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The Children’s Book Review: Which five words best describe LETTING GO: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years? Karen Levin Coburn: Reassuring, informative, warm, honest, insightful

Check out Josh Bledsoe’s Selfie with Hammer and Nails, the story of a little girl and her dad.

Mama, Talk About Our New Baby is a great parental tool that supports breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, and raising emotionally intelligent older siblings.

Jeffrey’s Darth Vader series was originally geared towards adults as it was about the experience of being a parent; however, parents shared it with their kids and now both adults & kids love the series. Goodnight Darth Vader was created with both audiences in mind.

This is an educational tool that children will enjoy reading on their own or in a group setting being led by a teacher. Thank you, Loretta Neff, for providing a well-written and entertaining resource that teaches important life skills.

And then there's potty training. It's a world unto itself, with special videos, portable potties, stickers, colorful underwear, and, of course, books. But the pay-off is huge: a diaper-free existence. We're big readers in our household, so why not read about it, too?

Jennifer Cook O’Toole is founder of Asperkids™, a multimedia social education company focused on making life for children and families with Asperger’s profoundly positive and purposeful.

Going to my grandparents' farm is always a special treat. Outside we have the chance to experience the wonders of nature with acres and acres to explore, rocks to climb, a winding, mesmerizing creek to splash in and garden full of treats. Inside their home, the kitchen is always full of bustle as grandma whips up sweet rolls, cookies and a rainbow of canned produce and jams.

I have so many wonderful childhood memories of visiting my grandparents and spending summer days watching them and learning their tricks. They grew up in a vastly different time, when TVs and computers did not exist and as children they learned to love nature and its marvels and cherish time together as a family. They made sure to engage their grandchildren in similar experiences. When we visited them we did not sit in front of the TV but instead participated in life-enriching activities, played games and lived in tune with nature.

"When you're sharing nature with a child, you'll find that even a short walk through your backyard will yield a crop of fresh discoveries and questions. Start a tradition of asking, "I wonder what's going on outdoors today?" - Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy

• The Neighborhood Naturalist (includes a mudpie recipe for attracting butterflies and instructions to make a moon phase flip book)
• Kids in the Kitchen (yummy recipes like Summer Berry Soup and how to make a solar oven)
• Kitchen Garbage Garden (setting up peek-a-boo plants and growing a citrus tree)
• Kids in the Garden (tips on container gardening, herbs, engraving pumpkins and planting a bale garden)
• Preparing Camp Granny (inspiring imaginative play and building child friendly places with fairy houses, faerie mailboxes, book baskets and more)
• Rainy Day Activities (crafting ideas like rain sticks, toad cottages and making a worm hotel)

One evening last November some tricksters decided to turn on all the outdoor faucets on each of the houses in our neighborhood. My husband was the first to discover the running faucets, pretty much by accident. He walked into our basement to feed the cat and thought he heard a hissing noise coming from the pipes and immediately worried that our hose bib had frozen. When he went outside to investigate he found our faucet dripping and then noticed that our next door neighbor's was running full blast. In total, seven houses had running faucets.

We are fairly certain that some of the older neighborhood kids are responsible. The faucets had only been running for a short while. If my husband wouldn't have noticed when he did, the running faucets could have caused a lot of damage. I doubt the kids responsible had considered how much expense this little practical joke could have ended up costing our neighborhood. They certainly weren't being considerate and they obviously didn't consider the repercussions. While my preschool daughter watched us resolve the situation, I explained to her using simple terms that as she grows older she'll need to decide right from wrong and make wise decisions that don't hurt other people. The kids that chose to turn on the faucets made an unkind, disrepectful decision that caused hurt.

Teaching a child values isn't a one step process. It takes careful parenting and positive role modeling. Preschool is a good time to start talking about concepts like truthfulness, forgiveness and respect. By using little scenarios, parents can have important conversations with their children but, at the same time, keep those conversations light and fun.

Ian James Corlett just recently published a book called E Is for Ethics: How to Talk to Kids About Morals, Values, and What Matters Most. The 26 read-aloud mini stories help parents discuss ethics with their children. The short stories (usually about a page) include corresponding illustrations to engage young children. The same two characters, Elliott and Lucy (brother and sister) star in the stories. The author poses a few questions at the end of each story to help children understand the main concepts and encourage dialog between parent and child. The book covers the following topics related to ethics:

Honesty • Understanding • Forgiveness • Courage • Tact • Perseverance • Politeness • Loyalty • Gratitude • Truthfulness • Fairness • Acceptance • Patience • Sincerity • Citizenship • Integrity • Kindness • Responsibility • Effort • Empathy • Charity • Helpfulness • Generosity • Willingness • Trust • Respect

While the book is a wonderful tool for parents to use, I also think that educators could use it in their classrooms to help their students learn about values. In fact, I just noticed that E is for Ethics is one of the featured titles in our Scholastic school book fair flyer. Those in early elementary (ages 10 and below) will benefit most from reading E is for Ethics.