Our Vision
Divine Human Potential
by understanding the
Law of Life;
As One Understands,
All will Understand
Resources
Family Education and Personal Growth- Websites
International Network Of Children and Families (INCAF)
Individual Health and Environmental Care - Websites
So. California Institute of Clinical Nutrition - Dr. Laura Thompson
Our Children's Health - Dr. Laura Thompson
Parent/Guardian Reading List
Below are a few recommended reading materials from the NWL Leadership. If you have additional materials you feel align well with our philosophy click here to email us your recommendations. It might have been helpful to put some of these titles into catagories however many of them would fall into several areas. These authors write from the understanding of developing the 'whole' child.
- Redirecting Children's Behavior - Kathryn Kvoles
- Keys To Personal Freedom: How Myths Affect Our Family Lives - Susie Walton
- Our Children Are...What Our Children Eat - Dr. Laura Thompson
- Care and Feeding of Indigo Children - Doreen Virtue
- How To Raise An Amazing Child - Tim Seldon
- Children of Now - Dr. Meg Blackburn Losey
- Parenting Children of Now - Dr. Meg Blackburn Losey
- The Tao of Montessori - Catherine McTamaney
- The Dream Giver - Bruce Wilkenson
- Eating in the Light - Doreen Virtue
Some Titles by Dr. Maria Montessori:
- Absorbent Mind
- Child in the Family
- Discovery of the Child
- Education for a New World
- Education for Human Development
- Education and Peace
- From Childhood to Adolescence
- Montessori Method
- Secret of Childhood
Helping Children Get Ready To Read
The information listed below has all been prepared and developed by
the San Diego County Library Youth Services
Best Books for Babies - Bonding with Babies by Sharing Books
1) Pick the best time - when you both are in the mood
2) Bonding is most important - you don't have to read every word - point to pictures and use exciting language
3) Watch baby - let your baby play with the book and take a break if she is not having fun
4) Cuddle - using loving touches are so important while sharing books
5) Share books every day - it's important even if its only a few minutes
For Younger Babies
- All About Baby - Stephen Shott
- Baby Animals (Flip-A-Face) - Harriett Ziefert
- Baby Faces - Margaret Miller
- Baby Signs for Bedtime - Linda Acredolo
- Baby Talk (Flip-A-Face) - Harriett Ziefert
- Big Book of Beautiful Babies Board Book - David Ellwand
- Black on White - Tana Hoban
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Bill Martin, Jr.
- Busy Monkies - John Schindel
- Cookie See, Cookie Do - Anna Jane hays
- I Like It When - Mary Murphy
- Let's Eat / Vamos a Comer - Alan Benjamin
- Maybe My Baby - Irene O'Book
- "More, More, More," said the Baby: 3 Love Stories
- Toes, Ears and Nose - Marion Dane Bauer
For Older Babies
- Blankie - Leslie Patricelli
- First Words - Usborne Look and Say
- Good Night - Debbie Bailey
- Peekaboo Morning - Rachal Isadora
- This Little Chick - John Lawrence
- Toddler Two / Dos Anos - Anastasia Suen
- Too Big For Diapers - John E. Barrett
- Trucks, Trucks, Trucks - Peter Sis
- Whose Baby Am I? - John Butler
Best Books for 2's and 3's - Make It FUN! - Let your child help tell the story by:
1) Asking - questions that start with, "What....?"
2) Extending - what your child answers by asking follow-up questions
3) Repeating - what your child says
4) Helping - your child repeat longer phrases
5) Acknowledging - your child for talking about the book; not praising
6) Following - your child's interests in the book
7) Choosing - a time when you both want to share books
Vocabulary - helping children learn specific words so they can express themselves and eventually become better readers and writers.
- Baby Food - Saxton Freymann
- First Words - Baby Genius Series
- Get to Work Trucks! - Don Carter
- Look and Find with Bear - Susan Kantor
- My Car Board Book - Barton Byron
- My First Farm: Spanish / English
- Shhhh! Everybody's Sleeping - Julie Markes
- Snowballs - Lois Ehlert
- Wow! City! - Robert Neubecker
Sound Sensitivity / Phonemic Awareness - recognizing beginning, middle and ending sounds is one of the most important pre-reading skills.
- Baby Danced the Polka - Karen Beaumont
- Buzzy's Boo Boo - Harriet Ziefert
- I Know a Rhino - Charles Fuge
- Subway - Anastasia Suen
- Ten Little Fish - Audrey and Bruce Wood
- Trashy Town - Andrea Zimmerman
- What Is It? - Amy Allen
Narrative Skills - helping children develop language skills by talking about the books, asking and answering questions and putting words together to make phrases.
- Carl's Sleepy Afternoon - Alexandra Day
- Father Who Had 10 Children - Benedicte Guettier
- If You Were Born A Kitten - Marion Bauer
- Kiss Good Night - Amy Hest
- Larabee - Kevin Luthhardt
- Moon Came Down on Milk Street - Jean Gralley
- Mud Pie for Mother - Scott Beck
- Oliver Finds His Way - Phyllis Root
- On Mother's Lap - Ann Herbert Scott
- Please, Puppy Please - Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis
Concept Books - Helping children learn colors, numbers, opposites and other important concepts.
- 26 Letters and 99 Cents - Tana Hoban
- Alphabet House - Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
- Big Nose, Small Nose - Steve Augarde
- Fiesta! - Ginger Foglesong Guy
- Good Night, Poppy and Max: A Bedtime Counting Book - Lindsey Gardiner
- Raindrop, Plop! - Wendy Cheyette Lewison
- Red Train - Will Grace
- Ruby's Rainy Day - Rosemary Wells
- Siesta - Ginger Foglesong Guy
- 10 Little Rubber Ducks - Eric Carle
Especially Great for Interaction - 2's and 3's learn to love books and language best when a caring adult/guardian encourages interaction while sharing a book.
- Can You Cuddle A Koala? - John Buttler
- Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready For Bed? - Barney Saltzberg
- Do Zebras Have Spots?
- Does a Cow Say Boo? - Judy Hindley
- Duck's Key, Where Can it Be? - Jez Alborough
- "Hi, Pizza Man!" - Virginia Walter
- I Can Do It Too! - Karen Baicker
- Lemons Are Not Red - Laura Vaccaro Seegar
- Millie Wants to Play - Janet Pedersen
- Tickle the Duck! - Ethan Long
- We're Going On A Treasure Hunt - Lenny Hort
- We've All Got Bellybuttons! - David Martin
Best Books for 4's and 5's - Books and Ideas to Help Children Get Ready To READ!
Especially Great for Interaction - We all learn best when we are asked to join in the fun.
- Gigantic! How Big Were the Dinosaurs? - Patrick O'Brien
- Hello, Hello! - Miriam Schlein
- Knock, Knock! Who's There? - Tad Hills
- My Somebody Special - Sarah Weeks
- Shark in the Park - Nick Sharratt
- T-Rex - Vivian French
- What Are You So Grumpy About? - Tom Lichtenheld
- Who Needs That Nose? - Karen Clemens Warrick
Vocabulary - Helping children to learn specific words for things and ideas
- Actual Size - Steve Jenkins
- Alice the Fairy - David Shannon
- Can You See What I See? Cool Collections - Walter Wick
- Do Frogs Have Fur? - Michael Dahl
- If I Were a Lion - Sarah Weeks
- Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse - Lindsey Barrett George
- Swan Harbor: A Nature Counting Book - Laura Rankin
- Secret Seahorse - Stella Blackstone
- Spicy Hot Colors / Colores Picantes - Sherry Shahan
Sound Sensitivity / Phonemic Awareness - Rhyming books help children learn that words are made up of smaller parts. This helps them to sound out words when they are ready to read.
- And to Think That We Thought We'd Never Be Friends - Mary Ann Hoberman
- Ants in My Pants - Wendy Mould
- Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum - Lisa Wheeler
- Castles, Caves and Honeycombs - Linda Ashman
- I Ain't Gonna Paint No More - Karen Beaumont
- One Dark Night - Lisa Wheeler
- Rattletrap Car - Phyllis Root
- Some Dogs Do - Jez Alborough
- Summer Sun Raisin' - W. Nickola-Lisa
- What Did You Put In Your Pocket? - Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Narrative Skills - Helping children understand and retell stories by using repeating, predicting, sequencing and summarizing questions to talk about books.
Sequencing - with these books use questions like:
"What happened first? And then? What happened in the end?"
- Arrowhawk - Lola Schaefer
- Calabash Cat and His Amazing Journey - James Rumford
- Cat Who Came for Tacos - Diana Star Helmer
- Dig! - Andrea Zimmerman
- Halibut Jackson - David Lucas
- Hammer Soup - Ingrid and Dieter Schubert
- Just Enough and Not Too Much - Kaethe Zemach
- On My Way to Buy Eggs - Chih-Yuan Chen
- Send It! - Don Carter
- Setting the Turkeys Free - W. Nikola-Lisa
- Swimming with the Dolphins - Lambert Davis
Repeating - with these books use questions like:
"What does he always say? Can you help me tell that part of the story?"
- Bear: An American Fold Song - Kenneth Spengler
- First Day of Winter - Denise Fleming
- There's Only One of Me - Pat Hutchins
- What! Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story - kate Lum
Predicting - with these books use questions like:
"What's going to happen next? How will that work?"
- Cat Up a Tree - John and Ann Hasset
- Duck on a Bike - David Shannon
- Leaf Man - Lois Ehlert
- The Teady Bear - David McPhail
- What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? - Steven Jenkins
Summarizing - with these books use questions like:
"How did that happen? Why did she do that?"
- Big Moon Tortilla - Joy Cowley
- Big Sister, Little Sister - Chorlotte Zolotow
- Elizabeti's Doll - Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
- Leon and Bob - Simon James
- Photographer Mole - Dennis Haseley
- Skippyjon Jones - Judith Byron Schachner
- Widget - Lyn Rossiter McFarland
Letter Knowledge - These letter alphabet books help children learn letters and beginning sounds in fun, interactive ways.
- A is for Salad - Mike Lester
- All Aboard ABC - Doug Magee
- Artful Alphabet - Martina Jirankova-Limbrick
- Ellsworth's Extraordinary Electric Ears - Valorie Fisher
- Firefighters A to Z - Chris Demarest
- Zoopa: An Animal Alphabet - Gianna Marino