Great Books for Grown-Ups

In addition to all the great books we have for little ones, the Children's Department has a great collection of parenting books and other resources for grown-ups!


Our Parenting Collection is located on a white bookshelf in the play area of the Children's Department. This contains nonfiction books about a wide variety of topics that parents are often interested in. These are by no means all of our parenting books - there are even more in the adult nonfiction section - but these are easily located near where you and your children play.

Also in our play area, you'll find our Parent Teacher collection. These are picture books that facilitate parent/child discussion focusing on various issues like emotions, death, new babies, and learning to go potty. These books can be incredibly helpful if you and your family are going through any big change.

We also have a small reference section behind the reference desk. Many of these books must remain here in the library, but some can be checked out. A lot of the books in this section are especially useful for teachers and include lesson plan ideas, but they're also full of activities that would be fun for parents and families.

That's a lot to chose from! To get you started, here are some of my personal favorites:

The Bilingual Edge by Kendall King
Kendall King has done mounds of research into bilingualism and raising children in two languages. She focuses on the amazing advantages that children have who can speak multiple languages from a young age. For families for whom this could be a possibility, this book is an excellent guide - and just an interesting read!

A Family of Readers by Roger Sutton and Martha V. Parravano
The Horn Book Magazine is a well-known publication that reviews children's literature. The editors of that magazine have put together this wonderful book about how to help your children become life-long readers and how to enjoy reading together as a family. They've also included lists of great books for children of various ages.

Reading Magic by Mem Fox
I've saved my absolute favorite for last. Mem Fox has spent a majority of her career researching early literacy and the effects of reading with young children. While this book came out a little while ago, the information in it is still incredibly helpful. It includes developmental information about how your child is actually learning, along with loads of tips about how you can help this development along. This is the book I buy as a gift for every friend and relative who has a new baby.

Happy Reading!!