Recommended Books

Books We Love

Book cover of The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally by David Elkind, Ph.D. The design features a young boy holding up a toy airplane in a field, with colorful text on a cream background.

The Power of Play

From an expert in childhood development, a book that emphasizes the importance of imaginative play, and how it sets children up for success in the classroom.

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Book cover of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown, M.D., with Christopher Vaughan. The design features large blue text reading ‘play,’ a colorful beach ball in the lower corner, and a clean white background.

Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul

From a leading expert, a groundbreaking book on the science of play, and its essential role in fueling our happiness and intelligence throughout our lives.

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Book cover of The Paradise of Childhood: A Manual for Self-Instruction in Friedrich Froebel’s Educational Principles, and a Practical Guide to Kindergartners by Edward Wiebe. The cover image shows a rural scene with railroad tracks leading to a tall wooden building in a flat, grassy field.

The Paradise of Childhood

A manual for self-instruction in Friedrich Froebel’s educational principles, and a practical guide to kindergartners

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Book cover of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. The design features a black-and-white photo of a child leaping outdoors with a stick, surrounded by trees, with bold green title text on a white background.

Last Child in the Woods

In Last Child in the Woods, 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.

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Book cover of Earth, Water, Fire and Air: Playful Explorations in the Four Elements by Walter Kraul. The image shows two children outdoors holding a large red kite-like structure against a blue sky.

Earth, Water, Fire, and Air

This craft book for children shows how to make a waterwheel, paddle-steamer, propeller plane, parachute, windmill, simple pendulum clock, spinning tops, a little hot-air carousel or roundabout, a hot-air balloon, and lots more.

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Book cover of Until the Streetlights Come On: How a Return to Play Brightens Our Present and Prepares Kids for an Uncertain Future by Ginny Yurich, M.Ed. The design features an illustrated nighttime scene with tall streetlights, evergreen trees, a tent, campfire, and a bicycle.

Until the Street Lights Come On

A homeschooling mother of five and the founder of the global 1000 Hours Outside movement, Ginny Yurich explains how we got to this point–and how to get back to a healthier, more engaging relationship with the world outside.

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Book cover of The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. The red cover features small black icons of graduates in caps and gowns, with white and black bold title text.

The Coddling of the American Mind

This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.

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Book cover of The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It by Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D., and Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D. The image shows a joyful child in a red jacket being tossed into the air by an adult against a bright blue sky.

The Art of Roughhousing

Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It

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Book cover of Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell, 20th Anniversary Edition. The image shows a woman and young girl sitting together in a sunny field of wildflowers, looking closely at something in the child’s hands, with large yellow title text overlaid.

Sharing Nature with Children

 New nature games, favorites from the field, and Cornell’s typically insightful commentary makes the second edition of this special classic even more valuable to nature lovers world-wide.

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Book cover of Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children by Angela J. Hanscom. The image shows a young girl in a floral swimsuit crouching barefoot in mud, playing outdoors.

Balanced and Barefoot

Angela Hanscom shows how outdoor play and unstructured freedom of movement are vital for children’s cognitive development and growth, and offers tons of fun, engaging ways to help ensure that kids grow into healthy, balanced, and resilient adults.

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Book cover of Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne, M.Ed., with Lisa M. Ross. The cover has a soft watercolor border and shows a small illustration of children’s feet in water wearing blue bows.

Simplicity Parenting

A revised and updated edition of the classic, inspiring guide to raising calm and secure kids in a frenetic world, featuring a new chapter to address the modern parent’s concerns over setting limits and coping with social media

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