Beth's Library - Book List
Let me introduce you to some of my best friends…
Sometimes I can't wait to read a much-coveted book (books are like chocolate that way) and I just have to buy it! I thought it would be cool to provide you with instant gratification by becoming an Amazon.com affiliate and installing direct links to Amazon for all of our library's book titles.
Alas, not all cravings can be satiated quickly (Amazon ships in 24 hours!), so for all out-of-print books Amazon will try to find it for you through their many affiliates that deal in rare books. Don't despair; someone out there has it for sale!
And, last but certainly not least, is the autodidact's true ace, inter-library loan! If you don't mind a wait, order the book through your library's inter-library loan program. If you don't know how to order an ILL, read my succinct (ha!) explanation on this same page under inter-library loan.
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GIFTED EDUCATION
Guiding The Gifted Child, J. Webb, E. Meckstroth, S. Tolan
Excellent book validating your experiences as a parent of a gifted child. Although the book deals with conventionally schooled children, it offers perspective for the parent adrift in the sea of their child's perfectionism, loneliness, messiness, high energy levels, etc.
Growing Up Gifted, Barbara Clark
I liked this book. Read it and see your child or yourself in its pages. Very validating.
Smart Kids With School Problems, Priscilla Vail
I like all of Vail's books. There is more to a failing child than meets the eye and she really examines all of the ways that "smart" children may not look smart in the system.
Psychology and Education of the Gifted, W. Barbe, J. Renzulli
Dry and boring if you prefer lively stories but useful for research in similarities between groups of gifted children and the talents and abilities they share.
Educating the Ablest, John Curtis, J. Gowan, P. Torrance (edited by)
This book is also dry but likewise useful for those wanting a broad overview of the institutional perspective on gifted-ed's challenges. One of the biggest hurdles for the institutional school is finding teachers who think outside of the box in order to challenge these kids.
Exceptionally Gifted Children, Miraca Gross
Ok, this is the gem you've waited for if your child is exceptionally or profoundly gifted! It remains the industry standard for high-end gifted-ed orientation and many leading authorities in gifted-ed reference this book! You may find yourself reading it and crying because you finally understand why you, yourself were such an odd child…. It is worth owning. Gross, like so many others in the field, used the "old Stanford-Binet" or form L-M to test gifted children. Her book treats the L-M's use as a given, in contrast to its relative unpopularity among psychologists and educational specialists in today's universities and public schools.
Exploring Careers For the Gifted, Fenton Keyes
Not exactly the unschooler's dream, this book is pretty conventional in its assumptions about the gifted child's education, but it does a great job of exploring MANY of the field's that seem to beckon to the gifted later in life.
Children Above 180 IQ (Stanford-Binet), Leta S. Hollingworth
Originally written in 1926, this book is a seminal work that pioneered the recognition and study of exceptionally gifted (IQ of 180 and above) children. For this reason modern researchers in the field of gifted-ed often refer to Hollingworth and her work. It is worth noting that her research relied on those children tested with the "old Stanford-Binet" which remains the only testing instrument suitable for measuring high-end giftedness in children under the age of 12. For the homeschooling parent of an exceptional child, Hollingworth provides frame of reference as well as validation for the struggles encountered by both parent and child. Hollingworth is the author of the much-quoted definition of an "optimum intelligence" a range of IQ (125-155) that affords its possessors the advantages of "superior size, strength, emotional balance, good character and the confidence of their contemporaries." Thus, the child who finds himself within this range enjoys a natural role as leader of his peers. The profoundly and exceptionally gifted child, on the other hand, finds life quite solitary.
"The more intelligent a person is, regardless of age, the less often can he find a truly congenial companion."
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