Ain’t Misbehavin:  Tactics for Tantrums, Meltdowns, Bedtime Blues and Other Perfectly Normal Kid Behaviors. Alyson Schafer, $17.95

This practical book offers a democratic approach to parenting, with ideas to help you manage every day, real-life misbehaviors. Here are the quick and humane solutions to the most common dilemmas of parenting young children that parents need.

Amazing Minds: from Newborns to Toddlers. Jan Faull & Jennifer McLean Oliver, $18.50

The science of nurturing your child’s developing mind with games, activities and more.

And Baby Makes More: Known Donors, Queer Parents and Our Unexpected Families. Edited by Susan Goldberg & Chlöe Brushwood Rose, $17.50

A quirky, funny, and occasionally heartbreaking collection of personal essays, this book offers an intimate look at the relative risks and unexpected rewards of queer, do-it-yourself baby-making, and the ways in which families are formed in the process. The contributors — donors, biological and non-bio parents, and their children — offer provocative, nuanced insights into what it means to be or to use a known donor, and how queer families are being re-conceived to include new roles, new rules, and kinship ties that transcend biology.

The Attachment Connection: Parenting a Secure & Confident Child Using the Science of Attachment Theory. Ruth Newton, $18.95

The Attachment Connection sorts out the facts from the fiction about parent-child attachment and shows how paying attention to the emotional needs of your child, particularly during the first five years of development, can help him or her grow up happy, secure, and confident. You'll discover how your child's brain is developing at each stage of growth and learn to use reasonable, easy-to-implement guidelines based on sound science to foster secure attachment, healthy social skills, and emotional regulation in your child.

The Baby Bond: the New Science Behind What’s Really Important When Caring for Your Baby. Linda Folden Palmer, $20.50

Meticulously researched, this authoritative and persuasive guide to attachment parenting reveals the many little-known advantages that only a responsive, nurturing parenting style can provide:

• Surprising evidence on the benefits of breastfeeding
• How attentiveness and touch impacts permanent brain development in infants
• Under-reported facts about how to reduce colic, food allergies, and illness
• Why sharing sleep is both safe and natural

This warmly presented book is a rare overview of information too often missing from parenting circles, pediatric offices, and financially motivated product promotions.

Babyproofing Your Marriage: How to Laugh More and Argue Less As Your Family Grows. Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill & Julia Stone, $16.25

Babyproofing Your Marriage is the warts-and-all truth about how having children can affect your relationship. The authors' evenhanded approach to both sides of the marital equation allows partners to understand each other in a whole new way. With humor, compassion, and practical advice, the Babyproofers will guide first-time parents and veterans alike around the rocky shores of the early parenting years.

The Book of Dads: Essays on the Joys, Perils and Humiliations of Being a Dad. Edited by Ben George, $16.95

A collection of twenty essays about the job no man can ever be truly prepared for – fatherhood. Some are funny, many are poignant but all are the rich with emotion and wisdom.

Boomerang Kids. Carl Pickhardt, $16.99

A revealing look at why so many of our children are failing on their own, and how parents can help.

Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five. John Medina, $16.50

What's the single most important thing you can do during pregnancy? What does watching TV do to a child's brain? What's the best way to handle temper tantrums?

In his New York Times bestseller BRAIN RULES, Dr. John Medina showed us how our brains really work — and why we ought to redesign our workplaces and schools. Now, in BRAIN RULES FOR BABY, he shares what the latest science says about how to raise smart and happy children. This book is destined to revolutionize parenting.

BRAIN RULES FOR BABY bridges the gap between what scientists know and what parents practice. Through fascinating and funny stories, Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and dad, unravels how a child's brain develops — and what you can do to optimize it.

Breaking the Good Mom Myth: Every Mom's Modern Guide to Getting Past Perfection, Regaining Sanity, and Raising Great Kids. Alyson Schafer, $18.95

As a psychotherapist, parent educator and parent coach, Alyson Schäfer has worked with a great many mothers who, in the quest to be a "good mother" have ended up on the door step of despair. Breaking the Good Mom Myth explains the psycho-social phenomena of how each person creates their own unique "good mother myth" and then examines why these myths are not only faulty, but could in fact lead to poor parenting, marital disaster and individual crisis … Readers uncover their own good mother myths and are given an eye-opening glimpse into potential issues to challenge their thinking. A great sense of empowerment is restored as mothers become better able to resist the pulls of their personal and cultural myths, and instead begin parenting with greater intention and in ways that are more suitable to proper child guidance.

Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children: Becoming a Mindful Parent. Sarah Napthali, $18.95

In a clear and engaging manner, Sarah Napthali takes us on a journey through the challenges (and the joys) of raising children, using Buddhist teachings and principles to help her answer the eternal questions of mothers everywhere: Who am I now? Where am I going? And how can I do my best by my children and myself?

Writing from personal experience, and weaving in stories from other mothers throughout her narrative, Sarah shows us how spiritual and mindful parenting can help all mothers to be more open, attentive and content.

The Canadian Campus Companion: Everything You Need to Know About Going to University or College. Erin Millar & Ben Coli, $22.95

This comprehensive guide to the Canadian college and university experience offers down-to-earth advice to students on everything from choosing a major to surviving life in residence, from managing studying exams to staying safe.

Canadian Family Law, 10th Edition. Malcolm Kronby, $29.95

For more than 30 years, Canadian Family Law has helped readers to understand the legal issues around marriage, co-habitation, separation and divorce, child custody and support, property rights and division of property. Now in its tenth edition, Canadian Family Law provides information on recent developments in family law such as same-sex marriage, alternate dispute resolution and domestic contracts.

The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World. Susan Linn, $22.50

In The Case for Make Believe, Harvard child psychologist Susan Linn tells the alarming story of childhood under siege in a commercialized and technology-saturated world.

In an era when toys come from television and media companies sell videos as brain-builders for babies, Linn lays out the inextricable links between play, creativity, and  health, showing us how and why to preserve the space for make believe that children need to lead fulfilling and meaningful lives.

Character Is the Key: How to Unlock the Best in Our Children and Ourselves. Sara Dimerman, $23.95

The character education movement is an incredibly successful and growing phenomenon. When important character attributes like honesty, integrity, and fairness are modeled and taught to kids, they develop an inner compass that continues to guide them in a positive direction.  In Character Is the Key, Sara Dimerman shares proven techniques in a powerful, step-by-step plan that will help you bring your family together, improve communication, and unlock the very best in your children — and yourself.

The Child: an Encyclopedic Companion from Birth through Adolescence. Richard A. Shweder, Editor in Chief, $90.50

The Child: an Encyclopedic Companion offers both parents and professionals access to the best scholarship from all areas of child studies in a remarkable one-volume reference. Bringing together contemporary research on children and childhood from pediatrics, child psychology, childhood studies, education, sociology, history, law, anthropology, and other related areas, The Child contains more than 500 articles—all written by experts in their fields. It is an unparalleled resource for parents, social workers, researchers, educators, and others who work with children.

Child: How Children Think, Learn and Grow in the Early Years. Desmond Morris, $35.99

Anthropologist Desmond Morris explores the world of young children aged from 2 to 5 as they emerge from toddlerhood and start out on the long road to independence. These early years are a time when the capacities for learning and sheer exuberance for life are unparalleled.  

This insightful guide contains a wealth of information about all aspects of development. Age-by-stage profiles describe growth patterns, social and emotional behavior, physical and cognitive skills. Gestures and body language are interpreted to guide the reader to a better understanding of personality and what young children are thinking and feeling. Enchanting photographs capture typical actions and reactions to everyday experiences.

Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children. Joel Bakan, $32.00

From the writer of the hit film and international bestselling book The Corporation comes a shocking venture behind the scenes of the widespread manipulation of children by profit-seeking corporations — and of society's failure to protect them.

CHILDHOOD UNDER SIEGE reveals big business's discovery of a new resource to be mined for profit — our children. A journey through a world of unabashed exploitation, clued-out parents, and governments that look the other way, it tells the chilling and at times darkly humorous story of business's plans to turn kids into obsessive and narcissistic mini-consumers, media addicts, cheap and pliable workers, and chemical industry guinea pigs. Not to mention pharmaceutical pill poppers — psychotropic drug consumption by children has increased fivefold since 1980.

It's a winner-takes-all battle for children's hearts, minds and bodies as corporations pump billions into rendering parents and governments powerless to protect children from their calculated commercial assault and its disturbing toll on their health and well-being.

The Circle Game. Joni Mitchell, illustrated by Brian Deines, $20.00

More than forty years ago, Joni Mitchell's music helped define a generation of young people. Now, one of her classic songs is introduced to a new generation through the remarkable art of Brian Deines.

THE CIRCLE GAME, a charming nod to childhood dreams and memories, tells the story of a young boy experiencing the simple wonders of life: dragonflies in jars, the night sky, frozen streams, and carousels. As the years go by, cartwheels are replaced by car wheels and the boy's dreams change, but the sense of wonder remains. THE CIRCLE GAME captures the timeless magic of youth.

C’mon Papa: Dispatches from a Dad in the Dark. Ryan Knighton, $22.00

Becoming a father is a stressful, daunting rite of passage to be sure, but for a blind father, the fears are unimaginably heightened. But this is no pity party, and author Ryan Knighton has no time for sentimentality. Tackling these hurdles with grace and humour, Ryan is determined to do his part - and this is where the fun starts. From holding his daughter as she wails into the night to their first nerve-wracking walk to the cafe, no activity between father and daughter is without its pitfalls. In his struggle to "see" Tess, Ryan re-imagines the relationship between father and child during that first chaotic year.

A Complete Guide for Single Dads. Craig Baird, $24.95

A Complete Guide for Single Moms. Janis Adams, $24.95

Regardless of how you became a single parent, these books are designed to help you raise a happy, healthy child on your own. From infancy through adolescence, there is a wealth of information here to cover every aspect of parenting.

Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid. Jennifer Kolari, $19.00

Connected Parenting offers a unique form of therapeutic parenting based on Kolari's groundbreaking application of the concept of "mirroring," an instinctive process that helps parents bond with their children and promotes optimum growth and development. Kolari's strategy is highly effective for kids of all ages, and has been proven to reduce a child's anxiety, increase self-esteem, and allow children to become more resilient and flexible. With step-by-step advice and examples from Kolari's years of experience, this is an easy-to-follow guide to strengthening the bond between you and your children.

The Conscious Parent. Shefali Tsabary, $23.95

Turning the traditional notion of parenting on its head, Dr. Tsabary shifts the parent-child relationship away from the traditional parent-to-child “teaching” approach to a parent-with-child relationship that is mindful, conscious and mutually supportive.

Creating Your Perfect Family Size. Alan Singer, $19.95

Creating Your Perfect Family Size takes an in-depth look at how to make an informed decision about having a baby — or having more than one. Invaluable and fascinating, the book includes a wealth of self-tests that helps individuals to customize their own decision making based on their unique background and current situation.

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. Amanda Soule, $23.00

With just the simple tools around you—your imagination, basic art supplies, household objects, and natural materials—you can transform your family life, and have so much more fun!

Perfect for all families, the wide range of projects presented here offers ideas for imaginative play, art and crafts, nature explorations, and family celebrations. This book embraces a whole new way of living that will engage your children’s imagination, celebrate their achievements, and help you to express love and gratitude for each other as a family.

Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap. Kevin Roberts, $18.95

Video gaming and Internet surfing are the top sources of entertainment for tens of millions of North Americans today. As these technologies continue to grow and flourish, so does the number of people becoming obsessively absorbed in the imagination and fantasy that they present. More and more people are isolating themselves, turning their backs on reality, ignoring family and friends, and losing their sleep and even their jobs due to excessive use of video games and the Internet--and they continue to do so despite harmful consequences to their mental, physical, and spiritual health, a telltale sign of addiction.

In this groundbreaking book, recovering video game addict Kevin Roberts uses extensive scientific and social research, complemented by his and others' personal stories, to give compulsive gamers and surfers — and their family and friends — a step-by-step guide for recovery. He outlines the ways that "cyber junkies" exhibit the classic signs of addiction and reveals how they can successfully recover by following a program similar to those used for other addictions. Readers learn to identify whether they have an addiction, find the right resources to get individualized help, and regain a rewarding life away from the screen by learning new thoughts and behaviors that free them from the cravings that rule their lives. Included is a guide for parents for working with their addicted children.

The Cultural Nature of Human Development. Barbara Rogoff, $31.95

Three-year-old Kwara'ae children in Oceania act as caregivers of their younger siblings, but in the UK, it is an offense to leave a child under age 14 years without adult supervision. In the Efe community in Zaire, infants routinely use machetes with safety and some skill, although U.S. middle-class adults often do not trust young children with knives. What explains these marked differences in the capabilities of these children?

Until recently, traditional understandings of human development held that a child's development is universal and that children have characteristics and skills that develop independently of cultural processes. Barbara Rogoff argues, however, that human development must be understood as a cultural process, not simply a biological or psychological one. Individuals develop as members of a community, and their development can only be fully understood by examining the practices and circumstances of their communities.

DEPLOYMENT: Strategies for Working with Kids in Military Families. Karen Petty, $34.95 (Ages 1-12)

Military kids face many unique stressors and difficult transitions related to deployment, relocation, separation from loved ones and changes in family structure. Caring for these children requires a clear understanding of the challenges and triumphs military families deal with so that you can offer the best support possible.

Deployment: Strategies for Working with Kids in Military Families is a comprehensive handbook which includes theory-based, practice-driven strategies and curriculum suggestions to help children move forward living full lives. Includes information on how to enhance childcare programs using multiple intelligences theory and the Reggio Emila approach.

The Don't Sweat Guide for Grandparents: Making the Most of Your Time with Your Grandchildren. Foreward by Richard Carlson, $13.99

100 easy-to-do strategies show grandparents how to enjoy their time with their children and grandchildren to the fullest, without giving up time for themselves. Including how to set boundaries, how not to stress out about finances with reduced income, and to avoiding boredom and "retirement blues".  This book is an invaluable help for grandparents who are finding life in their golden years less easy and peaceful than they imagined.

The Entrepreneurial Mom's Guide to Running Your Own Business. Kathryn Bechthold, $23.95

This helpful guide offers tips and resources for keeping a profitable business running while still making the kids your priority.

Equally Shared Parenting: Rewriting the Rules for a New Generation. Marc & Amy Vachon, $18.50

Equally Shared Parenting arms readers with the tools to create a balanced life that is rarely experienced by the parents of young children — an evolution that goes beyond the involved dad married to the working mom. This is a lifestyle in which couples create their own model as parenting partners, equals and peers. Every couple gets to write the rules that work for them.

Equally Shared Parenting clearly outlines the benefits and challenges of equal parenting, covering everything from child-rearing practices, career, and home, to self, money, and society. It presents both the philosophy behind this lifestyle and the everyday steps needed to achieve and maintain it, regardless of income bracket, lifestyle choices, or profession.

Escaping the Endless Adolescence: How We Can Help Our Teenagers Grow Up Before They Grow Old. Joseph Allen & Claudia Worrell Allen, $29.95

Today’s teens are starved for the lost fundamentals they need to really grow: adult connections and the adult rewards of autonomy, competence, and mastery. Restoring these will help them unlearn their adolescent helplessness and grow into adults who can make you–and themselves–proud. With compelling examples and practical and profound suggestions, Escaping the Endless Adolescence outlines a novel approach for producing dramatic leaps forward in teen maturity.

Every Canadian's Guide to the Law, 4th Edition. Linda Silver Dranoff, $24.99

Every Canadian’s Guide to the Law unfolds in a clear, accessible “cradle-to-grave” format, addressing issues from fetal rights to human rights, from teen sexuality to marriage and divorce, from workplace issues to will and estate issues. Linda Silver Dranoff provides insight into the process of law and how it responds to changing social values, revealing how laws evolve over time and pointing to future trends.

The new edition addresses important legal developments, including significant changes to family law—from stricter rules against non-disclosure and non-payment to tough orders against parental alienation, from revised pension-sharing rules to the novelty of three or more support-paying parents for some children. This encyclopedic guide elucidates new rights for the self-employed, drastic changes to retirement rules, laws against identity theft, dramatic changes to criminal law sentencing and upgraded protections for children, and more. As the number of self-represented litigants continues to grow, the need for an easy-to-understand and comprehensive guide to Canadian law has never been greater.

When Maria Sirois worked on a pediatric oncology ward she was astounded by the children she counseled. They seemed to know intuitively what adults struggle to re-learn — that playing relieves stress; it’s okay to cry; love is not a cure but is a powerful antidote to pain; meaning in life comes not from what happens to us but how we respond; that you should look for ways to make each day special — even if it’s a bad day.

Extreme Motherhood: the Triplet Diaries. Jackie Clune, $16.99

Imagine going for a routine scan, only to be told that you're carrying triplets…

On 22 December 2004, at a routine ultrasound dating scan, Jackie Clune was told just that. Jackie’s first response was a profound desire to punch the radiographer. This is the story of what happened next.

Extreme Parenting: Parenting Your Child with a Chronic Illness. Sharon Dempsey, $26.95

Extreme Parenting is a solid source of support for parents of children with long-term illnesses. The guide is packed with practical advice, models of exploration and lists of action points, and will empower parents to be good advocates for their children. It also provides health professionals with invaluable insights into the demands of living with chronic illness.

Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is. Abigail Garner, $17.99

Drawing on a decade of community organizing, and interviews with more than fifty grown sons and daughters of LGBT parents, Abigail Garner addresses such topics as coming out to children, facing homophobia at school, co-parenting with ex-partners, the impact of AIDS, and the children's own sexuality. Both practical and deeply personal, Families Like Mine provides an invaluable insider's perspective for LGBT parents, their families, and their allies.

Families of Value: Personal Profiles of Pioneering Lesbian and Gay Parents. Robert Bernstein, $20.50

Family Activism: Empowering Your Community, Beginning with Family and Friends. Roberto Vargas, $19.95

We live in a world that needs radical transformation if our children and grandchildren are to live healthy, peace-filled lives. But where to start? In this inspiring new book, activist Roberto Vargas says the answer lies surprisingly close: at home, with our closest relationships. In our daily lives we experience countless opportunities to empower, inspire, and support positive change in those around us. In Family Activism Vargas explains how fostering what he calls familia—close, loving connections with our relatives and with those we choose to call family—can help us develop the skills and attitudes we need to tackle broader problems in our community, our nation, and the world.

15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids. Rebecca Cohen, $16.99

What if you got outside every day, and what if you could get your kids to come along? It sounds modest, but the effects, as dynamic outdoor spokesperson Rebecca Cohen herself can testify, are profound. This inspiring collection of activities gives families an idea for every day of the year, requiring little planning, no expertise and relatively little resources (time, cash, or patience!), no matter where they live. Simple and inspiring, this book is bursting with hundreds of easy ways to get your family out into nature a little bit every day.

Girls are Not Chicks Coloring Book. Jacinta Bunnell, illustrated by Julie Novak, $11.00

27 pages of ingenious, subversive fun, Girls are Not Chicks is a playful way to examine how pervasive gender stereotypes are in every aspect of our lives.

Go the F**k to Sleep. Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Ricardo Cortés, $16.95

A bedtime story for real parents — new, old or expectant — that you probably shouldn't read to your children.

The Great Big Book of Families. Mary Hoffman & Ros Asquith, $18.50

What’s your family like?

This book explores every aspect of family life with warmth, wit and sensitivity. The Great Big Book of Families is a great big treat for every family to share.

Growing Up with a Bucket Full of Happiness: Three Rules for a Happier Life. Carol McCloud, illustrated by Penny Weber, $11.95

Do you know you have an invisible bucket which is filled with all of your good thoughts and feelings? If you're new to the concept of bucket filling and bucket dipping, then this book is for you. With easy to read chapters, colorful illustrations, and daily questions to help readers become better bucket fillers, GROWING UP WITH A BUCKET FULL OF HAPPINESS gives readers the tools to live a life filled with happiness.

Harvey. Hervé Bouchard & Janice Nadeau, $22.95 (ages 11 and up)

First ever winner of the Governor General’s Award for both text and illustration.

Harvey and his little brother are on their way home after playing in the slushy streets of early spring, when they discover their father has died of a heart attack. Brilliantly illustrated and emotionally true, this graphic novel is a deeply moving and entirely original story about a young boy’s experience of loss.

Healthy Mother, Healthy Child: Creating Whole Families from the Inside Out. Elizabeth Irvine, $21.95

ICU nurse, yoga instructor and mother Elizabeth Irvine offers practical tips and a positive philosophy that will help your entire family build physical and emotional health that will last a lifetime.

Home Game: an Accidental Guide to Fatherhood. Michael Lewis, $15.50

Many of the books written for fathers seem to suggest the only way to engage a man in reading about pregnancy or parenthood is to “dumb down” the material, trying to engage men through juvenile humour and manual-like instructions.

Home Game is a smart book, written by a smart man (New York Times best-selling author of Moneyball and The Blind Side.) The book is funny — hilarious at times — but it is also honest, intelligent and utterly unsparing in Lewis’ accounts of the feelings which took him by surprise as he grew into fatherhood.

This is a marvelous look at the difference between the idea of fatherhood and a man’s actual experience of it.

Honey, I Lost the Baby in the Produce Aisle! Alison Rhodes, $22.95

The ‘Safety Mom’s’ guide to childproofing — no matter where you are.

How to Bury a Goldfish and Other Ceremonies and Celebrations for Everyday Life. Virginia Lang & Louise Nayer, $18.95

Featuring a host of celebration ideas, this remarkable guide addresses more conventional occasions, like holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, family dinnertime and nighttime prayer, as well as more unique experiences, like a teen’s first job, a women’s midlife journey, and moving an elder into assisted living. Through the art of simple ritual and ceremony, How to Bury a Goldfish allows readers to slow down, sit in silence and savor all of the precious moments that enrich our daily lives.

How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup: a Guy’s Guide to the World of Infertility. Greg Wolfe, $15.99

The man’s guide to anything and everything in the infertility universe, How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup answers men’s most pressing questions about infertility treatments.

How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid: the Straight Dope for Parents. Joseph Califano, $16.95

How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid offers advice and information on how to prepare your child for the crucial decision-making moments and on many of the most daunting parenting topics such as when to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol; how to respond when kids ask “Did you do drugs”; how to know when your child is most at risk and how to prepare your teen for the freedoms and perils of college.

Humpty Who? A Crash Course in 80 Nursery Rhymes for Clueless Moms and Dads. Jennifer Griffin, $14.95

Humpty Who is a classic course in Mother Goose and more, featuring poems, rhymes, songs, lullabies, rounds and riddles — and a 35-song CD starring a rollicking ensemble of musical Moms!

How to Stop Thumbsucking and Other Oral Habits: Practical Solutions for Home and Therapy. Pam Marshalla, $22.50

When children suck a thumb, finger or pacifier too long it can affect their speech, teeth, swallowing and appearance. How to Stop Thumbsucking is a practical guide to the most effective strategies used by speech therapists today.

The iConnected Parent: Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) While Letting Them Grow Up. Barbara Hofer & Abigail Sullivan Moore, $17.00

In our speed-dial culture, parents and kids are now more than ever in constant contact. Communicating an average of thirteen times a week, parents and their college-age kids are having a hard time letting go.

Until recently, students handled college on their own, learning life's lessons and growing up in the process. Now, many students turn to their parents for instant answers to everyday questions. And Mom and Dad are not just the Google and Wikipedia for overcoming daily pitfalls; Hofer and Moore have discovered that some parents get involved in unprecedented ways, phoning professors and classmates, choosing their child's courses, and even crossing the lines set by university honor codes with the academic help they provide. Hofer and Moore offer practical advice, from the years before college through the years after graduation, on how parents can stay connected to their kids while giving them the space they need to become independent adults.

If I Were Your Daddy, This Is What You’d Learn. Edited by Julia Espey, $29.95

Imagine a book where you peek into the private lives of extraordinary men who are also highly successful dads. How are they raising their own children? What essential mind-sets, values, and habits are they passing along? Are they equipping their children with something special — something to help them be more financially responsible, lead happier lives, and get along better with others? And most important, how can their experiences as a parent help you and your family?

Single parent Julia Espey wanted to provide her son with the best of what a father can give, so she began to interview fathers and ask them “What is the single most important thing Dads can give their children?” The results are shared in this book that speaks to all parents.

In Our Mothers’ House. Patricia Polacco, $20.00 (ages 8 and up)

Here is a story of a home full of love and the passage of time.

Instinctive Parenting: Trusting Ourselves to Raise Good Kids. Ada Calhoun, $17.00

Everyone wants to do what's best for his or her child. What does matter is providing the few absolute essentials (love, food, shelter) while teaching your little one how to be a kind, responsible human being. With its compelling mix of entertaining, hilarious firsthand accounts and refreshing common sense, Instinctive Parenting will show you how to do that — and even show you how to retain your sanity, your friends, your sense of humor, and your personal life in the process.

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living. Edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller, $16.00

After a number of tragic suicides by LGBT students who were bullied in school, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage uploaded a video to YouTube with his partner Terry Miller to inspire hope for LGBT youth facing harassment. Speaking openly about the bullying they suffered as teenagers, and how they both went on to lead rewarding adult lives, their video launched the It Gets Better Project YouTube channel and initiated a worldwide phenomenon. With over 6,000 videos posted and over 20 million views in the first three months alone, the world has embraced the opportunity to provide personal, honest and heartfelt support for LGBT youth everywhere.

It Gets Better is a collection of expanded essays and new material from celebrities, everyday people and teens who have posted videos of encouragement, as well as new contributors who have yet to post videos to the site. While many of these teens couldn't see a positive future for themselves, we can. We can show LGBT youth the levels of happiness, potential and positivity their lives will reach if they can just get through their teen years. By sharing these stories, It Gets Better reminds teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.

It’s Time to Give Up Your Pacifier. Lawrence Shapiro, Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, $8.95

It’s Time to Sleep in Your Own Bed. Lawrence Shapiro, Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, $8.95

Follow Alex as he struggles with his feelings about sleeping in his room and finally learns to sleep all by himself in his own bed.

It’s Time to Sit Still in Your Own Chair. Lawrence Shapiro, Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, $8.95

It’s Time to Start Using Your Words. Lawrence Shapiro, Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, $8.95

Child psychologist Lawrence Shapiro has written these engaging and understanding stories to will help children through some difficult transitions.

The Joy of Family Traditions: a Season-by-Season Companion to Celebrations, Holidays and Special Occasions. Jennifer Trainer Thompson, $20.00

The Joy of Family Traditions offers more than 400 fresh ideas and creative approaches to cultivating birthday, anniversary, holiday, and other rite-of-passage and seasonal traditions that strengthen personal bonds and reflect a family's individual style, spirituality, and values. This wonderful book:

• Inspires and instructs families on how to create, personalize, adapt, and preserve relevant traditions that reflect how we live today.
• Explores the historical, cultural, and often quirky origins of holidays, customs, and milestones, both uncommon and familiar.
• Includes holidays, holy days, annual events, once-in-a-lifetime occasions, and personal celebrations.

Keeping Your Child Healthy in a Germ-Filled World: a Guide for Parents. Athena Kourtis, $21.95

The world is full of germs, and the news is full of stories about infectious diseases and antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Infections are harmful, but not all germs are bad. What can parents do to protect their children?

Dr. Athena Kourtis, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist — and mother — teaches parents how to protect their kids without going overboard. She helps parents sort through the latest information about antibiotics, vaccines, hygiene, health foods, and home remedies, and she identifies which rules to follow — and which ones to ignore. She says:

• No to overprotecting your children from germs
• No to antimicrobial soaps and cleaning products at home
• No to over-prescribed antibiotics
• Yes to strategic hand washing
• Yes to being conscious of germs and the pathways they use
• Yes to vaccines

She offers tips for protecting your children wherever they are — at home or school, on the playground, while traveling — and whatever they are doing — playing sports, camping, visiting the beach — and answers questions that commonly worry parents. Reading this comprehensive, illustrated guide is the first step to keeping your family healthy. Up-to-date, accurate information and a clear understanding of how germs and our bodies work will help you and your child stay afloat in the microbial sea.

Keeping Your Child in Mind. Claudia Gold, $17.50

Overcoming defiance, tantrums and other everyday behavior problems by seeing the world through your child's eyes.

The Kids’ Summer Fun Book: Great Games, Activities and Adventures for the Entire Family. Claire Gillman & Sam Martin, $15.99

Your guide to having fun all summer long!

Labours of Love: Canadians Talk about Adoption. Deborah Brennan, $28.99

Labours of Love chronicles the journeys of Canadians connected through adoption. While each account is unique, there are undeniable commonalities in these stories from birthparents adoptive parents and adoptees.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Richard Louv, $16.95

As children’s connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attention deficit disorder. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv talks with parents, children, teachers, scientists, religious leaders, child-development researchers, and environmentalists who recognize the threat and offer solutions. Louv shows us an alternative future, one in which parents help their kids experience the natural world more deeply — and find the joy of family connectedness in the process.

Let’s Go Outside! Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Susie Ghahremani, $17.95

Let’s Go Outside offers a range of activities perfect for fun in the city, the country and everything in between. Get outside and run, jump, play, explore, dance, hike or camp with your pre-teen and engage your child in outdoor activities and projects that will get the whole family closer to nature.

The Lucky Ones: Our Stories of Adopting Children from China. Edited by Ann Rauhala, foreword by Jan Wong, $19.95

Since the late 1980s, as many as 7,000 Chinese-born girls have been adopted annually and now live in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. The story of these children is a compelling narrative of hope and optimism but it may also become a story of dislocation and crisis of identity. The memoirs collected in The Lucky Ones grapple with this odd destiny with insight, compassion, humour and above all, love.

Made to Play! Handmade Toys & Crafts for Growing Imaginations. Joel Henriques, $18.95

From the creative mind of Joel Henriques come these small, simple-to-make projects with big results! These playful projects are sure to spark creative discovery, encourage open-ended play and delight the young people in your life.

Make Stuff Together: 24 Simple Projects to Create as a Family. Bernadette Noll & Kathie Sever, $23.99

Slow down, reconnect and get back to basics. One of the best ways for families to share experiences and meaningful time together is through crafting. This book invites you to look around your house you’re your neighbourhood to discover materials that are just waiting to find a new life.

Whether you’re a parent looking for innovative projects for your kids, or an advocate of the slow family movement, Make Stuff Together gives you 24 fun, versatile projects that help you build family connections while being creative and crafty.

MIXED: Portraits of Multicultural Kids. Kip Fulbeck, $23.95

This joyful collection reflects the voices and faces of mixed race children, and celebrates family, individuality and identity.

A Moment’s Peace: a Mom’s Guide to Creating Calm Amidst the Chaos. Elizabeth Irvine, $21.95

Designed for those who may only have 10 minutes a day to call their own, this guide provides busy moms with the needed skills and techniques to create their own sense of peace and face daily challenges from a calm and grounded place. Maintaining that well-being comes from the inside, the guide teaches mothers to look at life with fresh eyes and to empower themselves to change the way they respond to their often chaotic and stressful environments. The step-by-step plans incorporate a series of relaxation techniques, hints for developing meaningful family rituals, instructions for gentle but powerful breathing, and body awareness skills that lay the groundwork for the development of peaceful moments that eventually lead to a life of steady, grounded calm.

Through her experience as an ICU nurse, mother of three, yoga instructor and author, Elizabeth Irvine believes we can create a healthier, happier way of being from the inside out and raise families who care—about themselves, about each other, and about the world around them.

Money-Smart Kid$. Gail Vaz-Oxlade, $6.99

Teach your children financial confidence and control.

The Monster Within: the Hidden Side of Motherhood. Barbara Almond, $19.95

Whether it is uncertainty over having a child, fears of pregnancy and childbirth, or negative thoughts about one's own children, mixed feelings about motherhood are not just hard to discuss, they are a powerful social taboo. In this beautifully written book, Barbara Almond draws on her extensive clinical experience to bring this issue to light. In a compelling portrait of the hidden side of contemporary motherhood, she finds that ambivalence of varying degrees is a ubiquitous phenomenon, yet one that too often causes anxiety, guilt, and depression. In a society where perfection in parenting is the unattainable ideal, this compassionate book offers some prescriptions for relief by showing women how they can affect positive change in their lives.

Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family’s Transition to a New Home. Lori Collins Burgan, $11.95

Before you pack the boxes and hire a moving van, help make your family’s next move a positive experience with this helpful collection of experiences from families who have moved many times. Whether you are moving across town or across the world, Lori Collins Burgan offers practical advice that will make the changes more exciting and less scary for children — and their parents.

My Child Is Gay: How Parents React When They Hear the News. Bryce McDougall, $19.00

A collection of parents' honest and revealing responses to the news their child is gay, My Child is Gay is a compilation of letters written by parents. The letters have been written to be shared — both to help parents come to term with their feelings, and for gay men and women who are contemplating sharing the truth. Together these letters reaffirm the regenerative power of love and allow those with first hand experience to outline the important steps on the road to understanding.

And Nanny Makes Three: Mothers and Nannies Tell the Truth about Work, Love, Money and Each Other. Jessika Auerbach, $29.95

Jessika Auerbach explores the complex and unique interactions between families and nannies. By presenting both perspectives, she gives a balanced view of this highly complicated, often emotionally charged relationship. Looking at issues of race and racism, class, power, sex, parental insecurities and guilt, Auerbach opens a dialogue that needs to be heard.

The NDD Book. William Sears, $16.25

How Nutrition Deficit Disorder affects your child's learning, behavior and health and what you can do about it – without drugs.

New Father’s Survival Guide. Martyn Cox, $18.95

An informative and insightful overview of what new dads can expect before, during and after baby arrives.

New Medicine Complete Family Health Guide. Annabel Karmel, $8.99

Integrating complementary, alternative and conventional medicine, this is a comprehensive and balanced guide to the best treatments for you and your family.

Not Quite Adults: Why 20-Somethings are Choosing a Slower Path to Adulthood, and Why It’s Good for Everyone. Richard Settersten & Barbara Ray, $17.00

The media has been flooded with negative headlines about 20-somethings, from their sense of entitlement to their immaturity to their dependence on their parents’ purse strings. The message is that these young people need to shape up and grow up—that they should take a fast track to adulthood just like their parents did. Now, drawing on almost a decade of cutting-edge scientific research, including analyses of over two dozen national data sets and 500 interviews with young people, Richard Settersten, Ph.D., and Barbara Ray shatter these widespread stereotypes. Settersten and Ray bring us a more nuanced understanding of this generation, and of the unique challenges they are facing as they come of age.

Not Quite Adults gets to the heart of how and why the course to adulthood has become so complicated, what these changes mean for families, and what we should do about it. The authors show how cultural and economic forces have radically transformed the “traditional” path to adulthood, creating a very different set of challenges as well as opportunities for today’s young adults. Filled with timely information and illuminating case histories, Not Quite Adults is a fascinating and enlightening look at an often misunderstood generation.

NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children. Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman, $16.99

In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter?  Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie?  What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?

NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring — because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.

One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk about Open Marriage, Mixed Marriage, Polyamory, Househusbandry, Single Motherhood and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love.  Edited by Rebecca Walker, $20.00

An illuminating and provocative immersion into the modern family, celebrating love in all its diversity and complexity, with essays by ZZ Packer, Dan Savage, Neal Pollack, Min Jin Lee, asha bandele and more.

Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo. Edited by Deborah Siegel & Daphne Uviller, $15.95

Whether you’re an only child, the partner or spouse of an only, a parent pondering whether to stop at one, or a curious sibling, Only Child offers a look behind the scenes and into the hearts of twenty-one smart and sensitive writers as they reveal the truth about growing up solo.

Outdoor Parents, Outdoor Kids: a Guide to Getting Your Kids Active in the Great Outdoors. Eugene Buchanan, $20.50

With an informative and entertaining look at biking, camping, swimming, paddling, fishing, snow sports, hiking, climbing and more, Eugene Buchanan extends parents a helping hand in getting their kids outside and instilling in them a respect for their health and the environment. It's a fantastic guide toconnecting with kids and nature.

Overcoming School Anxiety: How to Help Your Child Deal with Separation, Tests, Homework, Bullies, Math Phobia, and Other Worries. Diane Peters Mayer, $18.00

School should be rewarding, not terrifying. This unique guide shows parents how to make their child's learning experience a positive one.

Filled with real-life examples as well as proven advice for working with teachers, principals, and counselors, this is the only comprehensive guide that will enable every parent to help a child cope, build confidence, and succeed in school.

Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids. Christina McGhee, $18.50

This comprehensive and empowering guide is filled with practical, effective ways to minimize the effects of divorce on children, and offers immediate solutions to the most critical parenting problems divorce brings. Christina McGhee offers advice on explaining things to every age group-from toddlers to teenagers-in plain, consistent and age-appropriate terms. Parenting Apart also offers practical suggestions for parents to help them maintain their own sense of stability and take care of their own well-being while taking care of their kids.

Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills to Help Your Child Regulate Emotional Outbursts & Aggressive Behaviors. Pat Harvey & Jeanine Penzo, $21.95

When your child has problems regulating his or her emotions, there's no hiding it. Children with intense emotions go from 0 to 100 in seconds and are prone to frequent emotional and behavioral outbursts that leave parents feeling bewildered and helpless.

Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions is an effective guide to de-escalating your child's emotions and helping your child express feelings in productive ways. You'll learn strategies drawn from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), including mindfulness and validation skills, and practice them when your child's emotions spin out of control. This well-researched method for managing emotions can help your child make dramatic emotional and behavioral changes that both of you will be proud of.

Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance. Christopher McCurry, $19.95

A powerful new approach to overcoming fear, panic and worry using acceptance and commitment therapy.

Parentless Parents: How the Loss of Our Mothers and Fathers Impacts the way We Raise Our Children. Allison Gilbert, $27.99

Parentless Parents is the first book to show how the absence of grandparents impacts everything about the way mothers and fathers raise their children — from everyday parenting decisions to the relationships they have with their spouses and in-laws.

As the average age of women giving birth has increased significantly, millions of children are at risk of having fewer years with their grandparents than ever before. How has this substantial shift affected parents and kids? Journalist, award-winning television producer, and parentless parent Allison Gilbert has polled and studied more than 1,300 parentless parents from across the United States and a dozen other countries to find out. Through her pioneering research, Gilbert not only shares her own story, but also the myriad ways these mothers and fathers have learned to keep the memory of their parents alive for their children.

Parentonomics: an Economist Dad Looks at Parenting. Joshua Gans, $13.50

The Parents’ Guide to Psychological First Aid: Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Predictable Life Crises. Gerald Koocher & Annette La Greca, $34.50

Compiled by two seasoned clinical psychologists, The Parents' Guide to Psychological First Aid brings together articles by recognized experts who provide you with the information you need to help your child or teen navigate the many trying problems that typically afflict young people.  An encyclopedic reference for parents concerned with maintaining the mental health of their children, this indispensable volume will help you help your child to deal effectively with stress and pressure, to cope with everyday challenges, and to rebound from disappointments, mistakes, trauma, and adversity.

A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children: Rebuilding Your Family after the Death of a Loved One. Phyllis Silverman & Madelyn Kelly, $19.95

A comprehensive, thoughtful and commonsense book, A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children offers a wealth of solace, sound advice and hope.

Parents’ Lives, Children’s Needs: Working Together for Everyone’s Well-Being. Beth Roy, $18.95

Children grow up naturally, but parenting, in Beth Roy’s words, is a “learned activity”. In Parents’ Lives, Children’s Needs, Roy describes the developmental challenges facing parents at each stage of their child’s growth and offers concrete advice for a humane and gentle approach to parenting, that promotes growth and support for every member of the family.

Partnership Parenting: How Men and Women Parent Differently — Why It Helps Your Kids and Can Strengthen Your Marriage. Kyle Pruett & Marsha Kline Pruett, $20.00

Partnership Parenting offers couples distinctly balanced ways to deal with everyday situations, from bedtime and feeding to discipline and schooling.  With wisdom and humour, the authors help you and your partner take advantage of your individual strengths to stay connected, improve your relationship and confidently raise children together.

The Portable Pediatrician: Everything You Need to Know about Your Child’s Health. William Sears & Martha Sears, et al, $23.99

Imagine you are up at 3:00am with a sick child. Wouldn't it be nice to have expert advice readily at hand to help get you through the night? Encyclopedic in scope, The Portable Pediatrician features timely and practical information on every childhood illness and emergency, including when to call the doctor, what reassuring signs can help you know your child is okay, how to treat your child at home, and much more all in a convenient A-to-Z format.

The Power of Validation: Arming Your Child against Bullying, Peer Pressure, Addiction, Self-Harm & Out-of-Control Emotions. Karyn Hall & Melissa Cook, $18.95

Validation is the recognition and acceptance that a person's feelings and thoughts are true and real for him or her, regardless of whether or not those feelings make logical sense. This seemingly simple concept can determine whether a child has self-esteem or not, whether a child will grow to become an independent adult or a dependent one, and whether a child will be able to process feelings in a healthy way or express his or her emotions by throwing tantrums and acting out.

THE POWER OF VALIDATION breaks validation skills into practical steps parents can use to respond to their child's internal experiences in healthy ways without necessarily condoning their child's behaviors. Readers learn to pay attention to their child, acknowledge the child's thoughts and feelings, and help their child through the process of developing an identity of his or her own. By validating difficult emotions, but disallowing negative actions children may take in response to these emotions, parents can help their kids develop essential self-validating skills for the future that will foster self-esteem and emotional intelligence in adulthood.

The Practical Guide to Weekend Parenting. Doug Hewitt, $22.95

Whether you are divorced, separated, or simply working during the week, it's getting harder and harder to have one-on-one time with your children, much less plan for weekend play-time. Instead of turning on the television and walking away, there's now an easy way to take charge and teach, strengthen your parent-child ties, and have fun with your kids, and all at the same time.

Raising Baby Green: the Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care. Alan Greene, et al, $19.99

In this illustrated and easy-to-use guide, noted pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene, a leading voice of the green baby movement, advises parents how to make healthy green choices for pregnancy, childbirth, and baby care—from feeding your baby the best food available to using medicines wisely. Consumer advocate Jeanette Pavini includes information for making smart choices and applying green principles to a whole new universe of products from zero-VOC paints for the nursery, to pure and gentle lotions for baby’s delicate skin, to the eco-friendly diapers now in the marketplace, as well as specific recommendations for hundreds of other products.

Raising Twins after the First Year. Karen Gottesman, $17.95

Everything you need to know about bringing up twins, from toddlers to preteens.

Read to Me! A Month by Month Guide to Reading with Your Baby in the First Year. Shanda LaRamee-Jones, Carol McDougall & Tracy Lowe, $7.95

Reading to a child from birth provides the sights, sounds, and touch that encourage brain development and to develop important physical and emotional bonds. Choosing books for your baby can be difficult considering the huge selection available and your baby’s quickly changing needs.

Read to Me provides helpful tips, book suggestions and a rhyme for each month of a child’s first year. The calendar format is designed to reflect the skills that your baby is developing each month. The cheerful photographs of babies playing with books encourage parents to explore the joys of reading with their baby.

Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read. Diane Frankenstein, $18.50

This engaging guide shares advice for parents, teachers, librarians, and caregivers on how to help children find what to read, and then through conversation, how to find meaning and pleasure in their reading. With more than 100 great book recommendations for kids from Pre-K through grade six, as well as related conversation starters, Reading Together offers a winning equation to turn children into lifelong readers.

From pre-trip planning to dealing with challenges along the way, The Rough Guide to Travel with Babies and Young Children is the ultimate comprehensive guide to hassle-free family travel … The guide comes complete with listings of resources, websites and further reading, plus handy checklists, first-hand stories and advice from travel industry experts and parents who’ve been there and done it.

The Safe Baby: a Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living. Debra Smiley Holtzman, $19.95

This comprehensive, readable book tells you how to make your home and environment safe for kids. This expanded, revised edition includes:

• Latest up-to-date-information on baby safety
• How to select safer toys
• Expanded section on selecting green products
• Tips on choosing the safest fish to eat
• How to buy safe baby care supplies

The Secret Lives of Teen Girls: What Your Mother Wouldn’t Talk about But Your Daughter Needs to Know. Evelyn Resh, $18.95

In The Secret Lives of Teen Girls, Evelyn Resh — a certified nurse-midwife, sexuality counselor, and mother to a teenage daughter — explores the provocative world of female adolescent sexuality. Resh explains how developing a sexual identity — often without adult guidance or a basic knowledge of what is happening physically and emotionally — can have lifelong effects on a girl’s well-being.

In this insightful book, Resh confronts serious issues of adolescence, including sex, eating disorders, and substance abuse; as well as less serious but still troubling issues like battles with parents over clothing and curfews, the importance of being “cool,” and the complexity of friendships. Drawing from both her professional and personal experiences, Resh shares with us revealing, humorous, and occasionally surprising anecdotes that parents of teenage daughters everywhere will relate to.

73 Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep. Ann Treistman, $17.95

As every exhausted new parent knows it takes a full bag of tricks to get more than three consecutive hours of shut-eye from your little bundle of joy. So Ann Treistman—herself the mother of two—compiled 73 simple techniques for sending your infant off to Dreamland. These baby-tested tips will be manna from heaven to sleep-deprived moms and dads. Designed for definite gift appeal, 73 Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep is illustrated with beautiful color photos of slumbering babies.

Shared Parenting: Raising Your Children Cooperatively After Separation. Jill Burrett & Michael Green, $17.99

This practical book provides straightforward advice to parents facing separation who wish to pursue the shared parenting approach. The authors emphasize the importance of children having significant time with both parents, allowing them to maintain meaningful relationships. By presenting the benefits and challenges, debunking the myths, giving practical tips on communication between the two households, and providing concrete tools to aid in creating parenting plans, this book steers parents past their personal feelings toward a successful resolution that is in everyone’s best interest.

She Looks Just Like You: a Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood. Amie Klempnauer Miller, $18.00

After ten years of talking about children, two years of trying to conceive, and one shot of donor sperm for her partner, Amie Miller was about to become a mother. Or something like that. Part love story, part comedy, part quest, She Looks Just Like You is a candid memoir and a much-needed cultural roadmap to what it means to become a parent, even when the usual categories do not fit.

For parents concerned about their child's growth, this authoritative resource presents comprehensive information to reassure and guide them in seeking help. Two of America's leading pediatric endocrinologists present reliable guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of growth disorders, from helping parents determine whether their child's height is normal to understanding when it's necessary to seek the advice of a specialist. Parents will also learn about the role of genetics, nutrition, and hormones in their child's growth as well as medical conditions that cause short stature. The Short Child includes current research on treatment; including the controversial use of growth hormone, so you and your physician can decide what's right for your child.

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids. Kim John Payne, $17.00

Simplicity Parenting teaches parents how to worry less — and how to enjoy more. For those who want to slow their children’s lives down but don’t know where to start, Payne offers both inspiration and a blueprint for change. By doing less and trusting more, parents can create a sanctuary that nurtures children’s identity, well-being, and resiliency as they grow — slowly — into themselves. A manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood, Simplicity Parenting is an eloquent guide to bringing new rhythms to bear on the lifelong art of parenting.

Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health. Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie, $19.95

Funny, thought-provoking, and incredibly disturbing, Slow Death by Rubber Duck reveals that just the living of daily life creates a chemical soup inside each of us. Pollution is no longer just about belching smokestacks and ugly sewer pipes — now, it’s personal. Ultimately hopeful, the book empowers readers with some simple ideas for protecting themselves and their families, and changing things for the better.

Smart Parenting for Smart Kids: Nurturing Your Child’s True Potential. Eileen Kennedy Moore & Mark Lowenthal, $19.95

It takes more than school-smarts to create a fulfilling life. In fact, many bright children face special challenge. Smart Parenting for Smart Kids is a compassionate book that explains the reasons behind these struggles. It offers parents practical strategies for helping children develop the essential skills they need to make the most of their abilities and become capable, caring, confident adults.

Sneaky Fitness: Fun, Foolproof Ways to Slip Fitness into Your Child's Everyday Life. Missy Chase Lapine & Larysa Didio, $25.00

Sneaky strategies for fitting in more exercise and calorie-burning activities into their child’s daily routine, including:

• Age-appropriate exercises and games to get any resistant little exerciser up and moving (with targeted chapters for preschoolers, grade-school kids and ‘tweens)
• Tips on specific toys and games that encourage exercise
• More healthy (and sneaky) recipes for fueling newly-active kids

Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away with Another Spoon. Jacinta Bunnell, illustrated by Nathaniel Kusinitz, $11.00

This radically different activity book takes anecdotes from the lives of real kids and mixes them with classic tales to create true-to-life characters, situations and resolutions. Featuring massive beasts who enjoy dainty jewelry and princess who build rocket ships, this fun for all-ages coloring book celebrates those who do not fit into disempowering gender categorizations, from sensitive boys to tough girls.

Table for Eight: Raising a Large Family in a Small-Family World. Meagan Francis, $18.00

Smart strategies for the larger-than-average family.

Despite the growing number of larger families — including blended families and a rise in multiple births — contemporary cultural expectations are geared toward two-child families. In Table for Eight: Raising a Large Family, Meagan Francis offers advice, encouragement, and tips for living for families with three or more children.

Take Your Temperament! A Workbook for Parents and Children. Nanci Burns & Nancy Rubenstein, $25.00

Temperament is at the core of how we see and respond to our world … it is the significant reason that children act differently even within the same family — in spite of having the same parents, culture and environment. Individual differences in temperament among family members can also be a major factor in making family life positive … or stressful.

This workbook is designed to be a fun, interactive opportunity for you and your children to get to know each other better in an engaging and meaningful way. It invites parents and children to explore how they react to the world – and to do so without guilt or shame.

A Tale of Two Daddies. Vanita Oelschlager, illustrated by Kristin Blackwood & Mike Blanc, $9.95

Beautifully illustrated and fun, A Tale of Two Daddies is a little love story about a girl and her Daddy and Poppa.

Talk About Anything with Your Kids: an Easy Guide to Great Conversations. Catherine Wakelin, $22.95

Great conversations don’t always happen easily — especially with kids. Many parents find that as their children grow, those chatty preschoolers become mono-syllabic teenagers.

Talk About Anything with Your Kids shows parents how to have open and satisfying conversations with kids from six to 14, with the emphasis on learning to truly listen to what our kids have to say. The book shows you how to develop effective and rewarding communication in your family effectively.  

The Top 50 Questions Children Ask: Pre-K through 2nd Grade. Susan Bartell, $12.25
The Top 50 Questions Children Ask: 3rd through 5th Grade. Susan Bartell, $12.25

The best answers to the smartest, strangest and most difficult questions kids always ask.

Trouble-Free Travel with Children: Over 700 Helpful Hints for Parents on the Go. Vicki Lansky, $14.95

Enjoy your trips with kids — whether they are fussy newborns, busy toddlers or bored school-age children. This handbook of advice and ideas comes straight from the experiences of parents like you, and can help make any trip —– short or long — more enjoyable and stress-free.

uKloo Early Reader Treasure Hunt Game. $14.95 (ages 4 and up)

uKloo is an early literacy game that makes reading fun, builds confidence and promotes independence. With three levels of achievement for early readers, it builds sight reading and research skills and provides the basics of sentence structure. Fun and easy to play, uKloo will have your child reading — and loving it!

Unplugged Play: No Batteries – No Plugs – Pure Fun. Bobbi Conner, $21.50

710 games and activities for ages 12 months to 10 years that stretch the imagination, spark creativity, build strong bodies and forge deep friendships.

Unveiling the Adoption Process: Seven Families’ Adventures & Insights. Rhonda Miller, $16.95

In Unveiling the Adoption Process, readers will join seven families on their adoption journeys. Nobody's experience is identical, but they all share knowledge of the unexpected bumps along the way. There are emotional highs and lows, process changes and stressors, and reactions from others to handle, but in the end, these families all achieve the ultimate triumph — the addition of a beloved child to their family.

Waking Up: a Parent's Guide to Mindful Awareness and Connection. Raelynn Maloney, $20.95

Practice the MindfulWay of aware parenting and strengthen your relationship with your child.

Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College. Sandra Aamodt & Sam Wang, $30.00

How children think is one of the most enduring mysteries encountered by parents. In an effort to raise our children smarter, happier, stronger, and better, parents will try almost anything, from vitamins to toys to DVDs. But how can we tell marketing from real science? And what really goes through your kid's growing mind as an infant, in school, and during adolescence?

Neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang explain the facets and functions of the developing brain, discussing salient subjects such as sleep problems, language learning, gender differences, and autism. They dispel common myths about important subjects such as the value of educational videos for babies, the meaning of ADHD in the classroom, and the best predictor of academic success.  Most of all, this book helps you know when to worry, how to respond, and, most important, when to relax.

WELCOME TO YOUR CHILD'S BRAIN upends myths and misinformation with practical advice, surprising revelations, and real, reliable science. It's essential reading for parents of children of any age, from infancy well into their teens.

What Kids Really Want to Ask: Using Movies to Start Meaningful Conversations — a Guide Book for Parents and Children Ages 10-14. Rhonda Richardson & A. Margaret Pevec, $15.95

Real questions asked by kids aged 10 to 14 led to the topics in this family-focused guide. Using popular movies and related activities, a wide variety of issues are approached in this unique book, keeping lines of communication open during the transformative middle-school years. What Kids Really Want to Ask gives families opportunities to approach a range of topics in a fun, supportive and respectful manner.

When You’re About to Go Off the Deep End, Don’t Take Your Kids With You. Kelly Nault, $19.99

A step-by-step guide to permanently eliminate chaos and frustration in your home and unleash the “ultimate mom” within you.

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind. Daniel Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson, $27.00

This pioneering, practical book explains the new science of how a child's brain is wired and how it matures. The "upstairs brain," which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids can seem—and feel—so out of control. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child's brain and foster vital growth.

Complete with clear explanations, age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles, and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives.

Working Mom Survival Guide: How to Run around Less and Enjoy Life More. Suzanne Riss & Teresa Palagno, $16.95

Sanity-saving solutions and shortcuts for home and work from the experts at Working Mother magazine.

Your Baby is Speaking to You. Kevin Nugent, photography by Abelardo Morell, $23.95

A visual guide to the amazing behaviors of your newborn and growing baby.

Your Brain on Childhood: the Unexpected Side Effects of Classrooms, Ballparks, Family Rooms and the Minivan. Gabrielle Principe, $19.50

For most of human existence, childhood was spent in a natural environment. Children spent their days roaming in packs and playing on their own. They improvised their play, invented games, and made up their own rules.  

While modern environments have made life easier and more secure for children, scientists are finding that this new lifestyle is having unwanted side effects on children's brains. Today's structured & controlled surroundings are exactly wrong for developing brains. Children learn by exploration, experimentation & exposure to the real world.

In YOUR BRAIN ON CHILDHOOD, developmental psychologist Gabrielle Principe reviews the consequences of raising children in today's highly unnatural environments and suggests ways in which we can learn to naturalize childhood again, so that a child's home and school environments gel with how the brain was designed to grow.

Fascinating and controversial, this well-researched discussion by an expert on child development will make readers rethink how we are raising our children.

Your Child's Dog: How to Help Your Kids Care for Their Pets. Andrea McHugh, $16.95

This straightforward guide features step-by-step advice on teaching a child to care for and train a dog. Using examples and step-by-step photographs, Your Child's Dog explains how to respond to a dog's needs while at the same time raising a well-socialized and well-behaved companion pet.

You're Ruining My Life! Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting. Jennifer Kolari, $32.00

In her new book, Jennifer Kolari applies her empathic approach to parenting to what may be the most difficult time for parents — adolescence. Combining her own experience as a therapist with the most recent scientific information about mental processes, she explains what's going on inside the teenage brain as well as what's going on in their world. This understanding allows parents to de-escalate confrontations by applying techniques such as CALM (Connect, Affect, Listen, Mirror) that bypass language and go directly to the part of the brain that regulates emotion. By understanding how teens think (or don't think) parents come to see why it's so important to create and maintain a strong emotional bond that will allow their almost grown-up children to correct and contain unacceptable behaviours.