WTBA is a collection of and conversation about powerful books that strengthen, elevate, inspire and help to grow powerful, resilient kids. We're a book oriented guide for parents, grandparents, educators, aunts, uncles and anyone involved in nurturing children and caring for friends.
ages 4 to 10 years
Set in USA—there was a time when matchboxes were ubiquitous, now there are probably children who will need the concept of a matchbox explained or shown to them. But once that’s done, I suspect many children will want to start their own matchbox diary – and adults too.
ages 4 to grownup.
I’m not a really big fan of telling children how they should react to art, but I am a big fan of reminding adults that when children do react to art – or anything for that matter – it’s very often physical. The Museum is a fun book written as a poem that follows a young girl through an art museum (think MoMA). She’s an exuberant child who lets her body show what she is feeling.
When my children were little, we did Joy School and No Peas For Nellie was recommended by them. I think it was for the joy of decision making. But in the end I think we’ve liked this book for so long because it’s funny.
ages 0 to about 4 years
Read MoreSometimes, as we lurch from one parenting crisis to another—and from one attempt to be a ‘good’ parent in the eyes of other adults to another, there’s a nagging feeling that something is amiss. In The Myth of the Spoiled Child, Alfie Kohn looks carefully at some of the current sacred cows of child raising, nailing down what is amiss and what we can do about it.
Read MoreIt's coming up to International Women's Day (March 8) and we're delighted to bring you our collection of favourite picture books about women who did remarkable things -
Read Moreages 4 to 10 years
Set in Africa. Essentially an alphabet book, Jambo Means Hello assigns a Swahili word to each letter of the English alphabet. And along with the words goes a short paragraph explaining something about culture, traditions and everyday life in Africa.
Alfie Kohn’s clarion call is for a ‘working with’ rather than a ‘doing to’ approach to parenting, educating and otherwise interacting with children. Unconditional Parenting is his coalface parenting book. So that we’re ready to try something new as a parent, Kohn sets out the take-home message—via some alarming research about what traditional ‘doing to’ style parenting is, well, ‘doing to’ our children.
Read MoreA conversation about books + kids. A website resource and book reviews for educators, parents, grandparents. The main focus is emotional resilience.
