Unconditional Parenting (Alfie Kohn)
In this book Alfie Kohn talks us through the difference between conditional and unconditional ways of being towards our children. He argues that if we're truly unconditional our children will thrive....
Punished by Rewards (Alfie Kohn)
This is the book that started it all for me. Alfie Kohn wrote it back in 1993 and while the science has definitely progressed (and some of Kohn's arguments are due for an update), the general ...
The Boy who was Raised as a Dog (Bruce D. Perry, Maia Szalavitz)
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog is, on the surface, a hard book to read because of the subject matter. It's a book about abused and neglected children. I some ways it is a book about the very worst ...
The Girl who Drank the Moon (Kelly Barnhill)
I read this book aloud to my 9 year old, Clay. He was completely rapt. The adorable and not-so-enormous dragon Fyrian, was his favourite character, and the ethical dilemmas that the story posed ...
The End of Average (Todd Rose)
So much of our science is based on averages. But the trouble is... no one is average. Using amazing stories, terrific insight, and loads of compelling narrative, Todd Rose talks about why we need to ...
Dark Horse (Todd Rose and Ogi Ogas)
I think that this is my book of the year. Dark Horse unpacks the Standardisation Covenant that most of the world has unquestioningly accepted: the idea that if you follow the standardised route you ...
Permission to Feel (Marc Brackett)
One of my favourite books this year from a genuinely nice guy (and rock-solid scholar). Marc Brackett runs the Centre for Emotional Intelligence at Yale University. His book outlines why emotions...
Chasing my Cure (David Fajgenbaum)
I love memoirs that are well written and thought provoking. This is both and more. Fajgenbaum was a privileged rich kid who was studying medicine when he almost died from a rare disease (that’s ...
The Coddling of the American Mind (Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff)
It’s hard to think of what to write about a book that is so outstanding. Haidt and Lukianoff are extraordinary. The book is fabulous. Haidt is the author of the Happiness Hypothesis, ...
Women’s Weekly Birthday Cookbook
This book is a big tradition is our house. Many a year I remember sitting on the floor and turning the pages to pick my next birthday cake.
I had the train, the swimming pool, the rabbit and they all...