Child Development Center for Learning & Research

Book List

General research summaries on selected topics related to child and family development:

  • Children and Emotion.  Paul L. Harris, 1989.  Blackwell Publishers.
  • Children’s Play:  The Roots of Reading.  Editors:  Edward F. Zigler, Dorothy G. Singer, Sandra J. Bishop-Josef, 2004.
  • The Scientist in the Crib:  What Early Learning Tells Us about the Mind.  Alison Gopnik, Andrew Meltzoff, Patricia Kuhl, 1999.  HarperCollins/Perennial Books.
  • What’s Going on in There?  How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life.  Lise Eliot, Ph.D.  1999/2000.  Bantam Books.
  • The Yale Child Study Center Guide to Understanding Your Child:  Healthy Development from Birth to Adolescence.  L.C. Mayes & D. J. Cohen, 2002.  New Haven, CT:  Yale University Press.
  • When Partners Become Parents:  The Big Life Change for Couples.  Philip A. Cowan and Carolyn P. Cowan, 1992/2000.  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Summaries of recent research and related policy recommendations – more scholarly but very readable:

  • Eager to Learn:  Educating our Preschoolers.  National Research Council, 2001.  National Academy Press.
  • From Neurons to Neighborhoods:  The Science of Early Childhood Development.  National Research Council, 2000.  National Academy Press.
  • How People Learn:  Brain, Mind, Experience and School.  National Research Council, 2000.  National Academy Press.
  • Investing in Children, Youth, Families and Communities:  Strengths-Based Research and Policy.  Eds:  K.I. Maton, C.J. Schnellenbach, BJ. Leadbeater, & A.L. Solarz, 2003.  American Psychological Association.

“How To” books based on solid research programs:

  • Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child:  The Heart of Parenting.  John Gottman, Ph.D. and Joan DeClaire, 1997.  Simon and Schuster Fireside Books.
  • From One Child to Two:  What to Expect, How to Cope, and How to Enjoy your Growing Family.  Judy Dunn, 1995.  Ballantine Books.
  • Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success.   Marshall Duke, Steve Nowicki, and Elisabeth Martin, 1996.  Peachtree Publishers.

And, for a big dose of perspective, see:

  • Raising America:  Experts, Parents and a Century of Advice about Children.  Ann Hulbert, Knopf, 2003.  (Social history on parent education and “Dr. Spocking” of America during the 20th century.)