Reddit mentions: The best new experience books for children

I'm not a regular contributor, but I felt like making a top-10 list of my favorite books so far. (My son will be turning 3 soon.)

The rules mention links to facebook or blogs; I'm hoping non-referral links to Amazon are okay. I'll link board books where possible, because pages get ripped and torn until at least two-and-a-half years of age.

• Little Blue Truck: Most parents probably already know this one. Great book for when children are starting to speak - you can point to each of the animals and ask what it "says."
  
• Jamberry: Beautiful illustrations, and it can be read as a song. I'm pretty sure two verses were switched - I think it should be "Three berry four berry, my berry your berry, hayberry strawberry, finger and pawberry." Bugs me a little bit.
  
• Chugga Chugga Choo Choo: Another singable book with rhymes and good illustrations, and a good means of prompting child participation - they can fill in the "whoo whooo!" part.
  
• Planting a Rainbow: Great eye-grabbing book for learning colors. Can also be read with a rhythm, though it isn't as singable as the others.
  
• Little Owl's Night: Great book for pre-empting any fears of the dark. "Owls wake up at night time, and sleep when the sun is up." Surely if this little owl is chilling at night with his fox and turtle buddies, that means nighttime is nothing to be afraid of.
  
• The Little Dump Truck: Has a good rhythm and good illustrations. Helps give your kid, who loves dump trucks but doesn't know why, an idea of what dump trucks actually do.
  
• Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street: Fantastic counting book, and has a good rhythm as well. Highly recommend for getting your kid to count past ten.
  
• Potty: A godsend for potty training. Start reading it a couple months before you introduce the potty, and read it often. We potty-trained our son at about 34 months with a combination of this book and Season 2, Episode 1 of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. He used a little plastic thing for about two weeks before we moved him up to the integrated seat, which is great because it can just be wiped down after use.
  
• Julia's House for Lost Creatures: Beautifully illustrated, and a great introduction to cleaning up after yourself. "What do good boys do if they make a little mess?" "Um, clean up!" The text doesn't flow well in some parts - I get the impression that this was intended for comic-book reading children - but it isn't overly wordy and has more than enough art to compensate.
  
• Why is the Grass Green? First Questions and Answers about Nature: If anyone knows about a more recent version of this, I'd be very interested. We found this one in a library's outdoor "take one, leave one" box. Some of it is still too advanced for our little one to wrap his head around, but the way this book distills concepts into concise explanations with simple wording is amazing. Highly recommended for any child that asks a lot of "why" questions.

This might be a completely crazy idea, but...since he's clearly smart and enjoys learning, maybe teach him some basic neuroscience? Explain that there are parts of his brain that make him feel his feelings (limbic system), and other parts of his brain that help him stay in control (prefrontal cortex). Explain that as kids grow up, their prefontal cortex gets bigger and stronger so they get better at managing big feelings. Explain that he can help his prefrontal cortex get bigger and stronger by practicing calming himself down when he feels big feelings. He's actually growing his brain every time he practices! (This is more or less true, though it's more about neural connections than brain volume, and obviously there are some developmental limits on what a 4-year-old brain is capable of). Anyway, just thinking this might help motivate him to try a bit more self-regulation, and help him feel less out of control if he understands a bit better what's going on in his own brain. There are some great neuroscience books for kids out there (aimed at slightly older kids, but shouldn't be a problem for your kiddo) such as The Adventures of Your Brain and Your Fantastic Elastic Brain. My First Book about the Brain is another good one in coloring book form.

Helping him become more in tune with his body so he can recognize when he's starting to ramp up might also be helpful. Listening to My Body or Visiting Feelings might help with this. He might also really relate to the story Sometimes I'm Bombaloo. Once he's able to recognize when he's getting wound up, help him redirect that energy/emotion into more appropriate outlets. Maybe encourage him to run around outside, or do jumping jacks, or stomp his feet. You might look into sensory-based activities; this book looks like it might be helpful. Ask him what his body feels like it wants to do, and help him find a way to do that safety/appropriately (e.g. if he wants to destroy something, have him knock down block towers or rip up paper). You could also try calming strategies like deep breathing, yoga, or other mindfulness activities - there are some great apps for that such as Stop Breathe & Think Kids and Super Stretch Yoga, or books such as Breathe Like a Bear and My Magic Breath. He might especially relate to The Lemonade Hurricane. The Mindful Kids activity cards are great too.

Hope something in there is helpful - best of luck to you and your son!

I saw that you're always looking for YA with strong female characters? Let me crack my knuckles, I love exercising the Masters degree I never get to use.

• Legend by Marie Lu is hugely wonderful. It's a 3-book dystopian trilogy, but the girl is kick-ass. This is probably my favorite YA dystopian.
  
• Matched by Allie Condy - in case you haven't picked this one up yet, it's a dystopian "arranged marriage break out of your shell" bit. It's pretty good.
  
• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. This was SO GOOD. Everyone needs to read this book. It's got a kick-ass heroine, a hilarious and dry wit, it's soulful, it's sweet, it's got twists I actually DID NOT EXPECT!! A+ would wipe my memory and reread. (she's a female paladin, need I say more?!)
  
• You gotta have the Vampire Academy series as well. I thought it was just going to be a silly "vampire boarding school" book but it's actually a whole lot more.
  
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is an amazing YA book dealing with living overseas, finding love and home ... it's pretty great. Its sequel (Lola & the Boy Next Door) is also great, for different reasons.
  
• Love Letters to the Dead is about a girl who writes letters to deceased celebrities, and it helps her cope with her older sister's death. A really relateable read.
  
• My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick is a lovely, sweet book about finding family everywhere.
  
  I could keep going if you want, just let me know! :D

Oh my goodness... This is my kind of contest! Even before I ever had kids of my own, reading has always been the number one priority with any children I worked with (I was a nanny).

As soon as I found out I was having a baby, I was all about the books. My baby shower was a book baby shower, asking for books instead of cards so I could start his library.

His birth announcement pictures were all about the books. His nursery is book themed (with a touch of woodland animals). Since day one, we have been reading to him and letting him read to himself. Charlie LOVES BOOKS!

Of course, all of those pictures are from when he was not able to go grab a book by himself. Now he is 16.5 months and will gladly sit and read by himself at any time of day. Even when he's supposed to get in the bath...

As you might expect, his wishlist is full of books I want to read him.

Here is a video of him last week. I was spying on him with his baby cam, and just loved his little reading process. He did this for about twenty minutes, getting books off the shelf, reading them on his chair, then putting them back. :)

I guess what I'm trying to convey is that if we won this contest, the books would be well used and well loved.

As for the other part of the contest- what books would I recommend? That is a very loaded question...

I guess, on the 3 year old end, I would recommend The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It was actually adapted from an Oscar winning short film. It's a book about books, and the journey they can take you on throughout you life. The art is captivating, and the story is magnificent.

Moving on to the older child, I would have to recommend My Side of the Mountain. It's a classic book about coming of age and independence. I find this is a good book to gift a 8-9-10 year old reader, as it is one that will really immerse them in an adventure they want to relate to.

Since my final book would also have been "Le Petit Prince" (LOVE the French version too!), I will defer to The Giver. It seems like such a gimme, but it really is a book that every child should read.

I know books are available for free at the library, but, like you said, there is something different about owning your own. I understand if I am precluded from this contest on the grounds that we already have "enough books", but in my world, there are never enough books. Also I really wanted an excuse to share all his cute baby book wall pictures!

Thank you for this fabulous contest!

TL/DR: I'd love to enter my son Charlie in this contest. We love books! :)

Edit: format

Self Improvement:

1. Tell me about it. In my 20's, I ate everything under the sun and could barely maintain. Around 35, that shit ended. I did keto to lose it, but now eat a low-carb diet to keep it off. How are your cooking skills? What eating habits do you think are hindering your goals? Mine was beer and late-night carb snacking.
   
   
2. What stopped? I'm guessing a combination of stress, depression and too much fucking life! Something else, maybe?
   
   
3. Ooooh! What did you create before? Sounds interesting!
   
   
   Stuff for your daughter:
   
   
4. A walk before or after dinner. Every day. Teach her to observe. The birds and bugs. The spray paint markings on the street. See a plane in the sky? Ask her where she thinks it is going. Ask her why she thinks the leaves on the tree are changing color and falling off. It is a great chance to bond with her and help her learn (and for you to learn from here). It also helps with your first self-improvement item. During our walks, we end up playing tag, sumo wrestling (she wins a lot), a stripped-down fartlek (you might call them Indian runs), or her invention--running while holding hands. She loves these games and it gets my ass out of a chair. Again, the bonding time is unmatched.
   
   
5. Temper your expectations here. I say do it with gusto, but know that you will need tough skin if the PTA is mostly moms. They will see you as an intruder (as they do with most men in early education). I'm not one bit saying not to do it. Just know that you'll have to be extra tough and persistent. I would suggest also joining a dad's group. It's a good way for you to meet other motivated dads and learn additional dadcraft skills. PM me if you're having a hard time finding one in your area.
   
   
6. 4-5 books a night. This is the best damn thing you can do for your daughter. Your local library is awesome. Don't forget that they can order other books from other neighboring libraries. We have dealth with death (The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, When Dinosaurs Die), potty training (Potty), divorce (Two Homes), science (Baby Loves Thermodynamics or Scientist Scientist), anatomy (Contemplating Your Belly Button), personal conduct (any of the Toddler Tools books from Free Spirit Publishing). I also throw one Dad book in each night like Kisses for Daddy, Grizzly Dad, Daddy Cuddles, Because I'm Your Dad and others. The DC Superheroes Character Education series is pretty nice. It also helps your bond with your daughter along with improving her reading skills.

My son turned 3 last weekend.

My older son had woken up about 3 months before turning three, we hadn't even tried potty training, but he owned a potty and undies, and said "No nappies today Mummy." And that was literally it. He had two accidents over the course of a month, but other than that, he was 100% potty trained from that day.

Well, my toddler is *super* smart, and he loves to be like his older brother and sister and I thought it would be a cake walk, too. Gave him a potty and undies for his second birthday but jsut had them around the house, like with my older son.


Nope. And not only nope, but he wouldn't tell us if he pooped, and would just sit in it until I realised (you can imagine how long that sometimes took with a nursing newborn), so daily I was scrubbing poop off him.


He would RAGE if I asked him to use the potty.


I looked up stubborn potty training tips. Nearly all them started with "Sometimes you just have to wait. 4 is not uncommon."


And my brain panics. My son is in the 2 year old class at preschool but they'll boot him out if he's not potty trained for the 3 year old class and he won't have turned 4 when it starts.


I tell my husband we just have to do it. We lasted a morning, he kept deliberately peeing anywhere but the potty.


Well, last week at story time he picked up this book https://www.amazon.com/Big-Boy-Underpants-Fran-Manushkin/dp/0553538616


We got it Thursday and read it every night. It's extremely cute and funny.


On Monday night he said "Big boy underpants tomorrow!"


And so we did. It has not been the quick transition it was with my older son. He's done 2 out of three poops in his shorts, and an average 66% success rate with wees. The first day was about 50%, the next was close to 100% and yesterday he had three accidents. One he forgot I'd brought the potty outside to play and tried to get inside and couldn't hold it anymore, the second time he forgot to take his undies off, but was actually sitting on the potty (all successful wees he manages himself) and the third time he was 100% being a deliberate jerk.


But! We have gone out of the house with undies a few times, including to a playground and he's asked to go in time and he did three wees at preschool on Wednesday. And yesterday he was in full insane toddler meltdown mode, stopped, used the potty and resumed his tantrum.

Also, he LOVES to stand up at the regular toilet like his dad and brother.


So, I guess my advice is obtain some books and add them to your rotation so it seems fun and exciting.


Also, I cart the potty everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, outside. The first day I set it up like a little desk, so he could have his toys in front of him and watch TV. It was great that first day, but it wasn't necessary the next two days.

​

Modelland by Tyra Banks

From amazon:

No one gets in without being asked. And with her untamable hair, large forehead, and gawky body, Tookie De La Crème isn’t expecting an invitation. Modelland—the exclusive, mysterious place on top of the mountain—never dares to make an appearance in her dreams.

But someone has plans for Tookie. Before she can blink her mismatched eyes, Tookie finds herself in the very place every girl in the world obsesses about. And three unlikely girls have joined her.

Only seven extraordinary young women become Intoxibellas each year. Famous. Worshipped. Magical. What happens to those who don’t make it? Well, no one really speaks of that. Some things are better left unsaid.

Thrown into a world where she doesn’t seem to belong, Tookie glimpses a future that could be hers—if she survives the beastly Catwalk Corridor and terrifying Thigh-High Boot Camp. Along the way, she learns all about friendship, courage, laughter and what it feels like to start to believe in yourself.

When you enter the fantastical world of Modelland, you'll see that Tookie was inspired by Tyra’s life as a supermodel. All those crazy and wild adventures Tookie has with her friends? Some of them were ripped straight from the headlines of Tyra’s life! Tyra knows all about beauty and fashion and fierceness, and she shares everything here in MODELLAND. It’s fun, zany, and 100 bazillion-percent Tyra.

I read "Oh Crap! Potty Training". The author's recommendation is to not start until they are at least 20months and can sing their ABCs. My kid was speech delayed at that age and definitely couldn't sing her ABCs (and still can't, at 2.5yrs), but we dove in right at 20m and she trained super easily compared to most of my friends' kids, even training for naps and nights. It took us like 2w to get to where I felt like I could leave the house without accidents. And she learned to say "pee pee" when she had to use the bathroom, so that was a plus.

My second born will be 20m in 1 week and I can't decide if I want to dive in and go through 2 weeks of potty training accidents to get the sweetness of never needing diapers again. It's a tough call to make!

Anyways, we used the little separate training potty at first, so that she could put herself on her potty and go pee, and then eventually moved up to setting her on the toilet with an insert which was necessary for using the restroom during outings. By the time I potty trained her, she was also sleeping in a big kid bed already which was super helpful.. I would sit her little potty on a waterproof mat on her floor and if she woke up from her nap, she could quickly sit herself on her potty before I could even get in there. She rarely had accidents in bed.

We read a lot of books about toilets... "Everybody Poops", "Potty Time", and "Once Upon a Potty". Some other books I liked were "Diapers are Not Forever", "Potty", and "Let's Go Potty, Elmo!".

I have no idea how old your son is, but here you go! Warning: massive amounts of fantasy.

A Wrinkle in Time - It's got a great mix of emotions throughout, the concepts are explained in ways that make complete sense, and the characters are memorable!

The Thief of Always - A mix between the fantastic and the horrific. It's got a very subtle vibe of terror behind it, but it's a great adventure and an easy read.

Peter & the Starcatchers - Although I haven't read the entire series, this book stands well on it's own.

Abarat - A more vibrant world that is more chaotic than the typical wonderland.

The Chronicles of Narnia - Good for typical adventure, and a new world to explore.

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Atypical, mysterious, and easy to get sucked into.

Inkheart - Got me jumpstarted into finding that reading was fun to do. This is a bit more personal of a recommendation.

Coraline - A darker, yet peculiar, story about exploration. There's the novel, the graphic novel, and the movie. I enjoy the movie the most, but it's the story that matters.

For picture books: The Five Chinese Brothers, The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish. Instructions (The poem itself is here.), The Arrival.

Collections - The Flight series. They have a children's series, but these contain many good stories for many different ages. Some are for all ages.

Daily 5 is interesting, but it's a lot to take on as a 1st year elementary school teacher. My suggestion would be to start with two of those (Read to Self and Word work) and then add the others in if they're being successful. Read to self is easy to get going and word work is going to just happen.

As a male teacher, you're possibly the first male teacher some of these kids have had. There will be a "cool" factor. Be sure to be yourself but also be firm. That said, at 3rd grade, there's a lot of "babyish emotions" that he may see and he may have to get in touch with his emotional side.

I think that male teachers have it a bit easier to make connections with kids in elementary school because there just aren't very many of them. I play out at recess and at times sit with them at lunch and it's "cool". When the female teachers do it, it doesn't seem to have the same effect. Though, I'm a tad younger than most of them.

I wouldn't worry too much about handwriting. Just slow down (he'll ahve to do that anyway since he's teaching 3rd grade).

My best advice, Go Slow to Go Fast. I used this book religiously my first few years (http://www.amazon.com/First-Weeks-School-Strategies-Teachers/dp/1892989042). Other books to check out would be http://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0976423316/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377217374&sr=1-1&keywords=first+weeks+of+school+harry+wong and http://www.amazon.com/First-Day-Jitters-Julie-Danneberg/dp/158089061X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377217409&sr=1-1&keywords=first+day+jitters

Sounds like she needs it to be her idea. Tell her it's ok if she doesn't want panties. Give her diapers, take the potty away an stuff it in the basement somewhere. Don't mention the potty again for 3 months.
After 3 months try again.
Get a book about going on the potty. I recommend http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Leslie-Patricelli-board-books/dp/0763644765. It's simple and funny and you can easily modify the words to suit your family.
The other thing that will be helpful is identifying her currency. If she goes bananas for stickers, than reward potty success with stickers. For my dd it was candy.
The method is the tricky part. You know your kid best. We put out kid on the potty every hour or so until she got the control down. Now we ask periodically if she needs to go, but generally she tells us. Forget pull-ups, they're just diapers. Go panties in the house, clean up lots of messes, it doesn't take long. Try not to shame her for having accidents, but don't tell her it's ok. Remind her that big girls go on the potty, clean up and carry on.
Good luck

Mine is 2.5 and we are potty training as well thou our situation is slightly different.
Mine started pooping on the potty before he was 2 about 90% of the time and now almost always will poop on the potty unless we slack and leave him too long when he wakes in his crib. That said peeing on the potty was a battle, he would fight me and argue and scream when i tried and i would get so frustrated. I finally stopped forcing him and followed his lead but we continued to talk about potty and watch mommy go potty and read tons of potty books.
He loved the potty books. Will link below the ones we have. Then i also got a star chart and man does he love watching it get filled with stars. We are now doing great with training.
I still let him wear pullups in the morning because i am pregnant and it has me pretty tired and sick in the morning plus we are on the couch or carpeted area. Once he wakes from nap we switch to underwear and he stays dry with me setting timers every 40 mins, once timer goes off we say time for potty and he says "siri says go potty" lol so we run and both go potty. Then we high five and run and do our stars more high fives, huge yays etc. he stays in underwear until bed.
Also many people in our 2-3 class we do just go bottomless so maybe if she won't wear underwear let her go without and see if that works. They all recommend that oh crap method.
Kenson Kids “I Can Do It!” Potty Chart Updated Toilet Training System! Includes Colorful Magnetic Chart, 30 Positive-Reinforcement Stars, Potty Training Book, Achievement Certificate, and Training Tips for Parents https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFF9T1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CtLmzb7GG9BC4
Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763644765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_huLmzbBFJ36KP
These books i have used to break a lot of unwanted habits like hitting, kicking and his paci... just ordered yelling since he started that
Diapers Are Not Forever (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1575422964/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UuLmzbS6Q6KAN

Also if you do screen time the daniel tiger potty episode is awesome, he watched that for everyday for awhile and now he sings it

That's a broad topic. Let's see:

• Recent, still relevant baseball: The Arm by Jeff Passan. One of the best sportswriters today goes way in-depth to what's going on with pitching injuries. Fascinating read.
  
  
• Historical / Classic Reads: Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, about the Brooklyn Dodgers in Jackie's day. Kahn's a wonderful storyteller.
  
  
• Weird, but wonderful: Philip Roth's The Great American Novel, about the fictional Patriot League. One of these days, I want to run an OOTP sim of the league and see what happens. Completely out there, but I loved it.
  
  
• Edit: Almost forgot! The Kid Who Only Hit Homers, by Matt Christopher. First baseball book I ever read.

DC Just came out with "Dear Justice League" and that'd be a great read for you to read to them. 2 is young but there's lots of pictures so it would hold their attention. My friends kids are 4 and 6 and I bought them some early reader DC books. One about Superman and Lex Luthorand another about The Flash. Early reader books are best for that age cause the words are simple and large print so they can learn to read along.

Also, try looking at comics for early readers. That'll help them understand the medium so that more complex comic panels are easier to follow when their older. THere's a my first graphic novel series on amazon.

Wanting not to read books that glorify rape is not a simple matter of my taste. It's not about me, it's about those members of our community who have had the experience and being empathetic to them. Most the time, misogyny in a book we read is something to be understood and discussed, just as we would feminist works, pro- or anti-gay sentiments, etc.. But the glorification of rape is where I draw the line of being in bad taste and bad for the community, and I have absolutely no problem doing so. Anyone who doesn't agree is probably best off in another book club.

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To answer your question, I try to actively mitigate the influence of my taste through the selection process and by having other active mods. But let's be realistic—I started the subreddit, selected by fiat the first few books to get it up and running, am one of the more active members, recruited the mod team, helped design the CSS, am part of the final book selection process most months, and deal with the modqueue and enforcing our few rules. Some of my taste is going to come through.

It's the nature of a political system that there will be some personal influence on what we read—but there's nothing stopping you or anyone else campaigning for a book, or even starting your own SF book club. (Hell, if you do I'll even help advertise it here.) There are plenty of books that I have wanted to read but have never been selected. I've nominated a book almost every month this year, yet only three of them were selected.

I don't think we mods have ever by fiat decided that we wouldn't read a book that was clearly the front-runner except in one case, when the top-voted submission was Modelland by Tyra Banks. There have been times where, due to reddit's vote fuzzing, it's not clear which book got the top votes, in which case we have to make a decision ourselves. We do that based on what we think would make for the best discussion, and we do it through consensus.

If you'd like a thorough discussion on our selection process, I'd recommend reading the wiki page about it and this comment. I'd rather not re-hash what I've already written, but I'm happy to answer questions that those links bring up.

We just did this last January! Toddler loves this book and I've heard of other kids liking it too. There are barely any words or character development or any story at all, but its like potty training crack for kids.


This was my diaper bag potty seat and this lives in my car for emergencies where there are not toilets around. I've only used it twice, but I was SO HAPPY it was there.


We didn't do pull-ups during the day at all once we'd committed to underwear. I always make sure she goes pee before we leave and I ask her multiple times while we're out if she has to go. If we're out for an extended time, we have an obligatory bathroom trip somewhere in the middle. We do pull-ups at night still, though she is dry about 90% of the time. I'm not sure what we'll do the next time we go on an airplane. I'm going to make that a game time decision.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is quite possibly the most heartwarming book that I've ever read. In fact, I cried reading it to my little four year old daughter. It's about a writer, Mr. Morris Lessmore, whose home (and, more importantly, book library) is blown away by a tornado. Dejected, Mr. Morris wanders about until he is gifted a magical book that leads him to a wonderful library of anthropomorphic books. In that library he finds solace, friendship, and happiness... he grows old and has to move on... but not before finishing up his own book for other people to read and enjoy. Because, of course, reading is awesome! My words don't do justice to it. If you can, watch the Academy award winning animated short that was based on the book.

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh.

It says 8 and up on Amazon, but my 1st grade teacher read it to my class when I was about 6 and I credit it with sparking a lifelong interest in sci-fi and amateur astronomy. The theme of escaping a dying Earth sounds a bit heavy, but the story is told from a child’s perspective that really helped me connect with the story in a relatable way. Mild spoiler—one of the items the refugees are starving for are books, which was a great thing to demonstrate the importance of for a young reader. I made sure to read it to my younger sister when she was around the same age.

A great book! Yay, you! This one too!

When you think positive, good things happen!

I got my son Potty by Leslie Patricelli and we read it together before we went potty and then I would give it him while he went potty. When we got to the "tinkle tinkle toot" part as he sat on the potty, he giggled and it made him pee and that was the start of the journey xD Good luck :)

Don't get discouraged if it doesn't happen right away. Kids train at their own pace. At first we went all out for three or four weeks and got nowhere, he wouldn't stay on the potty, he couldn't wait, he would get up and pee on the floor, etc. So eventually we called it quits.

Then we pulled the potty out again three or four months later and it was almost instant. Within two weeks he was fully trained, just wearing pull-ups at night. Then two weeks after that he was night trained, too, and using the toilet.

It's all about when they're ready.

But I will tell you that in my experience pull-ups were only really useful for night training. In the day he treated it like a diaper, wouldn't use the potty if he was wearing them. So we went with underwear pretty quickly, and that helped move things along.

Also this book which is aimed at toddlers. He's always been big on books, and he'd sit on the potty reading that book until he went. He loved it. Give them something to focus on while they're sitting.

Don't get any potty training routine books for adults. Every kid is very different, and it's all about figuring out what works for them. Eventually it'll click.

It will be messy, though, so be prepared for that.

Are you open to picture books for adults? The Arrival is a beautiful (in both art and story!) book about life as an immigrant. I think this would suit her well as an artist and someone who is interested in graphic novels or experimental works. It has a happy ending and there's nothing I can think of that would be offensive to her religion :)

It went reasonably well for us, here's how it worked: we gated her room, so she came to the gate a few times and made noise, and we said, go back to bed, sweetie, it's bedtime, and then she was out. After a month, she kept looking out the door, so we just started locking the door when we put her down so she couldn't keep peeking out. I lock it right when I put her down, and when I haven't heard any noise for a half hour or so, I go unlock it. She knows it'll be unlocked when she wakes up.

The gating helps, talking about how it's a big kid thing helps, too. We had a book: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Enough-Bed-Sesame-Street/dp/0375822704 and that helped.

I had to do CIO the first time with the door locking, but it only lasted 10 minutes, and I knew she was really tired and ready to sleep. Good luck and don't give up!

The Kid Who Only Hit Homers

definitely fiction, and definitely elementary school reading level
was a great read in 4th grade for me lol

Great film.

My first exposure to Jackie was as a kid in some obscure baseball history book I read with my dad. I later read In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson in school and was hooked. The lessons on acceptance, breaking racial barriers, and how great of a sport baseball is still stick with me.

I space out my books with other things like graphic novels. They're perfect when you're feeling a bit burnt out as they seem to work a different part of the brain (at least for me). Have you read The Arrival? It's a fantastic graphic novel and it has no words.

I hope you find these interesting! My love to your niece!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Door-Wall-Marguerite-Angeli/dp/0440227798

http://www.amazon.com/My-Sisters-Keeper-Beverly-Butler/dp/0396087442

http://www.amazon.com/How-Fried-Worms-Thomas-Rockwell/dp/0440445450

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0545050561

This book worked wonders for our son. He loves using the potty and has moved up the regular toilet. We started training in February and he would go pee but was afraid of pooping. We kept at it and after we kept reading this book to him he now loves going on the potty and will go in public restrooms too. Worth a try.

This Potty book would be great, as we are starting to potty train! Thanks for the contest!

Just my opinion but I didn't like Blankets all that much...Fun Home is awesome though!!

But, in addition to the others mentioned:

Understanding Comics -McCloud

Stitches -Small

Yummy-Last Days of a Southside Shorty-Neri

Tyranny

Pitch Black -Landowne(sp?)

The Arrival -Tan

Palestine

American Born Chinese

Drinking at the Movies

Unlovable

Sweet illustration! This reminds me somewhat of a book I read to my 2-year-old daughter, The Wonderful Things You Will Be.

Apropos of nothing, it should be fundamentally obvious to all that the Warner Archive Collection has been doing a fair amount of influencing. -------->

In exchange for this campaign, Warner Brothers has made the CW a wholly-owned subsidiary of /r/movies, inc. Expect an America's Next Top Model theme, complete with cafe press and Amazon Affiliate links to Tyra Banks' Modelland early next week.

We tried to get parking spots on the lot but not even we wield that kind of power yet. We're working on our Smizes, though, so wish us luck.

My teacher read this to us in our elementary school class, and I absolutely loved it. To me it sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

There's a PDF scan of The Arrival on Scribd.com or you can buy it on Amazon.

Super cool: The Spare Parts Puppet Theater in Australia adapted it as a stage show.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is another good one to use with high school. I use it to discuss the power of storytelling.

The Wonderful Things You Will Be - one of our favorites.

Bridge to Tarabithia comes to mind - not exactly promotion of reason, but does present an atheist family in a positive light. Death of a child may be age sensitive.

Scooby Doo does wonders for my eldest.

I'd love for a film of The Green Book to be made - pure sci fi w/ emphasis on reason and empowered kids.

This is originally older than 5ish years, (I read it 20ish years ago) but it's still actively in print, so it might have been included in an anthology, and I remember a scene like you described:

The Green Book

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Book-Jill-Paton-Walsh/dp/0312641222/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Of course, that's not the anthology, just the name of the story I remember.

This was a pretty good book.

576 pages and aimed at the Young Adult demo... good luck with that, Tyra. amazon link

My son really identified with this: https://www.amazon.com/Come-Out-Mr-Poo-Training/dp/0995382271

It stressed him out to even talk about this, so at random times I'd read it to my husband within earshot of my son. Then when he was on the potty, we'd say, "Come on out, Mr. Poo!" and then it became funny, and soon my son pooped like a champ. Breaking the anxiety cycle made all the difference.

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh. This book sparked my love of science fiction. I can't wait until my nephews and niece are old enough to read it.

Also the [Wayside School Books] (http://www.amazon.com/Wayside-School-Boxed-Set-Stranger/dp/0380791714/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382359948&sr=1-3&keywords=sideways+stories+from+wayside+school)

How to Eat Friend Worms:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Fried-Worms-Thomas-Rockwell/dp/0440445450

If he doesn't like this then you might as well give up.

nsfw

nsfw2

Poop

welcome back hunny!

There's a wonderful Neil Gaiman poem turned children's book called Instructions

Here's what we got, and my son really liked them:

Big Bed for Giraffe

Big Enough for a Bed

Your Own Big Bed

This is a fun one.

Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763644765/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_otQSub04E7VWY

Also:

Everyone Poops (My Body Science Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/192913214X/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_duQSub12X94F5

Your post reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books as well.

This game reminds me of my favorite book as a kid: http://www.amazon.com/Only-Homers-Christopher-Sports-Classics/dp/0316139874

This is definitely The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh. I read it in school also!

That’s hilarious! Get the book Potty. Shows cats using litter box, doggies going outside, people using potties...
Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763644765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4VxUBbEQ19TMS

it's 1.38 times the current US hourly minimum wage, and I'm in my thirties. Yeah, it was a decent enough amount for a kid with no job.

Would you like to know more?

Could it be The Arrival, by Shaun Tan? Never read but had it recommended to me many times!

https://www.amazon.com/Arrival-Shaun-Tan/dp/0439895294

I read this every year and most of them love it. The rest can suffer through it.

Edit: On my computer I can't see it, but click on the word "this" above!!

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982993803/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_b080AbMZ3E19F

I read this to my kids and when they suck at something they now boast that they are stretching their brain.

I’ll never forget that Tyra Banks also tried to collect...

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh

The Green Book?

I figured it out:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374428026/ref=cm_rdp_product

We loooooove Potty by Leslie Patricelli: http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Leslie-Patricelli-board-books/dp/0763644765/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396148260&sr=8-2&keywords=potty

The Arrival

http://www.amazon.com/Arrival-Shaun-Tan/dp/0439895294

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Book-Sunburst/dp/0374428026

The Green Book? Was it young adult sci-fi?

In case it's not a troll:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Fried-Worms-Thomas-Rockwell/dp/0440445450

Reminds me of this. One of my favs.

I remember reading a book about that.

waiting for modelland

GONNA BE EPIC!

This existed for a reason, you know.

You are thinking of "The Green Book"

You guys hear they already have Bellinger's biography out?

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Homers-Christopher-Sports-Classics/dp/0316139874

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh?

Review that mentions jellyfish lamps.

Visually, The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Never in my experience has so much been communicated without words. Simply amazing.

I also became deeply embedded in The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (famous for Cloud Atlas).

On paper achieving multiculturalism is a good thing, but in reality it is very difficult thing to do. For one thing, people have very different ideas of what 'multiculturalism' should look like. For some, the ideal is a melting-pot where incoming immigrants shed their past and integrate fully into their new society. For others, the idea scenario is more like a mosaic where immigrants retain their unique cultures and traditions but work to contribute in a positive way to the functioning of their new society. Amid all of this there are still others who do not hold with multiculturalism at all, and would rather not change or integrate others into their society.

As an immigrant navigating your new country it can be very difficult to understand to which model you should adhere or strive for...all the while you have people who tell you to "get out" and "go back home"...its enough to make anyone isolate themselves into immigrant communities that are familiar and safe to them. Why bother exploring or integrating yourself into a scary, possibly hostile culture to which you are trying to make a new home? In some cases facilitation of integration simply isn't there. Immigrant may want to break out of their isolated communities but the programs that might facilitate this transition simply don't exist in the capacity that is required.

I suggest reading the book The Arrival...For me it put the immigrants journey into perspective. People have also made it into a few different youtube videos, but to get the real feel of the book you need to sit and 'read' it yourself (there are no words).