Books and resources for parents

Book recommendations and resources for parents, including free books from Bookstart.

We provide resources in the form of books and DVDs, which can be useful in:

  • helping you tackle some of the challenges of parenting
  • offering activities for you and your child to do together

Bookstart: free books for children

Bookstart is a national book-gifting scheme that gives free books to every child in England.

The core Bookstart packs include:

  • Bookstart Baby pack for one-year-olds
  • Bookstart Treasure pack for three and four-year-olds
  • Dual-language books for those who speak English as a second language

They also offer packs for children with additional needs, which include:

  • Bookshine for children who are deaf
  • Booktouch for children who are blind or partially sighted
  • Bookstart Star for children with conditions affecting their fine motor skills

Book recommendations for parents and children

Parents and family support practitioners from the Early Years teams recommend these books for parents and children.

List of book recommendations
Title Author
All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome Kathy Hoopmann
All Dogs Have ADHD Kathy Hoopmann
Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome Rudy Simone
Attachment-Focused Parenting: Effective Strategies to Care for Children Daniel A Hughes
Brain-Based Parenting: The Neuroscience of Caregiving for Healthy Attachment Daniel A Hughes and Jonathan Baylin
Can I Tell You About...? (series) Jude Welton
Freaks, Geeks and Aspergers Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence Luke Jackson
Hot Stuff to Help Kids Chill Out: The Anger Management Book Jerry Wilde
How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
How to Talk so Teens Will Listen and Listen so Teens Will Talk Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Inside I'm Hurting: Practical Strategies for Supporting Children with Attachment Difficulties in Schools Louise Bomber
My Social Stories Book Carol Gray and Abbie Leigh White
Raising Boys: Why Boys are Different Steve Biddulph
Raising Girls: Why Girls are Different Gisela Preuschoff
Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Starving the Anger Gremlin: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Anger Management Kate Collins-Donnelly
Starving the Anxiety Gremlin: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Anxiety Management Kate Collins-Donnelly
Teach Your Child to Sleep: Solving Sleep Problems from Newborn Through Childhood Millpond Sleep Clinic
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew Ellen Notbohm
The Guide for Separated Parents: Putting Children First Karen and Nick Woodall
The Truth About Hormones Vivienne Parry
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Proven Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel Siegel
What Every Parent Needs to Know Margot Sunderland
What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety Dawn Huebner and Bonnie Matthews
When Your Child is Bullied Jenny Alexander