Here's my weekly gathering of products, events, and stories of interest that have landed in my e-mail queue or otherwise caught my attention this week:
+ The 25th anniversary edition of "A Very Special Christmas," an album series benefiting Special Olympics, will feature music from Christina Aguilera, Francesca Battistelli, Michael Bublé, Cheap Trick, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, One Republic, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Train, and Wonder Girls. The CD will be available on October 16th, but from the website you can listen now to songs from earlier editions, and read more about the series.
+ Early Childhood Literacy is an upcoming book from Brookes Publishing that gathers entries from "more than 20 of the biggest names in early literacy research" to look at best practices and the things schools can do to improve reading for young children. Though it's aimed at educators, the book might be worthwhile for parents who want to understand what their schools are doing or ought to be.
+ An Exceptional Children's Guide to Touch: Teaching Social and Physical Boundaries to Kids is a new book from Jessica Kingsley Publishers, designed to "explain in simple terms how to tell the difference between acceptable and inappropriate touch, thereby helping the child with special needs stay safe. Each story covers a different type of touch from accidental to friendly to hurtful and will help children understand how boundaries change depending on the context." On the JKP site, you can find a preview of the book and a blog post about it.
Do you have good books, apps, sites, or products to call to our attention? Write a book or app review, submit a site or blog, and post in the marketplace section of the forum.
Photo by Terri Mauro