I've been parenting and interested in Montessori for a while now. While I read many books I actually hold onto very few. So the books I keep are important to me. Books like The Absorbent Mind are more often in my office and are used very often. Other books I will just pull out when I need to reference something. This is my entire collection of Montessori related books. Most of these I ordered after recommendations from friends and teachers.

Some of these are hard to find in Australia and often only the 'popular' ones can be found in the library. I remember after the birth of my first son Caspar I was living in a regional city and our local council library stocked only one Montessori book. If you have questions about any of these books, please feel free to ask in the comments section. Otis and Caspar feature in a couple of these books too, which is a total thrill now they are older. 

Montessori Read and Write is excellent for any parent who is actively participating in their child's education while they are in the sensitive period for language. Even if you are not homeschooling this book explains the process (Montessori) schools will use to teach your child and it provides lots of ideas for language type play which is totally suitable to the home and complementary to school work. 

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way is a first class book for those who are very new to Montessori. It gives a good overall view of Montessori in the home and is an advocate for Montessori schooling. 

Montessori: The Science behind the Genius I would recommend to academics or for those wanting some 'evidence' to support the Montessori theory and practice. 

Understanding the Human Being is one of the best books I have ever read. However I recommend it to those with some Montessori knowledge and a very strong interest in infant Montessori. I found it really beautiful prose. Covers the period from conception through birth to around three years, so there is some information from a Montessori perspective on infants which is lacking in all other books. 

The Absorbent Mind is the one book by Maria Montessori that I feel all parents should read. If you have the slightest interest in Montessori you should give this book a go. It really helped to put everything I had learnt about Montessori together and it really makes sense. 

Child of the World and The Joyful Child are really important books. The Joyful Child is for children from birth to three, although still very useful for four year olds. It's really easy to read with lots of really practical ideas for the home. 

The other books not mentioned all have their good bits, it's why I hold onto them. Please also keep in mind I am an everyday parent, not a teacher and not a homeschooler and these books reflect that. 

I have tried to link to sources where the book listed is in stock, not all books are available in one store and not all are available world wide. 

L-R: The Joyful Child (Michael Olaf Catalogues) Birth to Three Years (I will be holding on to these forever, they are now out of print but I am sure many people will remember them), Montessori Read and Write, How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way, Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius, Learning Together: What Montessori can offer your family (this is another lovely book with an excellent overview of Montessori in the home, currently only available in the UK), Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives, Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in The Montessori Elementary Classroom, Understanding the Human Being: The Importance of the First Three Years of Life, Look at the Child, Montessori Insights for parents of young children, The Absorbent Mind, Montessori form the Start: The child at Home, from Birth to Age Three, Child of the World: Montessori, Global Education for Age 3-12+, The Joyful Child: Montessori, Global Wisdom for Birth to Three, The Universal Child: Guided by Nature, 100 activités d'éveil Montessori (language is French), From Childhood to Adolescence, Basic Ideas of Montessori's Educational Theory, The Child, Society and the World, To Educate the Human Potential, 60 activités Montessori pour mon bébé (also in French), The Child in the Family (not pictured) Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook, The Discovery of the Child and The Secret of Childhood.  

Are any of these on your Montessori book shelves?

Next week I will continue to host a link up but the regular Friday link ups will be 'Around Here' posts with some snap shots of what is happening around here including some of our (hopefully interesting) Montessori type activities. A huge thank you to bloggers and parents who are participating in our link ups!