100 books like Montessori

By Angeline Stoll Lillard,

Here are 100 books that Montessori fans have personally recommended if you like Montessori. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Maria Montessori: A Biography

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Author Of Aid to Life, Montessori Beyond the Classroom

From my list on Montessori education.

Why am I passionate about this?

Wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, thinker. In the 1960s, after travel and study, and observing poverty, in the Middle East and Asia, I needed to find a way to help others. Montessori training and fifty years of work have given me the tools, not only to teach in schools, but to use Montessori principles in other situations. I am a speaker, school consultant, oral examiner for Montessori teacher training courses on six continents, and I have written eight books, each one presenting Montessori principles and practices in unique and practical ways. These books are being translated into many languages.

Susan's book list on Montessori education

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Why did Susan love this book?

My husband and I agree that this is the best biography of Maria Montessori available. My husband relishes the historical context and I enjoy the personal stories, and the education details. The author brings this powerful woman to life, finely weaving Montessori’s story into the cultures and politics of Europe at the time. She presents an interesting and detailed perspective of not only an educator, but also a medical doctor, and crusader for social reform, including the rights of women and children.

By Rita Kramer,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Maria Montessori (1870--1952) brought about a revolution in the classroom. She developed a method of teaching small children and inspired a movement that carried that method into every corner of the world. In her rich and forthright biography, Rita Kramer brings this powerful woman to life, illuminating not only her lasting contributions to child development and social reform, but also the controversies surrounding her training methods and private life.


Book cover of From Childhood to Adolescence

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Author Of Aid to Life, Montessori Beyond the Classroom

From my list on Montessori education.

Why am I passionate about this?

Wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, thinker. In the 1960s, after travel and study, and observing poverty, in the Middle East and Asia, I needed to find a way to help others. Montessori training and fifty years of work have given me the tools, not only to teach in schools, but to use Montessori principles in other situations. I am a speaker, school consultant, oral examiner for Montessori teacher training courses on six continents, and I have written eight books, each one presenting Montessori principles and practices in unique and practical ways. These books are being translated into many languages.

Susan's book list on Montessori education

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Why did Susan love this book?

What happens after a child finishes Montessori preschool?

That was the question for my own children. I was able to take the Montessori 6-12 training in order to keep up with them, but parents and teachers can learn a lot about this age here. Dr. Montessori examines the educational concerns of the older child, the adolescence, and even the university student. She considers each level on its own because human beings have different needs at different ages. She explores ways to support the physical, mental, social, and psychological needs of each age. It is in this book that we learn about the Erdkinder, or Farm School, where the need for real work, independence, and related research, and work-based academic study is being provided in several countries today.

By Maria Montessori,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked From Childhood to Adolescence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this work, Maria Montessori examines the educational concerns of the older child, the adolescence and even the mature university student. She considers each level and seeks the optimum method of facilitating growth. The work follows the child from the age of 7 through adolescence. Dr. Montessori's understanding of the adolescent’s need for independence in thought and action is remarkable. Her comments on the state of education and its implications for the world at large are very modern and more relevant today than ever before.


Book cover of The 1946 London Lectures

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Author Of Aid to Life, Montessori Beyond the Classroom

From my list on Montessori education.

Why am I passionate about this?

Wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, thinker. In the 1960s, after travel and study, and observing poverty, in the Middle East and Asia, I needed to find a way to help others. Montessori training and fifty years of work have given me the tools, not only to teach in schools, but to use Montessori principles in other situations. I am a speaker, school consultant, oral examiner for Montessori teacher training courses on six continents, and I have written eight books, each one presenting Montessori principles and practices in unique and practical ways. These books are being translated into many languages.

Susan's book list on Montessori education

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Why did Susan love this book?

These lectures were delivered by Montessori during the first teacher training course given in London after she returned from forced exile in India as an Italian national during WWII. I received lectures based on them during my own Montessori course in London, but not until 2012 were they organized and edited by my good friend Annette Haines, and published as a book. Montessori’s granddaughter Renilde Montessori wrote the foreword. The lectures speak to many aspects of Montessori valuable today such as: education based on psychology rather than a fixed curriculum, education from birth, unlocking intelligence, social development, education for independence, solving social problems through education, when to give children the truth and when fairy tales are appropriate, and the difference between work and play.

By Maria Montessori,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The 1946 London Lectures as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Exclusive & Authentic content - E-book, taken from the original archives and published by the heirs of Maria Montessori.

The 1946 London course was the first training course given in Europe by Maria Montessori when she and her son Mario returned from seven years of exile in India during World War II. In these 1946 Lectures, six years before her death, the reader can sense that Montessori has traveled the world and has observed, profoundly and scientifically, an immense amount of children. In these lectures, Maria Montessori speaks with the mature wisdom of a lifetime spent studying, not just early…


Book cover of Maria Montessori

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Author Of Aid to Life, Montessori Beyond the Classroom

From my list on Montessori education.

Why am I passionate about this?

Wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, thinker. In the 1960s, after travel and study, and observing poverty, in the Middle East and Asia, I needed to find a way to help others. Montessori training and fifty years of work have given me the tools, not only to teach in schools, but to use Montessori principles in other situations. I am a speaker, school consultant, oral examiner for Montessori teacher training courses on six continents, and I have written eight books, each one presenting Montessori principles and practices in unique and practical ways. These books are being translated into many languages.

Susan's book list on Montessori education

Susan Mayclin Stephenson Why did Susan love this book?

A few years ago my granddaughter, who had already attended a Montessori school for two years, asked me, “Who is Montessori.” So my last selection is a book for children!

In just 26 pages, with few words and delightful illustrations, we learn how a young girl in Italy, who wanted to be a doctor when girls were not allowed to study science, had her choices respected by her parents. And how she discovered, from watching children, that learning was more fun when it occurs through toys and games and movement. They learn that her ideas are still helping improve the way children learn in many countries of the world. There is also a 2-page timeline with pictures for the adult to learn more

By Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Raquel Martín (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Maria Montessori as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the incredible life of Maria Montessori, the pioneering teacher and researcher.

Maria grew up in Italy at a time when girls didn't receive an equal education to boys. But Maria's mother was supportive of her dreams, and Maria went on to study medicine. She later became an early years expert - founding schools with her revolutionary educational theories and changing the lives of many children. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical…


Book cover of The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous

Jay Belsky Author Of The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life

From my list on development from childhood to middle age.

Why am I passionate about this?

It was almost by accident that I became who I turned out to be as a professional, a developmental scientist interested in how early-life experiences shape who we become. Had someone asked me when I graduated from high school what were the chances of me becoming a scientist and teacher, I would have answered “zero, zero”! During my now 40+ year academic career I've come to appreciate how complex the many forces are that shape who we become. There's no nature without nurture and no nurture without nature. This emergent realization led me to learn about and study many aspects of developmental experience, like parenting and peer relations, and the role of genetics and evolution.

Jay's book list on development from childhood to middle age

Jay Belsky Why did Jay love this book?

This one does not follow children from childhood to adulthood, but rather reveals how 100s of years ago events occurred that radically changed who people interacted with, married and spent their lives relating to.

It is a bold, strikingly original, and epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that profoundly shaped the modern world. While Nature matters, what this volume made clear to me is how “big Nurture”, meaning cultural practices, have changed over the past 1,000 years and the dramatic implications of such change for the world we live in today.

By Joseph Henrich,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The WEIRDest People in the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A landmark in social thought. Henrich may go down as the most influential social scientist of the first half of the twenty-first century' MATTHEW SYED

Do you identify yourself by your profession or achievements, rather than your family network? Do you cultivate your unique attributes and goals? If so, perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic.

Unlike most who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, nonconformist, analytical and control-oriented. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically peculiar? What part did these differences play in our history, and what do…


Book cover of Education for Thinking

Andrew Shtulman Author Of Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories about the World Are So Often Wrong

From my list on the cognitive foundations of science.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professor of psychology at Occidental College, where I direct the Thinking Lab. I hold degrees in psychology from Princeton and Harvard and have published several dozen scholarly articles on conceptual development and conceptual change. I’m interested in how people acquire new concepts and form new beliefs, especially within the domains of science and religion. My research investigates intuitions that guide our everyday understanding of the natural world and strategies for improving that understanding.

Andrew's book list on the cognitive foundations of science

Andrew Shtulman Why did Andrew love this book?

Two skills fundamental to scientific reasoning are inquiry and argument. Inquiry is generating new information, and argument is using that information to justify and evaluate knowledge claims. Kuhn presents a framework for understanding these processes, as well as methods for teaching them. Her insights are grounded in science-education research demonstrating not only why inquiry and argument are challenging but also how they can be improved. Kuhn’s book fundamentally changed how I teach science to others. It provided me a way of organizing and motivating the various research methods I cover in my courses, as tools for building a collective body of knowledge.

By Deanna Kuhn,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

What do we want schools to accomplish? The only defensible answer, Deanna Kuhn argues, is that they should teach students to use their minds well, in school and beyond.

Bringing insights from research in developmental psychology to pedagogy, Kuhn maintains that inquiry and argument should be at the center of a "thinking curriculum"-a curriculum that makes sense to students as well as to teachers and develops the skills and values needed for lifelong learning. We have only a brief window of opportunity in children's lives to gain (or lose) their trust that the things we ask them to do in…


Book cover of National Geographic Kids Look and Learn: Bears

Terry Pierce Author Of Eat Up, Bear!

From my list on bear books toddlers can sink their teeth into.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of 25 children’s books, and I recently moved to a small mountain town that has come to co-exist with wild black bears by learning how to properly store and dispose of our food (rather than the alternative, which was to eliminate the bears!). Ever since I’ve lived there, I’ve been fascinated by human-bear interactions, having a few of my own now! When Yosemite Conservancy put out a call for children’s stories, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about—how people can help keep bears safe and wild through proper food storage. I’m a huge advocate for bears and all wildlife!

Terry's book list on bear books toddlers can sink their teeth into

Terry Pierce Why did Terry love this book?

National Geographic Look & Learn Bears is a perfect introduction to bears for toddlers. As a former Montessori preschool teacher, I appreciate the simplicity of the text, photographs, and book design. The book shows five common types of bears (black, brown, polar, pandas, and sun bears). Each bear is shown over two-page spreads and gives one interesting fact that would appeal to the toddler crowd. I could just see my own son at that age enjoying this book.

By National Kids,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked National Geographic Kids Look and Learn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Welcome to the world of bears!

With fun photos and colourful, approachable design, this wonderful board book guides you through life as a bear, including hibernation, playtime with cubs, the smallest and biggest bears, and finding food!


Book cover of The Psychology of Gratitude

Patrick M. Garry Author Of The Power of Gratitude: Charting a Path Toward a Joyous and Faith-Filled Life

From my list on gratitude and how it can uplift your life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have published more than twenty books and hundreds of articles. But not one of those books and articles inspired the kind of devotion I felt toward The Power of Gratitude. In a way, this book encapsulates a lifetime of writing. It is the book I believe I was called to write.

Patrick's book list on gratitude and how it can uplift your life

Patrick M. Garry Why did Patrick love this book?

While we sometimes might think of gratitude as just a simple emotion or reaction, Emmons and McCullough show a much more complex side to gratitude. 

In this book, Emmons and McCullough explore the scientific and medical aspects of gratitude. The book helps the reader understand all the psychological and medical benefits produced by a life lived with gratitude.

By Robert A. Emmons (editor), Michael E. McCullough (editor),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Gratitude, like other positive emotions, has inspired many theological and philosophical writings, but it has inspired very little vigorous, empirical research. In an effort to remedy this oversight, this volume brings together prominent scientists from various disciplines to examine what has become known as the most-neglected emotion. The volume begins with the historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of gratitude, then presents the current research
perspectives from social, personality, and developmental psychology, as well as from primatology, anthropology, and biology. The volume also includes a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of research on gratitude. This work contributes a great deal to the growing…


Book cover of The Emotional Life of the Toddler

Jessica L. Borelli Author Of Nature Meets Nurture: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Resilient Kids

From my list on people who want to connect with their child.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by relationships since I was a kid. I grew up a keen observer of the relationships in my own family, mostly focused on the way in which the dynamics were difficult for me. This led me to develop a strong interest in psychology, a passion I pursued in my undergraduate education. I became acutely intrigued by an idea a professor exposed me to early on – that experiences of safety and security within attachment relationships are essential in order for children to thrive, and that without safety/security, they can experience chronic struggles. This early interest paved the way for what developed into my career as a psychology professor and therapist.

Jessica's book list on people who want to connect with their child

Jessica L. Borelli Why did Jessica love this book?

In this book, Dr. Lieberman holds parents’ hands as she walks through toddlers’ emotional experiences.

She draws upon her work as both a clinician and a researcher in writing this book, leaving a narrative that is fresh and also well informed. As a long-time fan of Dr. Lieberman, I can feel her respect for young children emanating throughout this book.

By Alicia F Lieberman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Emotional Life of the Toddler as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Any parent who has tried to keep up with an active toddler for a whole day knows that a child of this age is a whirlwind of contradictory, explosive and ever-changing emotions. In this book, child psychologist Alicia Lieberman addresses common emotional issues and questions facing parents with children this age. Why, for example, is "no" often the favourite response of the toddler? How should parents deal with the anger they sometimes feel in the face of their toddler's unflagging obstinacy? Why does a crying toddler run to its mother for a hug, only to push himself away as soon…


Book cover of YOU: Being More Effective in Your MBTI Type

Roger R. Pearman Author Of I'm Not Crazy, I'm Just Not You: The Real Meaning of the 16 Personality Types

From my list on personality and psychological type.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been using and research psychological type for 45 years in my various career roles—director of a university learning center, chief human resources officer, and independent consultant. I’ve yet to find a more practical and useful model for understanding human differences. The constructive use of differences is urgently needed in our age, as well as the goal of type development: making perceptions clearer and judgments more sound.

Roger's book list on personality and psychological type

Roger R. Pearman Why did Roger love this book?

It is the only book in the industry that provides active action tips for each of the sixteen types to enhance their effectiveness at work. Based on decades of research of managers and leaders, the patterns, and tips are focused on the specific challenge of each type.

By Roger R. Pearman, Michael M. Lombardo, Robert W. Eichinger

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

YOU: Being More Effective in Your MBTI Type is the only research-based leadership development book built around the 16 personality types measured by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator instrument, and the 20 facets underlying those types (MBTI Step II). YOU is a book of development tools and tips designed to help you be more effective personally and professionally through greater understanding of personality types.


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