Tim Seldin and Lorna McGrath, both senior consultants with the Montessori Foundation, have released a new book, Montessori for Every Family: A practical parenting guide to living, loving, and learning. This book is truly for every family, those that are in a Montessori school, those who Montessori homeschool, those who wish to be in a Montessori school, and those who have not even heard of Montessori. The three chapters, “What Is Montessori?”, “Montessori Family Life”, and “Family Life Through a Montessori Lens” take the reader through an introduction to Montessori, practice with Montessori, and application of Montessori philosophy to their own family.
Parents can read it straight through, or simply choose a topic and read about that. The book is easy to read either way, with most topics covered in a single two-page spread with beautiful illustrations and clear explanations. Included with most topics, the “Ages and Stages” sections help families adjust their approach for young children (18 months to 6 years); elementary-aged children (6 years to 12 years); and adolescents (12 years to 18 years). Also included are real-life stories, sharing how different families have managed these topics.
Tim Seldin and Lorna McGrath have worked with families as Montessori guides, school administrators, and parent educators for years, as well as raising their own families and enjoying grandchildren. Their depth of understanding and experience with a variety of families is shown in this book. As a parent, you can find some suggestions you are already practicing with your family and some that you feel you could strengthen to make your family life more enjoyable. Each topic is presented as a practical way to engage as a family and invites you to try it out. This book is intended to help families connect and celebrate themselves and their daily life. It will help every family that reads it and applies even one topic to their own family.
Lorna described the reason, in part, behind the creation of this book as a step toward world peace. She said, “World peace begins at home…If families are all on the same page, we will create world peace. I totally believe that, and it’s why I do what I do, and have done throughout my career.” I highly recommend this practical, beautiful, and easy to read book for families, schools, and guides to strengthen their connections and language with all their children.
Montessori for Every Family: A Practical Parenting Guide to Living, Loving, and Learning can be purchased for Kindle, Audio, and paperback on Amazon.
This is a truly gorgeous book for children! Cynthia’s words flow as you turn the pages, and she describes how the natural world is constantly transforming. The photographs superbly illustrate the transformations in nature. The message is about paying attention and being in awe of all that is around us in the world and realizing how dynamic nature is. And watch for this – “What goes around, comes around.”
Blue Lipstick is a short book filled with concrete poems. It is a story that follows a vegetarian, jock hating, blue-lipstick-wearing 15-year-old girl named Jessie, who just wants to be herself. All the poems are about different things in her life and her view on them, like her crazy brother, or the school bus. Throughout the book, she learns to accept more things around her and how to grow up. Blue Lipstick is funny and relatable, and, at the same time, I have no idea what she is talking about. Every time you turn a page, it’s like a different world of books. Jessie’s character arc is like a kid in school as well, with her starting off blocking almost everything out with her wall and slowly opening up.
The illustrations in this book are made of the poems; in most of them you must spin the book to read it. This is my favorite part of Blue Lipstick, and it makes the book different from all the other books. The illustrations are mainly surrounding people, and they are funny and creative. On one page, her friend dyes Jessie’s hair, and the poem’s words look like the strands of hair sticking up. This book is amazing and fun already, so all I would want to fix is to add more poems to read. You can read this book all in one day or stretch it out and read one poem every night. It’s good for ages seven and up, and only because it might be hard to understand some of Blue Lipstick’s plot if you are younger. Don’t miss this amazing book of poetry. It’s fun and exciting to turn each interactive page. Blue Lipstick is a great book for getting into poetry.
Reviewed by Le Smith, 8th grade, NewGate School, Sarasota, FL
Tuesdays with Morrie
Written by Mitch Albom
Meaningful lessons and an everlasting relationship would be a perfect subtitle for this book. In Tuesdays with Morrie, I learned lessons through the perspective of a young man acquiring an understanding of life’s necessities, which are being taught by his retired psychology professor. Throughout the book, not only are lessons being taught, but it also follows how Morrie is keeping up with ALS and living one day at a time. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease; it is a sickness that only gets worse. By witnessing the relationship between Morrie and Mitch, I gained an immensely deeper understanding on how to appreciate any given day.
Live every day, as if it is your last, Morrie once said. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks: ‘Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I the person I want to be?’
I’ve been told to live every day as if it is my last hundreds of times, but I never actually thought about it in a deeper sense. As children, teenagers, and young adults, we never really worry about cramming in a list of things we want to do before we pass. We take tons of opportunities for granted, as Morrie once said, “Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it.” We think that we don’t have to worry about the next time we visit our friends, or the next party we’re invited to, because we know for a definite fact that that opportunity is going to come again, we’ll have a choice. In other words, we take the opportunities we have been given for granted, because we believe we have so much time left. We tell ourselves we will always have more time to do the right thing. Instead, we shouldn’t wait for the last moment to give our best every day or wait for a special time to express our feelings.
What I just talked about was only a small sample of one lesson I’ve learned, but there are so many more. This biography is full of advice and lessons. Morrie addresses the following life lessons: culture, envy, living a meaningful life, kindness, dying, forgiveness, and love. keeps the reader engaged, as it brings up some old one-page memories shared between Mitch and Morrie and the state of Morrie’s condition. For me it was the quotes that kept me wanting to read. The quotes come from someone who has lived a full life, and almost every one of the quotes hits close to home. The fact that it’s based on true events, and that it’s written by Mitch, makes this story so much more impactful and emotional. This book is introspective —everything from Mtch’s point of view to the inspiring quotes and details. I would recommend this biography to everyone because everyone can learn something from Morrie and Mitch’s Tuesday talks.
Reviewed by Sofia Schimenti, 8th grade, NewGate School, Sarasota Florida
The Apothecary
Written by Maile Meloy
Have you ever considered that you could move your whole life during a war to a new country and suddenly become involved in an apothecary fiasco? In this book, there is always something exciting going on in the story. If you like a fast-paced novel, one that you can’t put down, this is the book for you.
The main two characters, Janie and Ben, meet during Janie’s first day of school in England, after she and her family have just moved from California. One day Janie is visiting the apothecary to pick up hot water bottles for her family. She meets the apothecary, who is Ben’s father. Ben is there, too, and his father is trying to teach him all the secrets of being an apothecary because, as a family tradition, he hoped that he could one day pass down the job to Ben. They are soon both included in the debacle that is taking place in the apothecary world.
This story takes them to meet a garden gnome, turns them into birds, includes a mission across the world, along with many other dangerous adventures that are sure to get your heart rate up. During all this craziness, Ben and Janie develop a close relationship that is really fun to read about. I especially enjoyed the dialogue. Generally, things were described clearly with a lot of emotion. I could easily picture in my head what was happening.
When you read this book, you should know that there are two other books that follow this first story: The Apprentices and The Afterroom. I know that I could not wait to get the next one because of the cliffhangers at the end. This is the type of book that you should get all of them before you start reading. I would recommend this book to anyone between the ages of 8-15. I hope you enjoy this series as much as I did.
Reviewed by Lucy Treibly, 8th grade, NewGate School, Sarasota, FL
Remarkables
Written by Margaret Peterson Haddix
…and in that one instant every single one of the nine teenagers vanished…
Remarkables is about a girl named Marin who is 11 years old and just moved from Illinois to Pennsylvania.
One day Marin goes outside for some fresh air and to get a break from unpacking boxes. She decides to explore her back yard. A few moments later she sees a group of teenagers heading to one’s backyard. They all seemed to be laughing and having a good time.
After watching these teenagers for some time, Marin started to wonder whether they are all siblings, cousins, adopted, or even fostered. After a moment of Marin getting lost in her thoughts, she looked around and in a blink of an eye all nine of the teenagers have vanished. Like magic, they were gone! One second they were there, and the next poof, not even a trace that they were ever there.
Marin became intrigued by the magic (or means) of teleporting and was determined to learn more. She continuously explored and did her best to find out more about the teenagers. One day, when she was by the teenager’s house, she found out that she was not alone.
Throughout the story, Marin can’t stop thinking of bad events that occurred in her past as well as the teenagers. Eventually, she figures out the boy in the tree was none other than her neighbor, Charley Schmidt. Reluctantly, he tells her his secrets regarding the teenagers, who he calls the Remarkables. He also tells her parts about his past, as well as tragedies that he can’t bear, but hopes he may be able to change. If Marin and Charley work together, they may be able to fix these events as long as they find the whole story.
My favorite thing about this book was that they had to work together and overcome the bumps along the way. Charley did not want to be her friend, but in the end, I think he’s glad that Marin was persistent and stuck around. This book also includes many turns of events and ends up changing everything they thought to be true regarding the past, present, and future. This book is truly remarkable.
Reviewed by Aubri Antczak, 8th grade, NewGate School, Sarasota, FL.
‘Few things leave a deeper mark on the reader, than the first book that finds its way to his heart.’
Blackwater – Sometimes a Lie is Harder Than the Truth
Written by Eve Bunting
Eve Bunting is not new to writing children’s picture books, storybooks, and children’s novels. Blackwater will engage readers from ages 11-14 years old with a story of tragedy, mystery, and moral dilemmas.
It reminds readers of the importance of always being mindful of the choices they make and the actions that they take. Sometimes, even just a simple act of jealousy or revenge can lead to tragedy and can ruin a person’s life or worse. In this story an entire town was affected by the sudden death of two teens and the unspoken truth about the incident.
Brodie, the main character of the novel, struggled with guilt, grief, and truth telling because of his part in the accidental deaths of two of his peers. Fortunately, a good friend encouraged Brodie to confess his actions. When he did, his parents stood by his side as he suffered the consequences of his actions.
This is a book that parents, and teachers will want to read along with their teens to openly discuss the choices that were made and the events that occurred. Guiding children through the teen years and allowing space for them to express opinions and wrestle with tough decisions is an important part of our role in parenting and teaching. Expressing our own values in a non-defensive or non-judgmental way, while creating that space, is the key to helping our teens process real life situations.
Kindness
Written by Jonathan Wolff
Kindness is one in a series of resource and activity books for parents and teachers of children ages three to nine years old. This series was inspired by (and developed as) an extension of “The Virtues Project.” The author, Jon Wolff, wellknown in the Montessori community around the world, wondered how parents and teachers could explore virtues or universal qualities of character in fun, interactive, and imaginative ways with children.
The series that he put together is called The Self-Awakened Child and includes the following titles: Kindness, Assertiveness, Caring, Creativity, Courage, Forgiveness, Loyalty, Peace, Respect, Responsibility, Self-Discipline, Tolerance, Trust, and Unity. Each of these short books has a variety of exercises and role plays to help children build character, develop problem-solving skills, and nurture strong, healthy relationships. The exercises are meant to be adjusted according to the setting, as well as the age and understanding of the children who are participating.
Today, more than ever, children need support in recognizing that what they say and do can make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others. As they internalize the characteristics from this series, they realize that they can make our world a more peaceful, sustainable, and united planet. The Self-Awakened Child series is a powerful guide for adults to provide activities that support children in becoming “the change.” I recommend this series for use in schools and homes.
The Self-Awakened Child is available in the Montessori Foundation store at stage.montessori.org.
Little Humans
Written by Brandon Stanton
Brandon Stanton is a photographer in New York City. In this book, he used only photos of children from toddlers through the elementary years. He adds some prose to tell the readers all that “little humans” can do and be. The photography was not done in a studio but out on the streets of New York. Readers will see children who are dressed up in their fancy clothes, sports gear, and everyday clothes, doing all kinds of things like dancing, playing a musical instrument, riding a bike, getting ready for hockey, and more. Young children will enjoy both the text and the photos.
Night Becomes Day: Changes in Nature
Written by Cynthia Argentine
This is a truly gorgeous book for children! Cynthia’s words flow as you turn the pages, and she describes how the natural world is constantly transforming. The photographs superbly illustrate the transformations in nature. The message is about paying attention and to be in awe of all that is around us in the world and to realize how dynamic nature is. And watch for this – “What goes around, comes around.”
Cynthia includes three pages at the end of book for parents and teachers to share with children about different areas of science.
Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and a beautiful message for readers! Night Becomes Day would be a terrific addition to children’s (ages 3-8 years old) book collections at home, at school, or both.
Cynthia Argentine has been a guest on our Montessori Family Life Webinar Series. Join the Montessori Foundation Family Network at stage.montessori.org to watch the broadcast, Science— An Open Door to Creativity: How
Science Connects Kids to Nature, Arts, Literature, and More with Cynthia Argentine. Visit her website www.cynthiaargentine.com to purchase this and other books she has written.
Those Shoes
Written by Maribeth Boelts
Illustrated by Noah Z. Jones
As children grow into the elementary years and beyond, they are often influenced by the media and their peers. They want to fit in with the other kids in their schools and neighborhoods.
This story is set in a city but could be any setting whether urban, rural, or suburban. The main character, Jeremy, sees that many of his peers are all getting a particular type of shoe and are feeling very cool about it. One day his shoes fall apart at school, and the counselor gives him a pair of shoes, but Jeremy is embarrassed. When the other boys see the shoes, they laugh at him.
His grandmother says that what he really needs is a new pair of snow boots, but Jeremy really wants to have a pair of “those shoes.”
After much searching from one thrift store to another, Jeremy finds a pair of “those shoes.” He pays for them himself, even though he knows they are too small for him. Find out what Jeremy finally decides to do with “those shoes” at the end.
The illustrations are vibrant with color and movement. The style reminds me of the style of Ezra Jack Keats. Elementary children will enjoy this book, and it may serve as a conversation starter about Jeremy and the choices that he makes.
Your Baby Is Speaking to You
Written by Dr. Kevin Nugent
Photography by Abelardo Morell
Whether this is your first newborn or your fourth, this book has a lot to offer. It will stimulate your awareness of how much and how often babies are speaking to us, if we would only listen. More than anything else, Dr. Nugent is calling us to slow down and pay attention to all the ways that newborns and infants communicate with us without using a word.
These little, tiny humans, new to the world, are ready, willing, and able to express themselves, if we not only take the time to be present but also begin to understand their language. They are awesome!
The photographs beautifully connect Dr. Nugent’s written words with the innocence, the emotions, and the sheer wonder of these small beings! Buy this book for yourself or give it to someone you know. You’ll be glad you did.
Montessori for Every Family: A practical parenting guide to living, loving, and learning
Written by Lorna McGrath and Tim Seldin
Tim Seldin and Lorna McGrath, both with the Montessori Foundation, have released a new book, Montessori for Every Family: A practical parenting guide to living, loving, and learning. This book is truly for every family, those that are in a Montessori school, those who Montessori homeschool, those who wish to be in a Montessori school, and those who have not even heard of Montessori. The three chapters, “What Is Montessori?”, “Montessori Family Life”, and “Family Life Through a Montessori Lens” take the reader through an introduction to Montessori, practice with Montessori, and application of Montessori philosophy to their own family.
Parents can read it straight through, or simply choose a topic and read about that. The book is easy to read either way, with most topics covered in a single two-page spread with beautiful illustrations and clear explanations. Included with most topics, the “Ages and Stages” sections help families adjust their approach for young children (18 months to 6 years); elementary-aged children (6 years to 12 years); and adolescents (12 years to 18 years). Also included are real life stories, sharing how different families have managed these topics.
Tim Seldin and Lorna McGrath have worked with families as Montessori guides, school administrators, and parent educators for years, as well as raising their own families and enjoying grandchildren. Their depth of understanding and experience with a variety of families is shown in this book. As a parent, you can find some suggestions you are already practicing with your family and some that you feel you could strengthen to make your family life more enjoyable. Each topic is presented as a practical way to engage as a family and invites you to try it out. This book is intended to help families connect and celebrate themselves and their daily life. It will help every family that reads it and applies even one topic to their own family.
Lorna described the reason, in part, behind the creation of this book as a step toward world peace. She said, “World peace begins at home…If families are all on the same page, we will create world peace. I totally believe that, and it’s why I do what I do, and have done throughout my career.” I highly recommend this practical, beautiful, and easy to read book for families, schools, and guides to strengthen their connections and language with all their children.
Montessori for Every Family: A Practical Parenting Guide to Living, Loving and Learning can be purchased for Kindle, Audio, and paperback on Amazon.
This is a truly gorgeous book for children! Cynthia’s words flow as you turn the pages, and she describes how the natural world is constantly transforming. The photographs superbly illustrate the transformations in nature. The message is about paying attention and to be in awe of all that is around us in the world and to realize how dynamic nature is. And watch for this – “What goes around, comes around.”
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