The best parenting books for creating confident creative children

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve written and spoken on raising children and creating a home environment that supports learning, self-worth, a growing faith, a confident child who has character and creativity. I’ve had a passion for children all my life, and after teaching and working with kids from ages two to eighteen, and college, I began writing to inspire and equip parents to make the most of the fast-moving years of their children’s growing up years. My books like Unlocking Your Child’s Learning Potential, When Mothers Pray, Mothering By Heart, The One Year Book of Praying Through the Bible, have been published in eighty countries because they are inspiring, contain doable ideas, and are applicable to parents in other nations.


I wrote...

What a Son Needs from His Mom

By Cheri Fuller,

Book cover of What a Son Needs from His Mom

What is my book about?

There’s a good reason why your son perplexes you. He’s the OPPOSITE sex! Boys really do think, communicate and process the world differently than girls. But no matter your son’s age, he needs you, and he needs you in not-so-apparent ways.

Cheri Fuller shares what makes boys and young men tick and how to become a more welcome influence at every stage in their lives including: Helping your son deal with his emotions in a healthy way, how you can help him shine in school and beyond, how you can understand his personality and temperament, instill good values, and steer your son toward becoming a caring, confident young man.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of How to Really Love Your Child

Cheri Fuller Why did I love this book?

Ross Campbell explains the emotional needs of a child and provides you with skills that will help your child feel truly loved, accepted, and emotionally secure. He explains love for a person "no matter what". With regards to children, loving them regardless of who they are, or how they live up to expectations or don’t. This was one of the most important books I read as a young mother.

By Ross Campbell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Really Love Your Child as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

You know you love your child. You attend school events, care for physical needs, and discipline when needed. But did you know that most children, even in loving households, doubt that they are genuinely and unconditionally loved?

In Dr. Ross Campbell’s groundbreaking book, he explains the emotional needs of a child and provides you with skills that will help your child feel truly loved and accepted. Using eye contact, affirmation, and spiritual nurturing, you’ll learn to really love your child no matter what the circumstances. The practical applications in How to Really Love Your Child have already helped over 2…


Book cover of Raising Your Spirited Baby: A Breakthrough Guide to Thriving When Your Baby Is More . . . Alert and Intense and Struggles to Sleep

Cheri Fuller Why did I love this book?

As a mother of three grown children, former teacher, and author, and speaker on parenting for many years, I much prefer the term “Spirited Child” to “Strong-Willed Child.” Do you have a child who’s more intense and persistent? Challenging and uncomfortable with change? Then thank your lucky stars. As they grow into their personality, these spirited kids can become the most empathetic and focused young people and successful adults. Learn how to work and parent with an understanding of your child’s temperament instead of trying to “break” your child’s will. Often when parents set out with punitive methods to break their child’s will, they end up breaking his or her spirit. This book has plenty of real-life stories, practical ideas, and the most current research.

By Mary Sheedy Kurcinka,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Raising Your Spirited Baby as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D., brings her expertise in raising spirited children to help you understand and soothe your spirited baby. Her research-based, parent-tested strategies will help your baby sleep better and develop a calmer, more resilient brain and nervous system.” —Dr. Laura Markham, founder of AhaParenting.com, and author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids

From the beloved bestselling author whose award-winning parenting books have sold over 1 million copies—an indispensable guide to the unique needs of Spirited Infants™. 


Does your baby bursts into tears when another baby in the same situation sleeps soundly?

Do the strategies your friends swear by not…


Book cover of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

Cheri Fuller Why did I love this book?

I read this book when my children were in elementary, middle, and high school, and it made a big impact on how I communicated with my kids. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen is by a wise psychologist who had counseled thousands of children and parents. It presents an approach to “getting kids to listen” that encourages parents to respect and accept their children’s feelings and thoughts instead of threatening, yelling, or putting down how their kids feel and what they say. One of my favorite things about this book is the effective strategies and examples for getting your kids to cooperate instead of using harsh and punitive methods. And here’s the thing: this way of parenting works, so it’s definitely worth reading.

By Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

30th Anniversary Edition updated with new insights from the next generation. You can stop fighting with your children! Here is the bestselling book that will give you the know-how you need to be more effective with your children--and more supportive of yourself. Enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, the down-to-earth, respectful approach of Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish makes relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding. Now, in this thirtieth-anniversary edition, these award-winning experts share their latest insights and suggestions based on feedback they've received over the years. Their methods of communication--illustrated with…


Book cover of Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook

Cheri Fuller Why did I love this book?

This is a crucial and important book for parents to read and put into practice. If you want your child to be a strong reader and successful student instead of addicted to screens and video games, this is the book for you. Help children become avid readers through awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills. Terrific new research and delightful anecdotes are included. A must-read for every parent and teacher!


By Jim Trelease, Cyndi Giorgis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic million-copy bestselling handbook on reading aloud to children--revised and updated for a new generation of readers

Recommended by "Dear Abby" upon its first publication in 1982, millions of parents and educators have turned to Jim Trelease's beloved classic for more than three decades to help countless children become avid readers through awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills. Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook, updated and revised by education specialist Cyndi Giorgis, discusses the benefits, the rewards, and the importance of reading aloud to children of a new generation. Supported by delightful anecdotes as well as the latest research,…


Book cover of What is a Family?

Cheri Fuller Why did I love this book?

In this classic book that has wisdom for today and all time, Edith Schaeffer seeks to define the family in terms of a balanced environment, the birthplace of creativity, formation center for relationships, a shelter from the storm, a relay of values, and so much more. This is one of the most inspiring books I read as a young mother and I put many of Schaeffer’s ideas into practice in raising our three children. I love her narrative approach and stories about her family and how to make lasting memories with our kids and family.

By Edith Schaeffer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What is a Family? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

All the moving, changing shapes of a family are shown in Edith Schaeffer's imaginative reflections on infancy to grandmotherhood. She gives readers great ideas on how to support their family members and make moments memorable.


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Lap Baby

By Amy Q. Barker,

Book cover of Lap Baby

Amy Q. Barker Author Of Lap Baby

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Avid reader Nature lover Park ranger wanna be Best Nana ever

Amy's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

A story you'll never forget about survival, forgiveness, healing, and love.

Twenty years ago. A plane crash. Three women survivors are inexorably connected by fate, destiny, and a cause. 

Julie Geiger, a flight attendant, told five sets of parents to place their babies on the floor of the plane when it was going down. Now, she must live with the consequences. Will changing the emergency rules bring her healing and forgiveness? And where does love fit into her life now?

Marie Stanley lost her baby boy on that flight. And she knows exactly who to blame. Julie. The problem is that vindictiveness festers. And eats into your soul. How will Marie learn to move past her hate and save her marriage in the process?

Paige Montgomery, the lap baby who survived the flight, would love to forget it ever happened. After all, she’s happy. And she’s on the cusp of a new relationship. How will she learn to forge her own path, one that integrates all the elements of her past, including the crash, the loss of her parents, and her subsequent adoption?

Lap Baby

By Amy Q. Barker,

What is this book about?

Twenty years ago. A plane crash. Three women survivors inexorably connected by fate, destiny, and a cause.

Did you know that lap babies (children under the age of two) are instructed to be placed on the floor of a plane during an emergency? Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

Julie Geiger, a flight attendant, told five sets of parents to do just that. Now she must live with the consequences. Will changing the rules bring her healing and forgiveness? And where does love fit into her life now?

Marie Stanley lost her baby boy on that flight. And she knows exactly…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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