8 Keys to Raising the Quirky Child: How to Help a Kid Who Doesn't Quite Fit In. Mark Bowers, $23.95

A quirky child experiences difficulty fitting in and connecting with others usually due to an interpersonal style or behavior that stands out from the other kids. Maybe they are obsessed with a topic of interest or spend excessive hours a day reading, playing video games, or playing with just one toy. These kids are not so far afield as to fall on the autism spectrum, but they are unique, and their behaviors are not addressed in typical parenting books.

This book defines quirky markers and offers strategies for parents to understand their children’s brains and behaviors; to know what is developmentally appropriate, and what isn’t; to understand how to reach their kids; and to help facilitate their social functioning in the world. It will calm the hearts and minds of parents who worry that their child doesn’t fit in and offer hope to parents who need strategies to support their quirky child’s overall development.

Getting from Me to We: How to Help Young Children Fit In and Make Friends. Shonna Tuck, $32.50

Many children age seven and under struggle with social skills and often find themselves perpetually on the sidelines, in time-out, or ignored by their peers in school and on the playground. It's incredibly painful and worrisome for their parents to witness, but fortunately, they are not powerless to help their kids improve their social IQ. Getting from Me to We helps parents understand the roots of these problems, which take hold at a very young age, and give their kids the foundational skills necessary to form connections and friendships with other children. The book explains how parents can teach their children social observing skills at an early stage in their development and identify:

• Where their child is on the social skills ladder
• How to set goals to fill in those gaps
• How and when to support their child during play
• How to identify play behaviors that hinder or help
• How to model good social skills and cues

Written by a speech-language pathologist and researcher with expertise in socially at risk kids, the book includes profiles of children who illustrate a wide variety of characteristics and behaviors that lead to social isolation, along with effective, well-designed activities that encourage joint attention, eye contact, and social interaction. Getting from Me to We is useful for children who have social skill delays without a formal diagnosis, as well as children with autism, ADHD, anxiety, or language delays. 

Let's Be Friends: a Workbook to Help Kids Learn Social Skills & Make Great Friends. Lawrence Shapiro & Julia Holmes, $25.95

Building positive friendships is a critical part of a child's development. When adults look back on their childhoods, they rate their friendships as one of the most important factors in their happiness. But researchers report that half of children have difficulty making and keeping friends. These problems predispose them to lifelong relationship challenges. What's more, parents report that they rarely know what to do to help their children make friends. Social problems in childhood may lead to more serious problems in adolescence and adulthood, so it's wise to help children with these skills now.

The activities in this book offer you effective tools for helping a child become a better friend-maker. The activities in Let's Be Friends teach kids a wide variety of social skills including the making and keeping of new friends, finding friends with common interests, ways of coping with rejection, and tips for developing give and take in relationships. With practice, the skills in this book can help youngsters locate support during transitions, build self-esteem, and develop into healthy, resilient adults.

Overcoming Your Child's Shyness & Social Anxiety: a Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques. Lucy Willetts & Cathy Creswell, $21.00

Many children are naturally shy but extreme shyness and social anxiety can become a major childhood problem, leading to avoidance of school, difficulty in making friends and even developing into social anxiety in adulthood. In Overcoming Your Child's Shyness and Social Anxiety, child psychologists Lucy Willetts and Cathy Creswell explain how parents can help a shy child learn to challenge their thoughts and behaviour patterns and learn to participate confidently in every aspect of their lives.

Based on clinically proven cognitive behavioural principles, the book explains what causes shyness, how to identify social anxiety in your child (sometimes masked by anger or stubbornness) and how to gradually help your child face their anxieties and develop problem-solving strategies. This book is a must for parents, teachers and anyone working with children.

Photo Social Stories: 35 Cards That Teach Kids Social Skills for Everyday Situations. Lawrence Shapiro, $34.95 (ages 5-12)

Photo Social Stories about Kids in School: 35 Cards That Teach Kids Social Skills for Everyday Situations. Mike Canavan & Lawrence Shapiro, $34.95 (ages 5-12)

Photo Social Stories about Kids in the Community: 35 Cards That Teach Kids Social Skills for Everyday Situations. Mike Canavan & Lawrence Shapiro, $34.95 (ages 5-12)

Photo Social Stories about Kids and Their Families: 35 Cards That Teach Kids Social Skills for Everyday Situations. Mike Canavan & Lawrence Shapiro, $34.95 (ages 5-12)

Simple stories, illustrated with photographs, teach children how they are expected to behave in typical social situations. Each story is followed with highlights and interactive questions.

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: the Heart of Parenting. John Gottman, $23.00

Every parent knows the importance of equipping children with the intellectual skills they need to succeed in school and life. But children also need to master their emotions. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world. And as acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman shows, once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better performance in school, and healthier social relationships. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will equip parents with a five-step “emotion coaching” process that teaches how to:

• Be aware of a child's emotions
• Recognize emotional expression as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching
• Listen empathetically and validate a child's feelings
• Label emotions in words a child can understand
• Help a child come up with an appropriate way to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue or situation

Written for parents of children of all ages, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will enrich the bonds between parent and child and contribute immeasurably to the development of a generation of emotionally healthy adults.

Say Goodbye to Being Shy: a Workbook to Help Kids Overcome Their Shyness. Richard Brozovich & Linda Chase, $29.95

Say Goodbye to Being Shy is a book for children who struggle with extreme to occasional shyness. Shyness is a barrier to social and academic development which can prevent children from reaching their greatest potential. Say Goodbye to Being Shy offers focused activities with clearly stated purposes designed to move children from feelings of shyness to developing competence and skill.

The Science of Making Friends: Helping Socially Challenged Teens and Young Adults. Elizabeth Laugeson, $31.95

This book is based on UCLA's acclaimed PEERS program, a research-based approach to helping adolescents and young adults with autism make and keep friends. This step-by-step guide helps parents, educators, and others to provide "social coaching" to teens and young adults on the spectrum.

The book includes concrete rules and steps of social etiquette identified through research. Parents can use the book to assist in improving conversational skills, expanding social opportunities (including dating), identifying strategies for handling peer rejection, and developing and enhancing friendships. Lessons are taught using didactic teaching narratives, followed by key rules and steps. The book features a bonus DVD with video demonstrations of the skills taught and a mobile application that helps teens and young adults use the strategies in real-world situations.

The Skill-ionaire in Every Child: Boosting Children's Socio-Emotional Skills Using the Latest in Brain Research. Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, $22.95

Many young people today struggle with social and emotional issues such as low self-esteem, fears, anger, bullying, body image, and depression. The standard approach used in families, schools, and counseling centers, is to focus on what is “going wrong” and solve kids’ problems. Yet, a wide body of recent brain research shows that socio-emotional skills are best cultivated and secured by experiences that evoke positive emotions. In this inspiring book, psychologist Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin teaches adults how to engage young people in “skill-boosting conversations” (SBC), a cutting-edge method to help them identify and further enrich the unique problem-solving strategies that have already been working best for them.

With its clear and practical approach, and roots deep in neuroscience, The Skill-ionaire in Every Child offers parents, educators, and counselors a proven set of ideas for helping all our kids move forward through life with confidence, competence, and compassion.

Social Skills Training and Frustration Management: DVD. Jed Baker, $55.95 DVD format, 4.5 hours

This comprehensive, dynamic presentation is extremely valuable to all family members and professionals working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities, mood and anxiety disorders, and other issues that impact social-emotional functioning. The DVD workshop will help parents and professionals learn how to:

• Build an individual’s social skills in crucial areas such as conversation, conflict resolution, emotion management, employment, dating, etc.
• Develop an effective behavior plan
• Manage and prevent meltdowns
• Help create peer acceptance
• Assess social skills of individuals or groups

SOCIALSKLZ:- ) for Success: How to Give Children the Skills They Need to Thrive in the Modern World. Faye de Muyshondt, $18.50

With the world of technology advancing and face-to-face communication becoming less common, it is no wonder the many “manner” and “etiquette” books fall short of reaching young people who are fully enveloped in a digital age. Faye de Muyshondt’s SOCIALSKLZ:-) FOR SUCCESS is not only relevant, touching on topics of email, social networking, cyberbullying, and smartphones, but also breathes life into the basics: how to speak, shake hands, make conversation, and behave in all social settings. Although they are not typically taught in school, research has shown that teaching these skills increases academic scores. The book takes de Muyshondt’s highly successful workshop and brings it to the homes of millions in this fun and interactive guidebook designed to direct parents in teaching kids the skills necessary for success without being perceived as a "nag."

Why Will No One Play with Me? The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive. Caroline Maguire, $35.00

Every parent wants their child to be okay — to have friends, to be successful, to feel comfortable in his or her own skin. But many children lack important social and executive functioning skills that allow them to navigate through the world with ease.

Caroline Maguire has worked with thousands of families dealing with chronic social dilemmas, ranging from shyness to aggression to ADHD, and more. In this groundbreaking book, she shares her decade-in-the-making protocol — The Play Better Plan — to help parents coach children to connect with others and make friends. Children of all ages, from Kindergarten to college age, will gain the confidence to make friends and get along with others, using tools such as:

• Social Sleuthing: learn to pay attention to social cues
• Post-Play Date Huddles: help kids figure out what to look for in a friendship
• Reflective Listening: improve your child's relationship with their peers

With compassion and ease, this program gives parents a tangible, easy-to-follow guide for helping kids develop the executive function and social skills they need to thrive.