Beyond the Bake Sale: the Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships. Anne Henderson, Karen Mapp, Vivian Johnson & Don Davies $31.50

Countless studies demonstrate that students with parents actively involved in their education at home and school are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, enroll in higher-level programs, graduate from high school, and go on to postsecondary education. Beyond the Bake Sale shows how to form these essential partnerships and how to make them work.

Packed with tips from principals and teachers, checklists, and an invaluable resource section and written with candor, clarity, and humor, Beyond the Bake Sale is essential reading for teachers, parents, administrators and policy makers at all levels.

Beyond the Label: a Guide to Unlocking a Child's Educational Potential. Karen Schlitz, $27.95

When a child is struggling with a learning disability or behavioral disorder, it can be overwhelming for their parents, who often do not know what to do or where to turn for help. This groundbreaking book is a "must have" for any parent, educator, or person who cares for and wants to help children who face challenges in school. It will help you to recognize the warning signs that may indicate a potential problem with a child and explain how to find the best help.

This superb guide shows you how to obtain the necessary assessment(s) that will help you to better understand a child's strengths and weaknesses. It also describes what an educational "accommodation" is and how it can serve as a bridge to learning. Every child has the legal right to fully access the learning environment and to show what they truly know when taking tests. The authors describe how accommodations specifically target a child's weaknesses in order to level the playing field in the classroom and during test taking situations. Accommodations can be as simple as giving the child extra time to finish a test or allowing them to take a test in a smaller group to minimize distractions. In addition, this handbook outlines the relevant research to help you understand the big picture of a child's learning and emotional needs.

The authors offer extensive discussion of issues such as attention and concentration, memory, executive functioning, language, visual perception and processing, emotional functioning, and social skills. Throughout, they stress that, by focusing on behaviors and not labels, you will be able to better understand the "what, why, and how" of a child's learning and emotional challenges.

The End of Ignorance: Multiplying Our Human Potential. John Mighton, $29.95

The End of Ignorance conceives of a world in which no child is left behind–a world based on the assumption that each child has the potential to be successful in every subject. John Mighton argues that by recognizing the barriers that we have experienced in our own educational development, by identifying the moment that we became disenchanted with a certain subject and forever closed ourselves off to it, we will be able to eliminate these same barriers from standing in the way of our children.

A passionate examination of our present education system, The End of Ignorance shows how we all can work together to reinvent the way that we are taught.

The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each Other. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, $21.00

Through vivid portraits and parables, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot captures the dynamics of this complex, intense relationship from the perspective of both parents and teachers. She identifies new principles and practices for improving family-school relationships in a voice that combines the passion of a mother, the skepticism of a social scientist, and the keen understanding of one of an experienced educator.

For parents and teachers who seek productive dialogues and collaborative alliances in support of the learning and growth of their children, this book will offer valuable insights, incisive lessons, and deft guidance on how to communicate more effectively. In The Essential Conversation, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot brings scholarship, warmth, and wisdom to an immensely important cultural subject — the way we raise our children.

The Essential 55 is a collection of the amazingly effective rules that Ron Clark used to become an extraordinary teacher. Through trial and error, he has distilled ideas that have helped him take apathetic students and transform them into scholars. Covering all aspects of life, from the classroom to the real world, from daily human interactions to cafeteria and bathroom manners, Clark has captured the imagination of students, educators and parents alike with his wit, wisdom and humour.

Based on the bestseller The Essential 55, this workbook will provide the tools any parent or teacher needs to show a child how to act with consideration and respect… every one of Ron Clark's 55 rules is outlined here, with specific and fun suggestions to help kids understand why each one is important.

Feel-Bad Education and Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling. Alfie Kohn, $17.00

A new book from one of the most outspoken and incisive thinkers in education, FEEL-BAD EDUCATION is a call to parents and educators to rethink our priorities and reconsider our practices. 

Alfie Kohn repeatedly invites us to think more deeply about the conventional wisdom. Is self-discipline always desirable he asks? Does academic cheating necessarily indicate a moral failing? Might inspirational posters commonly found on school walls reflect disturbing assumptions about children? Could the use of rubrics for evaluating student learning prove counterproductive?

Subjecting young children to homework, grades, or standardized tests-merely because these things will be required of them later-reminds Kohn of Monty Python's "getting hit on the head lessons." And, with tongue firmly in cheek, he declares that we should immediately begin teaching twenty-second-century skills.

Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Revised Edition. Howard Gardner, $23.00

First published in 1983, Gardner's trailblazing book revolutionized the worlds of education and psychology by positing that rather than a single type of intelligence, we have several — most of which are neglected by standard testing and educational methods. In this updated edition, Howard Gardner reflects on thirty years of work on Multiple Intelligence theory and practice.

Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count. Richard Nisbett, $22.50

Intelligence and How to Get It asserts that intellect is not primarily genetic but is principally determined by societal influences. Nisbett's commanding argument, superb marshaling of evidence and fearless discussions of the controversial carve out new and exciting terrain in this hotly debated field.

Lighting Their Fires: Raising Extraordinary Children. Rafe Esquith, $18.50

In Lighting Their Fires, educator Rafe Esquith shows that children aren’t born extraordinary; they become that way as a result of parents and teachers who instill values that serve them not just for school, but for the rest of their lives.

Whether he is highlighting the importance of time management or offering a step-by-step discussion of how children can become good decision makers, Esquith shows how parents can equip their kids with all the tools they need to find success and have fun in the process. Using examples from classic films and great books, he stresses the value of sacrifice, the importance of staying true to oneself, and the danger that television can pose to growing young minds. Lighting Their Fires explains not just how to make our children great students, but how to make them thoughtful and honorable people.

No Grades + No Homework = Better Learning. Two Lectures for Educators and Parents. Alfie Kohn, $34.50 DVD

In two entertaining and thought-provoking lectures, Alfie Kohn makes a compelling case that grades and homework are counterproductive. He argues that abandoning them in favour of more useful educational strategies is not only a realistic possibility but a change that is long overdue.

Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools. Eugenie Scott & Glenn Branch, $17.95

Where did the concept of intelligent design originate? How does it connect with, and conflict with, various religious beliefs? Should we teach the controversy itself in our science classrooms? In clear and lively essays, a team of experts answers these questions and many more, describing the history of the intelligent design movement and the lack of scientific support for its claims. Most importantly, the contributors speak specifically to teachers and parents about the need to defend the integrity of science education by keeping intelligent design out of science curriculums. A concluding chapter offers concrete advice for those seeking to defend the teaching of evolution in their own communities.

Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling. Rosemary Salomone, $26.95

In this timely book, Rosemary Salomone offers a reasoned educational and legal argument supporting single-sex education as an alternative to coeducation, particularly in the case of disadvantaged minority students.

The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child’s Intellectual Potential. Renee Mosiman & Mike Mosiman, $16.95

The Smarter Preschooler will show you how to develop an intellectually stimulating environment for your child while preserving the innocence of childhood.

Whole Child Education. John Miller, $22.95

Public education is often viewed as dominated by an emphasis on test scores and narrowly defined parameters of performance and achievement. By contrast, John Miller's Whole Child Education fosters relationships between various forms of thinking, links body and mind, and recognizes the inner life of the child.

Addressing issues of teaching, curriculum, the school, and teacher wellness, Miller presents three basic approaches (transmission, transaction, and transformation) that facilitate a connection with the whole student. Practical examples from teachers who have incorporated Miller's ideas into their own classrooms and descriptions of Toronto's Whole Child School (founded in 2009) illustrate how the 'Whole Curriculum' can be implemented on both the small and large scale. Inspired by the powerful vision of Martin Luther King and his concept of the Beloved Community, Whole Child Education is a vehicle for building community through holistic education.