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
Make the Day Matter!
Photo courtesy of Brookes Publishing Co.
By Pamela M. Walker and Patricia Rogan; 162 pages. Subtitle: Promoting Typical Lifestyles for Adults With Significant Disabilities
Bottom Line: If you ever imagine your child growing up to a life with no work, no freedom, no friends, no reason for getting in the morning, this book will be immeasurably cheering. It spreads the current enthusiasm for inclusive education into a vision for inclusive life, with people with disabilities fully embraced by the community. Society's not there yet, but it's nice to dream of the possibilities.
Bottom Line: If you ever imagine your child growing up to a life with no work, no freedom, no friends, no reason for getting in the morning, this book will be immeasurably cheering. It spreads the current enthusiasm for inclusive education into a vision for inclusive life, with people with disabilities fully embraced by the community. Society's not there yet, but it's nice to dream of the possibilities.
Making Peace With Autism
Book cover image courtesy of Trumpeter Books
By Susan Senator; 258 pages. Subtitle: One Family's Story of Struggle, Discovery and Unexpected Gifts.
Bottom Line: Autism memoirs by well-educated, comfortably-off women who turn their experience as parents of special-needs children into a professional calling are not exactly few and far between. They're well-written, engaging, sometimes inspiring and sometimes infuriating, particular to one sharply drawn clan but containing wider truths. If you enjoy these sorts of sharings of family development, Making Peace is a captivating way to spend your time. If not, the story may leave you saying, "Yeah? So?"
Bottom Line: Autism memoirs by well-educated, comfortably-off women who turn their experience as parents of special-needs children into a professional calling are not exactly few and far between. They're well-written, engaging, sometimes inspiring and sometimes infuriating, particular to one sharply drawn clan but containing wider truths. If you enjoy these sorts of sharings of family development, Making Peace is a captivating way to spend your time. If not, the story may leave you saying, "Yeah? So?"
Making Sense of Children's Thinking and Behavior
Cover image courtesy of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
By Leslie Holzhauser-Peters and Leslie True; 191 pages. Subtitle: A Step-by-Step Tool for Understanding Children With NLD, Asperger's, HFA, PDD-NOS, and Other Neurological Differences.
Bottom Line: Interpreting the behavior of a child with neurological issues like Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism, and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities can be a full-time job for parents. It fills this book quite nicely, as a mom and her son's speech therapist guide readers through the steps of figuring out why a sweet kid's sometimes surly. A chart and simple instructions will make you a pro at it, too.
Bottom Line: Interpreting the behavior of a child with neurological issues like Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism, and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities can be a full-time job for parents. It fills this book quite nicely, as a mom and her son's speech therapist guide readers through the steps of figuring out why a sweet kid's sometimes surly. A chart and simple instructions will make you a pro at it, too.
A Man, A Can, A Plan
Cover image courtesy of Rodale
By David Joachim and the editors of Men's Health; 43 sturdy cardboard pages. From the Book Cover: "With the recipes in this book, you can easily whip up 50 simple, healthy meals. This food does everything from prevent heart disease and prostate cancer to boost your immune system and energy levels."
Bottom Line: It may not really be true that SpaghettiOs prevent cancer, but these recipes do for sure make yummy, high-kid-appeal meals that almost any child can help with. And hey, you can sponge the book off afterward!
Bottom Line: It may not really be true that SpaghettiOs prevent cancer, but these recipes do for sure make yummy, high-kid-appeal meals that almost any child can help with. And hey, you can sponge the book off afterward!
Married With Special-Needs Children
Cover image courtesy of Woodbine House
By Laura E. Marshak, Ph.D., and Fran Pollock Prezant, M.Ed., CCC-SLP; 296 pages. Subtitle: A Couple's Guide to Keeping Connected.
Bottom Line: It's commonly thought that a high percentage of marriages of parents with special-needs children end in divorce, but this book proposes that it's not necessarily so -- and certainly doesn't have to be. Without minimizing the difficulties of nurturing a marriage while nurturing a highly needy child, the authors point out ways to sustain and strengthen the ties of love, not just of duty, that bind spouses together. It's an encouraging, even inspirational, read.
Bottom Line: It's commonly thought that a high percentage of marriages of parents with special-needs children end in divorce, but this book proposes that it's not necessarily so -- and certainly doesn't have to be. Without minimizing the difficulties of nurturing a marriage while nurturing a highly needy child, the authors point out ways to sustain and strengthen the ties of love, not just of duty, that bind spouses together. It's an encouraging, even inspirational, read.
Math Doesn't Suck
Cover image courtesy of Hudson Street Press
By Danica McKellar; 297 pages. Subtitle: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail.
Bottom Line: Remember Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years? The actress who played her, Danica McKellar, grew up to become a math whiz, earning a Mathematics degree from UCLA and coauthoring a mathematical physics theorem. In this fresh and friendly book, she attempts to convince girls that math is easy and smart is cool. While it's not aimed at kids with learning disabilities, the tricks and strategies she suggests are perfect for them.
Bottom Line: Remember Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years? The actress who played her, Danica McKellar, grew up to become a math whiz, earning a Mathematics degree from UCLA and coauthoring a mathematical physics theorem. In this fresh and friendly book, she attempts to convince girls that math is easy and smart is cool. While it's not aimed at kids with learning disabilities, the tricks and strategies she suggests are perfect for them.
Miracle Run
Cover image courtesy of Berkley Books
By Corrine Morgan-Thomas with Gary Prozek; 325 pages. Subtitle: Watching My Autistic Sons Grow Up -- and Take Their First Steps Into Adulthood
Bottom Line: If you saw the Lifetime TV movie of the same name from a few years back, starring a pre-High School Musical Zac Efron as an autistic runner and Mary-Louise Parker as his mom, you know the basic outlines of the story told in this book. As is usually the case with real life, though, the full story is more complex and messy than the made-for-TV version. You'll find plenty of inspiration in it all the same, though, and maybe all the more.
Bottom Line: If you saw the Lifetime TV movie of the same name from a few years back, starring a pre-High School Musical Zac Efron as an autistic runner and Mary-Louise Parker as his mom, you know the basic outlines of the story told in this book. As is usually the case with real life, though, the full story is more complex and messy than the made-for-TV version. You'll find plenty of inspiration in it all the same, though, and maybe all the more.
The Mislabeled Child
Cover image courtesy of Brock Eide, M.D., M.A.
By Brock Eide, MD, MA, and Fernette Eide, MD; 510 pages. Subtitle: How Understanding Your Child's Unique Learning Style Can Open the Door to Success.
Bottom Line: The authors, founders of the Eide Neurolearning Clinic, have seen plenty of children who have received diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and mental illness -- and discovered that in some cases, the real problem was a learning or language disability. They share their expertise here with parents, at great length and maybe excessive detail. But if you've worried that professionals just don't quite get your kid, this could be a lifeline.
Bottom Line: The authors, founders of the Eide Neurolearning Clinic, have seen plenty of children who have received diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and mental illness -- and discovered that in some cases, the real problem was a learning or language disability. They share their expertise here with parents, at great length and maybe excessive detail. But if you've worried that professionals just don't quite get your kid, this could be a lifeline.
More Than a Mom
Cover image courtesy of Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett
By Amy Baskin and Heather Fawcett; 487 pages. Subtitle: Living a Full and Balanced Life When Your Child Has Special Needs.
Bottom Line: Hurray for a book that makes special-needs parenting sound like something you can survive, even thrive with! Informed by a survey of over 500 moms who shared their worries, joys, tips and tricks, this book offers practical advice on topics as far-thinking as securing your child's financial future and as right-now as finding a good babysitter.
Bottom Line: Hurray for a book that makes special-needs parenting sound like something you can survive, even thrive with! Informed by a survey of over 500 moms who shared their worries, joys, tips and tricks, this book offers practical advice on topics as far-thinking as securing your child's financial future and as right-now as finding a good babysitter.
Mosaic of Thought
Cover image courtesy of PriceGrabber
By Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann; 255 pages. From the Book Cover: "How do students become thoughtful, independent readers who deeply understand what they read?"
Bottom Line: Wondering why your child's reading textbook is suddenly full of exercises asking kids to relate stories to their own experience? It's probably using the research outlined in this book, which examines strategies used by successful readers. Though meant for teachers, it's accessible to parents and actually pretty enjoyable.
Bottom Line: Wondering why your child's reading textbook is suddenly full of exercises asking kids to relate stories to their own experience? It's probably using the research outlined in this book, which examines strategies used by successful readers. Though meant for teachers, it's accessible to parents and actually pretty enjoyable.
