Growing Up on the Spectrum: A Guide to Life, Love, and Learning for Teens and Young Adults with Autism and Asperger’s.

Koegel, Lynn Kern & Claire LaZebnik.

Viking. Mar. 2009. c.370p. index. ISBN 978-0-670-02067-6. $25.95. PSYCH

Verdict: A comprehensive and accessible guide designed to help parents and educators help teens with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) successfully navigate high school, college, and beyond. Highly recommended for public libraries.

Background: In their second collaboration (after Overcoming Autism), Koegel (cofounder & clinical supervisor, Koegel Autism Research & Training Ctr., Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) and LaZebnik, parent of a child with autism, offer chapters addressing friendship, dating, school, employment, and hygiene. Koegel presents strategies to assist teens in mastering skills; LaZebnik’s son and other young adults on the spectrum offer their unique insights. The introduction provides a course on various terms, interventions, and techniques.—Lisa M. Jordan, Johnson Cty. Lib., KS

The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls from Today’s Pressures.

Hinshaw, Stephen P. with Rachel Kranz.

Ballantine. Feb. 2009. c.256p. ISBN 978-0-345-50399-2. $25. CHILD REARING

Verdict: Drawing on recent studies and professional experience, Hinshaw compellingly argues that depression is increasing in teenage girls because of our culture’s overemphasis on achievement and success. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/08.]
Background: Hinshaw, the chair of UC Berkeley’s department of psychology, reveals sobering statistics on the mental health of teen girls (one-fourth of this population is at risk for some manifestation of depression), arguing that modern cultural expectations pressure girls to live up to two opposed ideals: traditional femininity and feminism. In trying to synthesize these ideals, young women conform to a narrow cultural standard that leaves little room for a genuine personality to shine through. The author offers advice on how to overcome the conflicting messages and achieve self-discovery.—Nick Fanklin, Brooklyn P.L., NY

Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters.

Langman, Peter.

Palgrave Macmillan. Jan. 2009. c.256p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-230-60802-3. $24.95. PSYCH

Verdict: A thorough analysis of recent school shootings and a helpful prescription for prevention geared to readers outside the psychiatric profession.
Background: In his first book on the subject, Langman, a psychologist and expert on at-risk youth, goes beyond sound bites to examine the full stories behind recent school-shooting cases and to describe the warning signs parents and schools should watch for. The author draws on the shooters’ diaries, facts, and testimonials to illustrate the varied—often concealed—motives and triggers for rampage violence.—Nick Franklin, Brooklyn P.L., NY

Child Care Today: Getting It Right for Everyone.

Leach, Penelope.

Knopf. Jan. 2009. c.352p. index. ISBN 978-1-4000-4256-2. $24.95. CHILD REARING

Verdict: Leach movingly argues that it is “because we haven’t abandoned the attitudes of 1959 that we are finding it so difficult to move forward in 2009.” Unparalleled in its comprehensiveness, this is highly recommended for academic libraries and should be required reading for those involved in policymaking regarding children and families. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/08.]
Background: Internationally acclaimed author Leach (Your Baby and Child) presents a dense and exhaustive summary of the current state of child care in major English speaking countries, lamenting that we are still looking over our shoulders for sole mother care as the gold standard. Relying on two major child care studies (NICHD-America; FCCC-British), she scientifically defines what type of care is available, who is using which type and why, and what the strengths and weaknesses are of each at various stages of childhood. She explains what the research can and cannot tell us (e.g., there are no census statistics on stay-at-home moms because they aren’t relevant to the labor force); and policy comparisons with overseas countries and their implications are outlined. The United States is pathetically behind other countries in most aspects of child care (mainly because it is structured more by parental work than service to children), but the raising of standards is prohibitively difficult owing to minimal regulation and limited public funding. Leach argues that asking whether child care is bad for children is asking the wrong question altogether and that we are guilty of assuming that the answer to bad child care is no child care.—Julianne J. Smith, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI

The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time.

Covey, Stephen R.

Free Pr: S. & S. 2008. c.288p. bibliog. ISBN 978-1-4391-0326-5. $24.99. PSYCH

Verdict: It is somewhat unclear whether there were any true challenges in implementing the Seven Principles at A.B. Combs. Still, a work about revamping education written this inspiringly should provoke dialog on the educational priorities of the incoming presidential administration. Recommended for large public library self-help or education collections.
Background: Best-selling author Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) outlines how his Seven Principles were applied to the mission of A.B. Combs Elementary School (Raleigh, NC) “to develop leaders one child at a time.” In his typical, heady style, the author presents material on how the needs of students, parents, and teachers were determined; how stakeholders were aligned; and how the Seven Steps were implemented through various empowering activities. Anecdotes describing the success of that implementation within other schools across the world are spread out somewhat confusingly across two chapters.—Eric Petersen, Dana Coll. Lib., Blair, NE

Superparenting for ADD: An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child.

Hallowell, Edward M. & Peter S. Jensen.

Ballantine. Dec. 2008. c.240p. ISBN 978-0-345-49776-5. $25. CHILD REARING

Verdict: A new way to think of attention deficit disorder that highlights the positives and possibilities rather than ADD’s negative connotations. Highly recommended for public libraries.
Background: Hallowell (coauthor, Delivered from Distraction) directs the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health; Jensen is CEO of the REACH Institute (the Resource for Advancing Children’s Health). Here, they have joined forces to help parents, caregivers, and teachers determine how best to support and nurture children with ADD. The text demonstrates how to develop an understanding of and empathy for those with ADD and then how to recognize, emphasize, and use each child’s unique strengths, rather than focus on their difficulties. Shame, fear, and poor self-esteem are reduced as a result. The authors provide appendixes of tips for using behavioral strategies and school information and resources. An annotated resource list is also included.—Lisa M. Jordan, Johnson Cty. Lib., KS

Childhood Unbound: Saving Our Kids’ Best Selves; Confident Parenting in a Sky’s the Limit World.

Taffel, Ron.

Free Pr: S. & S. Jan. 2009. c.320p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-4165-5927-6. $26. CHILD REARING

Verdict: As a careful observer, counselor, and social watchdog, Taffel gives hope and solid advice to the millions of post–baby boomer parents who feel helpless. Readers will come away understanding ways to listen, act, cope, appreciate, and love their kids. Recommended.
Background: Long before MySpace, texting, or IM’ing, Taffel saw that kids were forming stronger alliances with other peers than with parents and family. This was the theme of his 2001 book, The Second Family: How Adolescent Power Is Challenging the American Family. Here, he updates that assessment, explaining that the old generation gap between parents and kids is completely missing. Partly, technology is responsible. Also, “family rules”—give-and-take between parents and kids—are nonexistent, with most kids living with only one parent at a time. Taffel defines the hodgepodge of advice that baby boomer parents followed through the 1970s and 1980s, e.g., parent effectiveness training, tough love, the self-esteem movement. Parents floundered; kids sought engagement and direction; peers replaced parents. But, kids are angry that life’s expectations are not being met, and some parents act more like friends and cheerleaders rather than as, well, wise parents.—Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA

Blind Spot: Why Journalists Don’t Get Religion Right.

Marshall, Paul & others.

Oxford Univ. 2008. c.224p. ISBN 978-0-19-537437-7. pap. $19.95. REL

Verdict: This analysis of antireligious bias in journalism will engage readers interested in current affairs and religious issues.
Background: Marshall (senior fellow, Ctr. for Religious Freedom), freelance writer Lela Gilbert, and journalist Roberta Green-Ahmanson argue that reporting on religious issues is frequently marred by the omission of critical details, crude stereotyping, and masking hostility in “objectivity.” The authors share findings of increasing global religious conviction and evidence that “journalists are more secular in outlook than are their readers.” Careful exception is made of those writers who do “get religion,” such as Peter Steinfels of the New York Times and Michael Gerson of the Washington Post, who authored the book’s foreword. The book and its conclusion offer a variety of prescriptions, including a plea for journalistic humility.—Zachary T. Irwin, Penn State Univ.–Erie