The Joys of Reading Aloud + Secret Lives of Boys + Trade Husband for a Housekeeper

[amazon asin=014312160X&template=thumbleft&chan=default]Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook.

Topic: Helping children become avid readers.

Issues: How reading aloud awakens children’s imagination and improves language skills; the rewards and importance of reading aloud to kids; the latest research about reading–including the good and bad news about digital learning.

[amazon asin=0465002544&template=thumbleft&chan=default]Malina Saval, author of The Secret Lives of Boys.

Topic: Inside the raw emotional world of male teens.

Issues: Why the author believes that the “boy crisis” we hear about is overblown; understanding the landscape of boys’ social cliques; how parents can get closed-mouth sons to open up.

[amazon asin=B002I4OVWO&template=thumbleft&chan=default]Amy Nobile, coauthor of I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper.

Topic: Loving your marriage after the baby carriage.

Issues: The challenges of modern parenthood for married couples; a frank look at marriage post-tots; keeping parenthood compatible with marital bliss; how moms can learn to make the most of what they have and love their marriage as much as the husband and kids.