Why am I passionate about this?

In college, I majored in Human Development and Family Studies and found my calling ā€“ to work with kids and create SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) content for them. While still an undergrad, my first book was published (People Are Like Lollipops - a picture book celebrating diversity.) Throughout my career, Iā€™ve continued writing books and creating multimedia content for kids and teens while helping parents support their kidsā€™ character development in the digital age. I read a lot of parenting books, but I donā€™t always learn something new that opens my heart and mind. Each book Iā€™ve recommended here did that for me. I hope the books on my list will help you on your parenting journey.


I wrote

Teaching Kids to Be Good People: Progressive Parenting for the 21st Century

By Annie Fox,

Book cover of Teaching Kids to Be Good People: Progressive Parenting for the 21st Century

What is my book about?

We live in a world suffering from empathy deficit disorder where a viral culture of cruelty shapes opinions and behavior.ā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boys, and the New Realities of Girl World

Annie Fox Why did I love this book?

By the time our children reach middle school their choice of friends (for better or worse) becomes increasingly beyond our reach. Queen Bees and Wannabes (a non-fiction book that inspired the feature film Mean Girls), was the first to blast wide open the dark, dirty secret of girlsā€™ relational aggression.

This book offers a deep dive into what many of our daughters have experienced or are currently in the thick of. Rosalind Wiseman, a parenting educator and NY Times best-selling author, helps parents better understand the queen bees in their kidsā€™ lives ā€“ why these girls manipulate their peers and how we can help our daughters manage their emotions and social expectations in healthy ways so they neither fall victim to a queen bee nor put on the crown themselves and victimize others.

By Rosalind Wiseman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Queen Bees and Wannabes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ā€œMy daughter used to be so wonderful. Now I can barely stand her and she wonā€™t tell me anything. How can I find out whatā€™s going on?ā€

ā€œThereā€™s a clique in my daughterā€™s grade thatā€™s making her life miserable. She doesnā€™t want to go to school anymore. Her own supposed friends are turning on her, and sheā€™s too afraid to do anything. What can I do?ā€

Welcome to the wonderful world of your daughterā€™s adolescence. A world in which she comes to school one day to find that her friends have suddenly decided that she no longer belongs. Or sheā€™sā€¦


Book cover of Carly's Voice: Breaking Through Autism

Annie Fox Why did I love this book?

Like the best memoirs, this one reads like a novel in that Arthur Fleischman and his wife and children are drawn with so much honesty and detail youā€™ll feel as if you know them, or know people like them. Daughter Carly, however, is less knowable, because her childhood diagnosis of autism, cognitive delay, and oral motor apraxia (difficulty easily coordinating and initiating movement of the jaw, lips, tongue, and soft palate) had left her unable to communicate.

Carlyā€™s Voice was one of the early books to explore, first-hand, the challenges of living with autism for the autistic individual as well as her family. Through the determined efforts of her parents and therapists who refused to stop helping Carly reach her full potential, Carly learns to type! That changes everything. Readers are privileged to peek inside the thoughts, feelings, and quirky sense of humor of an inspiring young woman who has dreams to follow and plenty to say.

By Arthur Fleischman, Carly Fleishman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Carly's Voice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this international bestseller, father and advocate for Autism awareness Arthur Fleischmann blends his daughter Carlyā€™s own words with his story of getting to know his remarkable daughterā€”after years of believing that she was unable to understand or communicate with him.

At the age of two, Carly Fleischmann was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral motor condition that prevented her from speaking. Doctors predicted that she would never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child. Carly remained largely unreachable through the years. Then, at the age of ten, she had a breakthrough.

While working with her devotedā€¦


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Book cover of Heidi Across America: One Woman's Journey on a Bicycle Through the Heartland

Heidi Across America by Heidi Beierle,

A memoir of homecoming by bicycle and how opening our hearts to others enables us to open our hearts to ourselves.

When the 2008 recession hit, 33-year-old Heidi Beierle was single, underemployed, and looking for a way out of her darkness. She returned to school, but her gloom deepened. Allā€¦

Book cover of The Immortality of Influence: We Can Build the Best Minds of the Next Generation

Annie Fox Why did I love this book?

Written by Salome Thomas-El, a parent and a nationally acclaimed educator, The Immortality of Influence nails a parentā€™s job description: Weā€™re here to help kids recognize and realize their full potential. Simply put, thatā€™s our legacy to our kids, grandkids, and any young person we take under our wing. I loved how the personal stories throughout this book demonstrated, again and again, the positive and lasting impact a consistently caring and responsible adult can have on a childā€™s life. Having had the honor of visiting Principal Elā€™s school, I can attest to the fact that he walks the walk in a special way thatā€™s immediately apparent to every child he encounters.

By Salome Thomas-El, Cecil Murphey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Immortality of Influence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Salome Thomas-EL, award-winning educator and the highly-praised author of I Choose to Stay, has helped hundreds of troubled children get into magnet high schools, major colleges, and universities. Yet he still finds himself devastated by the long-ago death of a promising student named Willow Briggs. Salome worked with and consistently encouraged this troubled boy, who ultimately became one of the school's top chess players and students. But when Willow moved on to high school, he found no real positive influences. He struggled academically and was murdered on a street corner at the age of sixteen. More than any other factor,ā€¦


Book cover of Teach Resilience: Raising Kids Who Can Launch

Annie Fox Why did I love this book?

Dealing with disappointment and rejection is part of growing up. But our kids also face unique challenges and social stressors that did not exist when we were their age. Thatā€™s why it can be hard to give them the kind of help they really need in those moments when they feel particularly vulnerable. Dr. G, a family physician, international speaker and mom of four boys, has written a book to help us help our kids in compassionate and practical ways. Her goal ought to be a top parenting goal for everyone: Teach kids resilience ā€“ i.e., the ability to move through and beyond your emotions and figure out what your next best move will be. With resilience as a life skill, kids have what they need to rebound in the face of any setback.

By Deborah Gilboa, MD,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Teach Resilience as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

You will will be amazed by this pocket-sized book! Bad things will happen to our kids. Resilience is what they do after that. The ability to overcome adversity makes Resilience one of the 3 R's that can help kids thrive and succeed at any age. As a parent, you can play a big part in helping them build resilience. This BITE-SIZED book is perfect for busy people! Filled with 50 fun and practical tips by Doctor G., this book is designed to give you resilience-building activities for every age, plus helpful resources to launch your kids forward starting now!


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Book cover of Doctors at War: The Clandestine Battle against the Nazi Occupation of France

Doctors at War by Ellen Hampton,

Doctors at War: The Clandestine Battle against the Nazi Occupation of France takes readers into the moral labyrinth of the Occupation years, 1940-45, to examine how the medical community dealt with the evil authority imposed on them. Anti-Jewish laws prevented many doctors from practicing, inspiring many to form secret medicalā€¦

Book cover of Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention

Annie Fox Why did I love this book?

Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter. When she and her pre-teen son were both diagnosed with ADHD in the same year it became her personal and professional mission to find out as much as she could about this increasingly common diagnosis. Anyone who knows and loves someone whoā€™s been diagnosed with ADHD would do well to read this book as a guide through the often bewildering landscape of ADHD treatments. As serious and personal as Buzz is, Ellison is a great writer and her memoir is equal parts science, expert interviews and analysis, parenting angst, and humor.

By Katherine Ellison,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Buzz as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"An absorbing, sharply observed memoir." -- Kirkus Reviews A hilarious and heartrending account of one mother's journey to understand and reconnect with her high-spirited preteen son-a true story sure to beguile parents grappling with a child's bewildering behavior. Popular literature is filled with the stories of self-sacrificing mothers bravely tending to their challenging children. Katherine Ellison offers a different kind of tale. Shortly after Ellison, an award-winning investigative reporter, and her twelve-year-old son, Buzz, were both diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, she found herself making such a hash of parenting that the two of them faced three alternatives: he'd goā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Teaching Kids to Be Good People: Progressive Parenting for the 21st Century

By Annie Fox,

Book cover of Teaching Kids to Be Good People: Progressive Parenting for the 21st Century

What is my book about?

We live in a world suffering from empathy deficit disorder where a viral culture of cruelty shapes opinions and behavior. Now and in the future, we desperately need more good people. But where will the next generation of good people come from? From parents who know their job includes teaching kids resilience and compassion. When we help kids develop a moral compass and the social courage to do the right thing, we help make the world a safer, saner, more accepting place for all of us. 

In Teaching Kids to Be Good People, Annie Fox has written a very personal, step-by-step guide to teaching our children to make healthy choices (online and off). Because being good is not enough. We have to do good.

Book cover of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boys, and the New Realities of Girl World
Book cover of Carly's Voice: Breaking Through Autism
Book cover of The Immortality of Influence: We Can Build the Best Minds of the Next Generation

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