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KAIA AND THE BEES

by Maribeth Boelts and Angela Dominguez This story doesn’t preach about environmentalism. It’s mostly about Kaia overcoming her fear of bees (which is warranted because she once was stung by a bee). As Kaia learns about pollinators from her beekeeper dad, so do we. We also get to see an example of how people who live in the city can tackle environmental problems. This story opens up the conversation for how families in urban areas can garden, compost, conserve resources, and more.

HOW TO BE A PERSON: 65 HUGELY USEFUL, SUPERIMPORTANT SKILLS TO LEARN BEFORE YOU’RE GROWN UP

by Catherine Newman Inevitably a few life skills will fall through the cracks as we raise our children. Do your kids know how to do laundry? Does your teen know how to leave a tip? Catherine Newman’s upbeat and humorous book will help kids, teens, even young adults tackle important skills that they’ll need before they become a grown-up. They’ll even get a crash course on using the kitchen and a boot camp for lending a hand outside the house.

HOLISTIC WEALTH: 32 LIFE LESSONS TO HELP YOU FIND PURPOSE, PROSPERITY, AND HAPPINESS

by Keisha Blair By expanding on the teachings shared in her viral article “My Husband Died at 34; Here Are 40 Life Lessons I Learned From It,” author Keisha Blair presents action-oriented strategies to help you find balance and success. Holistic Wealth shows us how to find prosperity in key aspects of life, from financial stability and physical health to our emotional and spiritual connections with others.

ANXIETY RELIEF FOR TEENS: ESSENTIAL CBT SKILLS AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICES TO OVERCOME ANXIETY AND STRESS

by Regine Galanti, Ph.D. While this book addresses the stressors our teens have in their regular life, it’s also helpful to remember that school and friendship pressures still exist during the pandemic, they just look a little different. Galanti offers helpful explanations about common anxiety triggers and support in the form of quizzes, mindfulness practices, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-based techniques. Written in teen-friendly language, the book outlines the reasons why anxiety disorders happen and what to do about their symptoms.

TOGETHER APP

With the Together app, your kids can video chat, play games and read with friends and family members. Download the free app, register, and invite others. Once they’re connected to the app, you can video chat and play board games like Memory, Chutes & Ladders, or Chess. There’s even a catalog of books that kids can read while they’re video chatting, or you can scan your own favorites into your personal library.

THE POCKET BOOK OF BACKYARD EXPERIMENTS: DISCOVER THE LABORATORY IN YOUR GARDEN

by Helen Pilcher A handy, charming book filled with 80+ experiments for the whole family— discover, learn, and enjoy a better understanding of basic garden science. From testing garden soil to making a battery out of a potato, this book reveals the hidden science at work in the garden and around the house. Divided into four sections: biology, soil science, botany, and “kitchen sink” chemistry, each experiment involves common household items. While learning how to create a homemade ant farm or making a pressed herbarium specimen, kids get grounded in the basic principles of science.