Expanding to a full-time program in 2025-26! Click here for more info!

books on shelf

Recommended Reading

* Indicates texts that have inspired Attic pedagogy since our beginning.

Ayers, Bill, On the Side of the Child *

Faber, Adele, How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk *

Kamii, Constance, Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic: Implications of Piaget’s Theory, 2nd Edition *

Kohn, Alfie, Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes *

Kohn, Alfie, The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and “Tougher Standards” *

Marlowe, Bruce A and Marilyn L. Page, Creating and Sustaining the Constructivist Classroom, 1st Edition *

Mercogliano, Chris, In Defense of Childhood: Protecting Kids’ Inner Wildness *

Neill, A.S. and Albert Lamb, Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood *

Smith, Frank, Joining the Literacy Club: Further Essays into Education *

Stixrud, William, and Ned Johnson, The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives

Bates Ames, Louise, Ph.D., and Carol Chase Haber, M.A., Gesell Institute of Human Development, Your Five-Year-Old (entire series to age 14)

Carson, Rachel, The Sense of Wonder

Dowling, Linda Culp and Cecile Culp Mielenz, Ph.D., Mentor Manager, Mentor Parent: How to Develop Responsible People and Build Successful Relationships at Work and at Home

Elkind, David Ph.D., The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon *

Elkind, David Ph.D., The Power of Play: how spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children

Faber, Adele, Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live

Fox, Mem, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever

Gopnik, Alison, The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us about the Relationship Between Parents and Children

Gottman, John, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child

Healy, Jane, Your Child’s Growing Mind: Brain Development and Learning from Birth to Adolescence

Johnson, Katie, Red Flags for Primary Teachers: 27 Neurodevelopmental and Vision Issues that Affect Learning, with Activities to Help

Markham, Laura, Peaceful Parents, Happy Children

Sessions Stepp, Laura, Our Last Best Shot, Guiding Our Children Through Early Adolescence

Siegel, Daniel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson Ph.D., Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brian

Siegel, Daniel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson Ph.D., No Drama Discipline

Siegel, Daniel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson Ph.D., Whole Brain Child

Steiner-Adair, Catherine, Ed.D., The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age

Twenge, Jean M., Ph.D., iGen: Why Today’s Super Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood

Wolf, Anthony E., Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parents’ Guide to the New Teenager

Guterson, David, Family Matters, Why Homeschooling Makes Sense

Hern, Matt, Deschooling Our Lives

Llewellyn, Grace, The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School & Get a Real Life & Education *

Atwell, Nancie, In the Middle: Writing, Reading and Learning with Adolescents *

Avery, Carol, And With a Light Touch: Learning About Reading, Writing, and Teaching with First Graders *

Johnson, Katie, Reading into Writing: Using Children’s Literature to Teach Writing to Children

McCracken, Marlene and Robert McCracken, Spelling through Phonics

McCracken, Marlene and Robert McCracken, Reading, Writing & Language: A Practical Guide for Primary Teachers

Short, Kathy G. and Jerome C Harste with Carolyn Burke, Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers

Trelease, Jim, The Read-aloud Handbook

Chaille, Christine and Lory Britain, The Young Scientist: A Constructivist Approach to Early Childhood Science Education *

Devries, Rheta and Constance Kamii, Physical Knowledge in Preschool Education: Implications of Piaget’s Theory *

Fendel, Dan, et al, Interactive Mathematics Program

Forman, Linda Cooper and Albert B. Bennett, Jr., Visual Mathematics Courses I – III *

Kamii, Constance, Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic 2nd Grade: Implications of Piaget’s Theory, 2nd Edition *

Kamii, Constance, Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic 3rd Grade: Implications of Piaget’s Theory, 2nd Edition *

Lockhart, Paul, A Mathematician’s Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form

Phillips, Dale R., Developing Logical Thinkers: the Developmental Activities Program *

Phillips, Darrell G. with Dale R. Phillips, Structures of Thinking: Concrete Operations *

Phillips, Darrell G., Sciencing: Toward Logical Thinking *

Ayers, Bill, Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom *

Ayers, Bill, To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher *

Bredekamp, Sue, Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children From Birth Through Age 8 *

Devries, Rheta and Betty S. Zan, Moral Children, Moral Classroom: Creating a Constructivist Atmosphere in Early Education *

Devries, Rheta and Constance Kamii, Group Games in Early Education: Implications of Piaget’s Theory *

Gatto, John Taylor, A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling *

Gatto, John Taylor, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Education *

Gray, Peter, Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life

Holt, John, Learning All the Time *

Holt, John, How Children Fail *

Kohn, Alfie, Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community *

Kohn, Alfie, The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing *

Little, Tom and Katherine Ellison, Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools

Meier, Deborah, In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization

Neill, A.S., Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing *

Paley, Vivian Gussin, A Child’s Work: the Importance of Fantasy Play

Paley, Vivian Gussin, You Can’t Say You Can’t Play

Palmer, Parker J., The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscapes of A Teacher’s Life

Smith, Frank, Insult to Intelligence: the bureaucratic invasion of our classrooms *

Wagner, Tony, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need

Wagner, Tony, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World

Scroll to Top

Please make check payable to:

The Attic Learning Community

And mail to:

The Attic Learning Community
PO Box 1668
Woodinville, WA 98072

For more information, please contact the Development Office.

Exciting Changes Coming in 2025-26!

The Attic’s commitment to its pedagogy, culture, and child-centered practices are not changing (but our schedule is). Learn about our new FULL-TIME schedule for 2025-26!