Communication
How To Talk So Kids Can Learn at Home and in School, by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 866 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022; 272 pp., $22 cloth). Countless suggestions for promoting an attitude of cooperation among teachers and parents in order to foster children’s self-esteem and performance in school.
A Sense of Self: Listening to Homeschooled Adolescent Girls, by Susannah Sheffer (Heinemann, 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, N.H. 03801-4971; 191 pp., $22.95 cloth). After interviewing numerous young women, the author concludes that home-schooled adolescent girls are more confident and free-thinking than traditionally schooled girls, and asks educators to consider their perspectives and experiences.
Teaching With Love & Logic: Taking Control of the Classroom, by Jim Fay & David Funk (The Love and Logic Press, 2207 Jackson St., Golden, Colo. 80401; 339 pp., $29.95 cloth). A veteran teacher and administrator share their practical techniques for enhancing communication between children and adults.
Communities
School-Community Connections: Exploring Issues for Research and Practice, ed. by Leo C. Rigsby, Maynard C. Reynolds, & Margaret C. Wang (Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, Calif. 94104-1342; 441 pp., $45 cloth). An in-depth look at the most effective ways to mobilize school and community resources to help children and youths, and at the complex communications involved in building those connections.
Selling Cities: Attracting Homebuyers Through Schools and Housing Programs, by David P. Varady & Jeffrey A. Raffel (State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y. 12246; 368 pp., $19.95 paper). An optimistic analysis and explanation of how cities can be revitalized to attract and retain middle-class homeowners.
Curriculum
A Room With a Different View, by Jill Ostrow (Stenhouse Publishers, 226 York St., York, Maine 03909; 154 pp., $19.50 paper). To create their own learning community, the author’s students, ages 6 to 9, transformed their classroom into a tropical island, creating a physical environment that lent itself to cooperative learning as well as studying traditional school subjects.
Sexuality Education Across Cultures: Working With Differences, by Janice M. Irvine (Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, Calif. 94104-1342; 330 pp., $32.95). A better understanding of cultural differences can improve communication about sexuality and help create more effective sexuality-education programs, suggests an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Education Policy
Call School: Rural Education in the Midwest to 1918, by Paul Theobald (Southern Illinois University Press, P.O. Box 3697, Carbondale, Ill. 62901; 261 pp., $27.94 cloth). A chronicle of the history of the one-room school house of the Midwest within the broader socioeconomic, religious, and political context of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Everybody’s Children: Child Care as a Public Problem, by William T. Gormley Jr. (The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; 236 pp., $38.95 cloth, $16.95 paper). More than a headache for parents of young children, child care is a critical social problem characterized by the failures of markets, government, and society to ensure affordable day care, contends a Georgetown University professor of government and public policy.
Lives of Promise: What Became of High School Valedictorians, by Karen D. Arnold (Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, Calif. 94104-1342; 330 pp., $32.95 cloth). An examination of how school success affects life choices and rewards based on findings from the Illinois Valedictorian Project, a longitudinal research study of 81 high school valedictorians for 14 years following their graduation.
Prairie State: The Civil Rights of Administrators, by Richard W. Hostrop (etc Publications, 700 E. Vereda del Sur, Palm Springs, Calif. 92262; 560 pp., $35 cloth). A look at the case of the first school administrator to challenge dismissal on constitutional grounds, detailing how schools can mitigate problems in this area and avoid possible law suits.
The Public Orphanage: How Public Schools Are Making Parents Irrelevant, by Eric Buehrer (Word Publishing, 1501 LBJ Freeway, Suite 650, Dallas, Texas 75234-6069; 240 pp., $19.99 paper). As more and more schools become “full-service” or one-stop social-service centers, they are failing to fulfill their traditional educational roles, argues the former executive vice president of the National Association for Christian Educators.
Gender Issues
Girls & Young Women Inventing: 20 True Stories About Inventors, by Frances A. Karnes & Suzanne M. Bean (Free Spirit Publishing, 400 First Ave. North, Suite 616, Minneapolis, Minn. 55401; 184 pp., $12.95 paper). An inspirational collection of true stories--for boys and girls--told by girls and young women about their own inventions.
Repositioning Feminism and Education: Perspectives on Educating for Social Change, by Janice Jipson, et al. (Bergin & Garvey, Greenwood Publishing Group Inc., 88 Post Road West, Westport, Conn. 06881; 296 pp., $19.95 paper). Five female educators share their struggles with trying to implement personal educational theories while respecting the sociocultural perspectives of others.
Schoolmarms: Women in America’s Schools, by Edwina Walsh (Caddo Gap Press, 3145 Geary Blvd., Suite 275, San Francisco, Calif. 94118; 235 pp., $19.95 paper). An experienced teacher illustrates the second-class role women play in American schools with carefully researched analysis and personal anecdotes.
Health Issues
Rape of the Innocent: Understanding and Preventing Child Sexual Abuse, by Juliann Whetsell-Mitchell (Accelerated Development, 1900 Frost Rd., Suite 101, Bristol, Pa. 19007; 367 pp., $29.95 paper). A thorough discussion of how to prevent and recognize child sexual abuse, and what to do if abuse is suspected.
Smoking: The Health Consequences of Tobacco Use, compiled by Cecilia M. Schmitz & Richard A. Gray (The Pierian Press, Box 1808, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106; 320 pp., $30 paper). An extensive introduction to the health consequences of tobacco use, followed by extended annotations of the most important English-language monographs and articles about smoking to appear in the 1980s and 1990s.
Science
Gardening Wizardry for Kids: Green Thumb Magic for the Great Indoors, by L. Patricia Kite (Barron’s, 250 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788; 220 pp., $14.95 cloth). A colorfully illustrated collection of more than 300 indoor gardening projects, interspersed with folk tales and useful agricultural facts.
Improving Science Education: International Perspectives, ed. by Barry J. Fraser & Herbert J. Walberg (The University of Chicago Press, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60637; 220 pp., $28 cloth). International scholars consider important issues and problems in science education, and specify how elementary and secondary science education could be improved.
Nature Smart: A Family Guide to Nature, by Stan Tekiela & Karen Shanberg (Adventure Publications Inc., Box 269, Cambridge, Minn. 55008; 288 pp., $17.95 paper). Two interpretative naturalists, who lead nature hikes for a living, offer families a way to connect with the natural world by providing a wealth of accurate, interesting information about ecosystems and the plants and animals inhabiting them. This edition focuses on the midwestern and eastern portions of the United States.
Writing
Actiongrammar: Fast, No-Hassle Answers on Everyday Usage and Punctuation, by Joanne Feireman (Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020; 255 pp., $10 paper). A down-to-earth grammatical reference tailored for use by students and teachers.
Games for Writing: Playful Ways To Help Your Child Learn To Write, by Peggy Kaye (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 19 Union Square W., New York, N.Y. 10003; 213 pp., $13 paper). Baking pretzels and cracking secret codes are just a few of the simple, effective games parents can use to teach their children how to write.
101 Ways To Help Your Child Learn To Read and Write, by Mary and Richard Behm (eric/edinfo Press, P.O. Box 5247, Bloomington, Ind. 47407; 64 pp., $6.99 paper). A collection of informal activities, such as writing grocery lists and reading menus, to encourage children to read and write.
Writing With Passion: Life Stories, Multiple Genres, by Tom Romano (Heinemann, Boynton/Cook, 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, N.H. 03801-3912; 191 pp., $19.50 paper). Through narrative and writing samples--both his own and his students'--the author encourages young adults to infuse their writing with feeling and enthusiasm.
Writing Smart Junior: The Art and Craft of Writing, by C.L. Brantley (Random House, 201 E. 50th St., New York, N.Y. 10022; 214 pp., $12 paper). One in a series of Princeton Review books designed to help students in grades 6-8 master the basics through relaxed and interactive approaches to learning.
