scientific studies on the consciousness and perception of very young children.

Kabat-Zinn, Myla and Jon, Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. Practical advice centering on awareness in the present moment and the unique potentials of each child.

Kohl, MaryAnn, Scribble Art: Independent Creative Art Experiences for Children. Gives instructions and ideas for over 200 open-ended art projects in all mediums. Also First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos, for younger children.

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth, On Children and Death. Offers insight and help in dealing with a child's death.

Lappe, Frances Moore, What to Do After You Turn Off the TV. Ideas for family activities for those who wish to decrease the time they and their children spend watching television.

LeShan, Edna, When Your Child Drives You Crazy. Practical advice for parents, drawn from the author's experience as well as her professional expertise.

Lewis, Hilda Present, ed., Child Art. A collection of essays on children's art as expressions of self-affirmation and inner development.

Lickona, Thomas, Educating for Character. Argues the importance of encouraging ethics and good character in the classroom, and the dangers of value-neutral education.

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow, Gift from the Sea. This little book, inspired by "the primeval rhythms of the seashore," helps many families find "creative pauses" in their complex lives.

Luvmour, Sambhava and Josette, Everyone Wins!  Cooperative Games and Activities. A variety of non-competitive games for groups of different sizes and ages, ranging from very energetic to calming, that foster cooperation and good feelings.  

Montessori, Maria, The Discovery of the Child. Montessori's books offer an inner perspective on educating the child helpful to parents and teachers.

Muller, Brunhild, Painting with Children. Instructions from an anthroposophic standpoint for introducing young children to colors and watercolors.

Nelsen, Jane, Positive Discipline. Adler-based philosophy advocating democratic decision making, natural consequences, and consistent follow-through by adults. Also, with H. Steven Glenn, Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World.

Orlick, Terry, The Cooperative Sports and Games Book. Over 150 games and ideas for adults as well as children providing "challenge without competition" by focusing on team goals and sharing.

Rockwell, Robert E., Elizabeth A. Sherwood, and Robert A. Williams, Hug a Tree and Other Things to Do Outdoors with Young Children. Helping young children learn about the natural world and how to care for it.

Sawyer, Ruth, The Way of the Storyteller. Invaluable to parents who want to help keep their children sensitive, perceptive human beings through the use of stories; includes several excellent tales to tell.

Sierra Madre Community Nursery School, Nurturing Human Growth. Many thoughtful ideas on enabling the development of the preschool child.

Steichen, Edward, comp., The Family of Man. Classic work of photography showing the oneness of mankind.

Tingley, Katherine, Theosophy: The Path of the Mystic. Contains sections on the home and the child from a spiritual perspective, simply and directly expressed. Also The Gods Await.

Toch, Thomas, In the Name of Excellence: The Struggle to Reform the Nation's Schools. Discussion of educational problems, why they persist, and possible solutions.

Verny, Thomas, with John Kelly, The Secret Life of the Unborn Child. Scientific findings showing the consciousness of the unborn child and the importance of the attitudes of parents toward, and their interactions with, the unborn and newborn child.

Warner, Sally, Encouraging the Artist in Your Child (Even if You Can't Draw). Over 100 home projects for children 2 to 10 which help parents facilitate their children's creativity.

Arbuthnot, May Hill, Margaret Mary Clark, Harriet G. Long, and Ruth M. Hadlow, Children's Books Too Good to Miss. An excellent selection of books for preschool through 14; annotated.

Association for Library Service to Children, 60 Years of Notable Children's Books. Arranged by decades from the '40s to the '90s, with appendix of theme lists and author-title index.

Gillespie, John T. and Christine B. Gilbert, Best Books for Children: Preschool through Middle Grades. A large annotated list of both fiction and nonfiction books. John Gillespie has authored many bibliographies for children and young adults.

Lima, Carolyn W. and John A., A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books. Subject index of picture books.

Lipson, Eden Ross, The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children. Over 900 books with annotations, indexed by age as well as subject, author, illustrator, and title.

Miller-Lachmann, Lyn, Our Family, Our Friends, Our World: An Annotated Guide to Significant Multicultural Books for Children and Teenagers. About 1,000 fiction and nonfiction titles from 1970-1990, arranged by ethnic and national groups.

National Council of Teachers of English, Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K-Grade 6. An extensive, useful annotated work organized by type and subject. Appearing about every four years, it gives the best books published since the last edition.

Silvey, Anita, ed., Children's Books and Their Creators. Excellent reference which concentrates on 20th-century children's literature, mainly alphabetical by author but with some subject headings.

Steiner, Stanley F., Promoting a Global Community through Multicultural Children's Literature. Annotated lists on cultures around the world, refugees, literacy, and books that bring people together, with suggested extensions for parents and teachers.

Trelease, Jim, The New Read-Aloud Handbook. Discusses reading aloud and lists a large selection of books especially recommended for that purpose.

Wilson, Elizabeth, Books Children Love. Worthwhile, well-written fiction and nonfiction books organized into 24 subject areas; helpful descriptions reveal the author's Christian background.