Use this alphabetical index to find books that have been reviewed for the Harried Parent's Book Club.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J-L | M-N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U-V | W-Z
Journal Buddies
Cover image courtesy of Jill Schoenberg Girma
By Jill Schoenberg Girma; 144 pages. Subtitle: A Girl's Journal for Sharing and Celebrating Magnificence.
Bottom Line: Kids with low self-esteem are quick to assume that everybody feels as negative about them as they do. Journal Buddies offers an upbeat way to counter that impression, by giving important people in your child's life a chance to list all the great things they see in her. Meanwhile, she gets to practice being positive and supportive of others, and thoughtful about her own experiences.
Bottom Line: Kids with low self-esteem are quick to assume that everybody feels as negative about them as they do. Journal Buddies offers an upbeat way to counter that impression, by giving important people in your child's life a chance to list all the great things they see in her. Meanwhile, she gets to practice being positive and supportive of others, and thoughtful about her own experiences.
Kids in the Syndrome Mix
Cover image courtesy of Jill Schoenberg Girma
By Martin L. Kutscher, M.D.; 224 pages. Subtitle: ADHD, LD, Asperger's, Tourette's, Bipolar, and More.
Bottom Line: If your child has behavioral challenges, you've probably had the experience of reading symptoms for one diagnosis after another and feeling your child could be tagged with any of them. Kids in the Syndrome Mix works to sort out some of those tangled strands and lead parents to meaningful interventions for their children, whatever the diagnosis may be.
Bottom Line: If your child has behavioral challenges, you've probably had the experience of reading symptoms for one diagnosis after another and feeling your child could be tagged with any of them. Kids in the Syndrome Mix works to sort out some of those tangled strands and lead parents to meaningful interventions for their children, whatever the diagnosis may be.
Last Child in the Woods
Cover image courtesy of Algonquin Books
By Richard Louv; 390 pages. Subtitle: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.
Bottom Line: Calling something a "disorder" is a trendy way to call attention to it, and author Louv isn't really making much of an argument for, say, putting lack of time in the woods in the DSMV. But he does have a lot of thoughtful things to say about the decline in outdoor play, the reasons for it, and why those reasons are wrong. Whether that's going to be compelling to you probably depends on your own feelings about the outdoors, and the degree to which it's practical to expand your individual child's exposure.
Bottom Line: Calling something a "disorder" is a trendy way to call attention to it, and author Louv isn't really making much of an argument for, say, putting lack of time in the woods in the DSMV. But he does have a lot of thoughtful things to say about the decline in outdoor play, the reasons for it, and why those reasons are wrong. Whether that's going to be compelling to you probably depends on your own feelings about the outdoors, and the degree to which it's practical to expand your individual child's exposure.
Late, Lost, and Unprepared
Cover image courtesy of Woodbine House
By Joyce Cooper-Kahn, PhD, and Laurie Dietzel, PhD; 217 pages. Subtitle: A Parent's Guide to Helping Children With Executive Functioning
Bottom Line: Executive functioning is a often overlooked problem for kids with neurological and learning disabilities, and it's about time someone gave it this kind of attention. If your child just can't seem to get going or get organized, he may need to be taught those skills just as carefully as you'd teach reading and writing and math. This friendly guide will help you understand and make a difference.
Bottom Line: Executive functioning is a often overlooked problem for kids with neurological and learning disabilities, and it's about time someone gave it this kind of attention. If your child just can't seem to get going or get organized, he may need to be taught those skills just as carefully as you'd teach reading and writing and math. This friendly guide will help you understand and make a difference.
Little People: Learning to See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes
Cover image courtesy of Dan Kennedy
By Dan Kennedy; 288 pages. From the Book Jacket: "In Little People, Dan Kennedy confronts the deepest of parental fears: What if my child is different? His search for an answer provides a penetrating look at how our culture of diversity clashes with the reality of disability and the belief that we have a right to the so-called perfect child."
Bottom Line: For readers who like popular science and history books, Little People strikes a nice balance between a good nonfiction read and a book on special-needs parenting.
Bottom Line: For readers who like popular science and history books, Little People strikes a nice balance between a good nonfiction read and a book on special-needs parenting.
Living Sensationally
Cover image courtesy of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
By Winnie Dunn; 213 pages. Subtitle: Understanding Your Senses.
Bottom Line: Living Sensationally is not a parenting book, but it leads readers through a process that's important for parents of children with sensory proccessing challenges: realizing how their own sensory profiles may affect the way they react to their children's behaviors and needs. In your own way, you, too, may be a sensor or an avoider, a bystander or a seeker. If that conflicts with your child's sensory challenges, you're the one who will have to work hardest to learn to live with it, and this book has lots of good suggestions.
Bottom Line: Living Sensationally is not a parenting book, but it leads readers through a process that's important for parents of children with sensory proccessing challenges: realizing how their own sensory profiles may affect the way they react to their children's behaviors and needs. In your own way, you, too, may be a sensor or an avoider, a bystander or a seeker. If that conflicts with your child's sensory challenges, you're the one who will have to work hardest to learn to live with it, and this book has lots of good suggestions.
