All kids occasionally space out, get sidetracked, run out of time, or explode in frustration--but some do it much more often than others. With over 425,000 in print, this encouraging, bestselling parent guide is now in a revised and updated second edition. The authors explain the crucial brain-based skills that 4- to 12-year-olds need to get organized, stay focused, and control their impulses and emotions. Handy questionnaires help parents home in on their own child's executive strengths and weaknesses. Armed with a better understanding of their "smart but scattered" kid, readers can use proven strategies to boost skills that are lacking, fix everyday routines that don't work, and reduce everyone's stress. Including new research, new and updated vignettes, and "A Good Place to Start" suggestions for each skill, the second edition features a new chapter on technology and a greatly expanded school chapter. Readers can download and print a wealth of practical tools. See also the authors' Smart but Scattered Teens, Smart but Scattered--and Stalled (with a focus on emerging adults), and The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success (with a focus on adults).

Eric Schlosser has visited the state of the art labs where scientists recreate the flavours and smells of everything from cooked chicken to fresh strawberries in the test tube and he has spoken to workers at meatpacking plants with some of the worstsafety records in the world. He explores the links between Hollywood and the fast food trade, and the tactics used to target ever younger consumers. In a meticulously researched and powerfully argued account, Fast Food Nation reveals the full price of our appetite for instant gratification.

#1 New York Times Bestseller 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST In her first memoir, New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, and a narrative as rife with laughs as it is with tears, Chast's memoir is both comfort and comic relief for anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents. When it came to her elderly mother and father, Roz held to the practices of denial, avoidance, and distraction. But when Elizabeth Chast climbed a ladder to locate an old souvenir from the “crazy closet”-with predictable results-the tools that had served Roz well through her parents' seventies, eighties, and into their early nineties could no longer be deployed. While the particulars are Chast-ian in their idiosyncrasies-an anxious father who had relied heavily on his wife for stability as he slipped into dementia and a former assistant principal mother whose overbearing personality had sidelined Roz for decades-the themes are universal: adult children accepting a parental role; aging and unstable parents leaving a family home for an institution; dealing with uncomfortable physical intimacies; managing logistics; and hiring strangers to provide the most personal care. An amazing portrait of two lives at their end and an only child coping as best she can, Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant will show the full range of Roz Chast's talent as cartoonist and storyteller.

Like Huck’s raft, the experience of American childhood has been both adventurous and terrifying. For more than three centuries, adults have agonized over raising children while children have followed their own paths to development and expression. Now, Steven Mintz gives us the first comprehensive history of American childhood encompassing both the child’s and the adult’s tumultuous early years of life. Underscoring diversity through time and across regions, Mintz traces the transformation of children from the sinful creatures perceived by Puritans to the productive workers of nineteenth-century farms and factories, from the cosseted cherubs of the Victorian era to the confident consumers of our own. He explores their role in revolutionary upheaval, westward expansion, industrial growth, wartime mobilization, and the modern welfare state. Revealing the harsh realities of children’s lives through history—the rigors of physical labor, the fear of chronic ailments, the heartbreak of premature death—he also acknowledges the freedom children once possessed to discover their world as well as themselves. Whether at work or play, at home or school, the transition from childhood to adulthood has required generations of Americans to tackle tremendously difficult challenges. Today, adults impose ever-increasing demands on the young for self-discipline, cognitive development, and academic achievement, even as the influence of the mass media and consumer culture has grown. With a nod to the past, Mintz revisits an alternative to the goal-driven realities of contemporary childhood. An odyssey of psychological self-discovery and growth, this book suggests a vision of childhood that embraces risk and freedom—like the daring adventure on Huck’s raft.

What happens to us when we die: the disposal of corpses, the preservation of the dead, funerary rites and rituals in art and religion, the use and abuse of the dead, and the often astounding ways in which we dispose of them.

A New York Times Bestseller What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? In their “captivating” (The Wall Street Journal) book, the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, show that the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize. What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life. The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom was bolstered by research findings from many other studies. Relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups—all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as The Good Life shows us, it’s never too late to strengthen the relationships you already have, and never too late to build new ones. The Good Life provides examples of how to do this. Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk about the Harvard Study, “What Makes a Good Life,” has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever. The Good Life has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty (“an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection”), Angela Duckworth (“In a crowded field of life advice...Schulz and Waldinger stand apart”), and happiness expert Laurie Santos (“Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful”). With “insightful [and] interesting” (Daniel Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness) life stories, The Good Life shows us how we can make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others.

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Mark Twain's darkly comic short classic set in the antebellum South stands as a literary condemnation of slavery and racial inequality. This edition includes: -A concise introduction that gives readers important background information -A chronology of the author's life and work -A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context -An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations -Detailed explanatory notes -Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work -Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction -A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

Cuts through the confusion surrounding pregnancy and birth by debunking dozens of myths that mislead parents, offering explanations of medical terms, and covering a variety of issues including prenatal care, birth defects, and amniocentesis.

BOOKS FOR A BETTER LIFE AWARD WINNER • An enlightening guide to how infants and toddlers learn and why play is the key to enhancing your child’s development. “A smashingly good book.”—Edward Zigler, Ph.D., director, Yale’s Center in Child Development and Social Policy, and the “father” of Head Start programs In Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, highly credentialed child psychologists, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., with Diane Eyer, Ph.D., offer a compelling indictment of the growing trend toward accelerated learning and the cult of achievement that pressures parents to help their children to get ahead. It’s a message that stressed-out parents are craving to hear: Letting tots learn through unstructured play is not only okay—it’s a better way for children to learn than drilling academics. Drawing on overwhelming scientific evidence from their own studies and the collective research results of child development experts, Kathy, Roberta, and Diane explain the process of learning from a child’s point of view, addressing how play helps boost learning in key areas of development such as math, reading, verbal communication, science, self-awareness, and social skills. To help parents foster creative play, they offer forty age-appropriate games. These simple, fun—yet powerful—exercises work as well or better than expensive enrichment programs and high-tech educational toys to teach children what their ever-active, curious minds are excited to learn. Packed with insights from fascinating studies and thoughtful advice, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards reassures and empowers parents with knowledge that helps their children grow and thrive.

“This parenting book actually made me a better parent.”—Lydia Kiesling, The New York Times From #1 New York Times bestselling authors, the ultimate “parenting bible” (The Boston Globe)—a timeless, beloved book on how to effectively communicate with your child. This bestselling classic by internationally acclaimed experts on communication between parents and children includes fresh insights and suggestions, as well as the author’s time-tested methods to solve common problems and build foundations for lasting relationships, including innovative ways to: · Cope with your child’s negative feelings, such as frustration, anger, and disappointment · Express your strong feelings without being hurtful · Engage your child’s willing cooperation · Set firm limits and maintain goodwill · Use alternatives to punishment that promote self-discipline · Understand the difference between helpful and unhelpful praise · Resolve family conflicts peacefully Enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, Faber and Mazlish’s down-to-earth, respectful approach makes relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding.