Summer is quickly approaching, and soon the warm weather and long days will be upon us, unless you live in San Francisco as I do, where summer is historically known as the coldest, foggiest time of year and the time when I make sure I have my wool jacket and cap readily available at all times. But I digress. Foggy or sunny, summer often is a time of relaxation and vacations. It is a time to get away from work and school, if only for a few precious weeks. And for me, it has always been a time for catching up on reading, whether is be poolside or sitting at a local cafe. I always seem to have a precariously balanced stack of books waiting for me come June- books that I have acquired, purchased or borrowed, all with the hope of having a free moment with which I might delve into their pages. And so, with summer knocking on the door, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite books related to early childhood mental health, early childhood development, and related topics. They may not be quite as fun to read as the latest paperbook novel or Oprah’s Book Club selection of the month, but if you are looking to further your knowledge in this area, or are just curious to learn a bit more about a new topic, give these a try!

• Unsmiling Faces: How Preschools Can Heal, Edited by Lesley Koplow. This book is one of my favorites. I have all of my employees read this book during their training with my program, and I often share this book with the teachers I work with in preschool settings. This is a wonderful resource for mental health professionals and early childhood educators working with families and children with special needs in the social and emotional areas. This book explores how preschools can help children who may have had less than ideal early experiences by providing a therapeutic and healing environment. There is even an extensive curriculum planning guide for a variety of social-emotional related themes, such as Loss/Attachment, Feelings, Likes/Dislikes and Sharing. This book is also an excellent resource for teachers or professionals working within a therapeutic preschool environment. You can find this at Amazon.com.
• The Magic Years, Selma Fraiberg. I should admit that I did, in fact, read this book during one of my summer vacations, prior to entering graduate school. It was on their recommended reading list and it probably did a great deal towards moving me into the field of early childhood mental health. Selma Fraiberg is one of the “grandmothers” of infant mental health and in this book, she brings her humor, wit and highly sophisticated psychoanalytic knowledge to her understanding of the internal workings of the infant and the young child. Her examples and scenarios are as touching and relevant today as they were in 1959 when the book was first published. This is truly one of the “classics” of the infant mental health field!

Enjoy! And don’t forget the sunscreen!