Hi there. Today i'm sharing some of my favorite recent reads. They're not light reads, but they're really engaging and cover truly important themes. I also have recommendations for children and teens.
I love including books in my holiday gifting. My list includes the book I’m giving to my son for Christmas!
I’d love to hear your recommendations! Please share your favorite books from 2024 in the comments section below for the Screenagers’ community to see! ❤️
In “10 to 25,” psychologist David Yeager explains how we can have much more effective communication with young people by understanding their developmental need for respect and status and by adopting a Mentor’s Mindset.
I guarantee you will not only learn super helpful approaches to parenting young people but also how to teach (think school settings) and lead them in work settings.
This is a rich and entertaining read, chock full of stories and science. Yeager conducted some of the most compelling research studies in the book!
You can catch my recent interview with Yeager about the book here. Yeager is also in Screenagers Next Chapter: Mental Health in the Digital Age and Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age.
I am a major fan of actor, film writer, and director Sarah Polley, and I just love her memoir. I can’t say enough about each of the six essays she includes.
The one I often bring up with friends has to do with a prominent Canadian talk show host and the experiences of women coming forward because of his having sexually assaulted them. Meanwhile, Polley, who was also assaulted by him, leads you through her journey to come forward or not. (What an important topic to discuss with our teens).
Another essay concerns her role in the film “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” as a 9-year-old actor. This story is jaw-dropping, and you learn why she disallowed her three daughters from doing professional acting as children. This is not to say kids can’t be actors, but talking about the complexities of such is definitely worthy of a Tech Talk Tuesday chat with kids.
In this book, Haidt dives into the unique ways social media and overall screen time can harm young people. With urgency and clarity, he offers actionable steps for parents, educators, and policymakers to tackle this crisis and create a foundation for healthier, more connected childhoods.
This book is doing an excellent job of getting more people interested in making change happen regarding screen time and our children.
In case you missed it, here is my podcast episode featuring Haidt. He is also in our film Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition.
This book is an intriguing exploration of the world's most extraordinary libraries, unveiling captivating stories behind hidden and unconventional book collections.
I am endlessly drawn to libraries, and this book is fascinating. (By the way, I have been on a mission to visit all 27 libraries in Seattle, and it has been a blast. I highly recommend that if you live in a city, you do the same — and with kids!)
Susan Lieu’s recently published memoir gives a fascinating look at growing up in a Vietnamese family. Much of it is told through her eyes as a child. It deals in part with the tragedy of losing her mom at eleven years old to a botched plastic surgery operation.
There is so much about family that I found interesting in the book and this book allows for a lot of important reflection.
Another thing that intrigues me is that her family had nail salons, and I have spent many years visiting them (I was a nail-biter, and acrylics helped prevent that).
I am sort of cheating here because I have not yet read this book, but I plan to, and I’ve listened to three podcast interviews with him talking about the book. Yuval’s insights are fascinating! For example, he talks about the horrific disinformation that happened with the invention of the printing press, in which a book widely circulated that led to massive “witch” trials and the death of many women. He also says what we need to ensure safety for us sapiens with the arrival of A.I. I won’t give away his very sensical solution.
This book rethinks the past by focusing on how we communicate, exploring not just what happened but also why. From monarchies to religions to democracies, it reveals how humanity's drive to share and control information has shaped history and defined societies.
I am gifting this book to my son this holiday. It is a visual feast of information that gets you thinking.
Eleven-year-old Essie grew up in a library, cared for by four devoted librarians. While she dreams of freedom and a friend her age, her world shifts when she meets G.E. As Essie ventures beyond the library’s walls, she discovers that reality is far more complicated than the fairy tales she’s grown up with.
This book takes you on an awe-inspiring journey into the extraordinary wonders of the natural world. From dung beetles navigating by starlight to trees connecting through intricate root systems, it reminds us of nature’s brilliance and rekindles our sense of wonder about the hidden marvels all around us.
This is one of those books that is super cool to have on a table during holiday gatherings. Adults and kids can mull over the jaw-dropping pages in this beautiful book together.
Need I even say how important this topic is?
Here is an example of the language used in the book. “Our big brains are super-efficient but glitchy. Scientists estimate that 90% of what we see, hear, smell, or sense never really sinks in. Instead, we pick up on the big things, general impressions, or important stuff and end up leaving our brains to fill in the missing info.”
With loads of vibrant designs, it dives into topics kids are naturally drawn to, like chocolate, peanut butter, sharks, robots, sports, and more.
I am a fan girl of Nat Geo, and this is yet another wonderful table book for the holidays and beyond. Cozying up with a kid and checking out a few pages together now and then is a marvelous way to connect.
Birds poop on phones! Who does not love that?
Fontaine, a pigeon, has had enough of the world’s obsession with technology. He wants to create change (a pigeon after my own heart) and gathers other birds to spark an “icky” revolution. This story is all about getting people to set down their phones, look up, and rediscover the joy of connecting with nature and one another.
Imagine the fun of having 37 games and riddles that require nothing but materials found in nature, such as pinecones, leaves, sticks, and other treasures from the outdoors. Even if you just do just 5 of these in the year, that’s a win!
This is a lovely illustrated book about nature for little kids. Nature, YES! Look at the book with them and then race outside to get the real deal.
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Hi there. Today i'm sharing some of my favorite recent reads. They're not light reads, but they're really engaging and cover truly important themes. I also have recommendations for children and teens.
I love including books in my holiday gifting. My list includes the book I’m giving to my son for Christmas!
I’d love to hear your recommendations! Please share your favorite books from 2024 in the comments section below for the Screenagers’ community to see! ❤️
In “10 to 25,” psychologist David Yeager explains how we can have much more effective communication with young people by understanding their developmental need for respect and status and by adopting a Mentor’s Mindset.
I guarantee you will not only learn super helpful approaches to parenting young people but also how to teach (think school settings) and lead them in work settings.
This is a rich and entertaining read, chock full of stories and science. Yeager conducted some of the most compelling research studies in the book!
You can catch my recent interview with Yeager about the book here. Yeager is also in Screenagers Next Chapter: Mental Health in the Digital Age and Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age.
I am a major fan of actor, film writer, and director Sarah Polley, and I just love her memoir. I can’t say enough about each of the six essays she includes.
The one I often bring up with friends has to do with a prominent Canadian talk show host and the experiences of women coming forward because of his having sexually assaulted them. Meanwhile, Polley, who was also assaulted by him, leads you through her journey to come forward or not. (What an important topic to discuss with our teens).
Another essay concerns her role in the film “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” as a 9-year-old actor. This story is jaw-dropping, and you learn why she disallowed her three daughters from doing professional acting as children. This is not to say kids can’t be actors, but talking about the complexities of such is definitely worthy of a Tech Talk Tuesday chat with kids.
In this book, Haidt dives into the unique ways social media and overall screen time can harm young people. With urgency and clarity, he offers actionable steps for parents, educators, and policymakers to tackle this crisis and create a foundation for healthier, more connected childhoods.
This book is doing an excellent job of getting more people interested in making change happen regarding screen time and our children.
In case you missed it, here is my podcast episode featuring Haidt. He is also in our film Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition.
This book is an intriguing exploration of the world's most extraordinary libraries, unveiling captivating stories behind hidden and unconventional book collections.
I am endlessly drawn to libraries, and this book is fascinating. (By the way, I have been on a mission to visit all 27 libraries in Seattle, and it has been a blast. I highly recommend that if you live in a city, you do the same — and with kids!)
Susan Lieu’s recently published memoir gives a fascinating look at growing up in a Vietnamese family. Much of it is told through her eyes as a child. It deals in part with the tragedy of losing her mom at eleven years old to a botched plastic surgery operation.
There is so much about family that I found interesting in the book and this book allows for a lot of important reflection.
Another thing that intrigues me is that her family had nail salons, and I have spent many years visiting them (I was a nail-biter, and acrylics helped prevent that).
I am sort of cheating here because I have not yet read this book, but I plan to, and I’ve listened to three podcast interviews with him talking about the book. Yuval’s insights are fascinating! For example, he talks about the horrific disinformation that happened with the invention of the printing press, in which a book widely circulated that led to massive “witch” trials and the death of many women. He also says what we need to ensure safety for us sapiens with the arrival of A.I. I won’t give away his very sensical solution.
I listen to a lot of podcast episodes, looking for ones that will be great for sparking conversation with younger people. I look for themes related to our digital age and themes around what it means to be a good person in this world. In addition, I think of things kids like, such as stories that involve animals, adventure, and so on.
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Summer is here, and you may be going on a car trip, so having a list of interesting podcasts to listen to as a family can be helpful. All of these are excellent to listen to as an adult, whether you want to discuss the topic with youth in your life or not. I thoroughly enjoyed all of these episodes and am delighted to share them with you today!
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I have ten podcast recommendations today. These episodes focus on family and tech—surprise, surprise! Similar to past recommendations, I am particularly focused on episodes of shows I think will be wonderful to listen to with youth. You can pre-listen, find a section you like, and ask your kiddo to do a 7-minute post-dinner listening session on the couch.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
