With technology developing at a record pace and kids mastering iPads before they're even out of diapers, it's more important than ever to instill the love of reading in our children.

With poetry, photographs, creepy monsters, and a weird family next door, this month's recommendations give us a chance to celebrate the women who bring home the bacon, tuck kids into bed, bake cakes and remind us how important it is to always listen to our mothers.

It's what we sort of know that's really scary: the gaping, haunting silence before somebody shouts boo, but also the silence that comes when we are about to shout boo at someone else.

Here are some books that celebrate the trouble we all have fitting in sometimes. From monsters to farm animals to utensils, it never hurts to remember that just because something is different, that doesn't mean it isn't wonderful.

It's no secret that classic fairy tales aren't the bright and happy stories Disney would have you believe. (The way the Brothers Grimm tell Cinderella...

I'm a sucker for good packaging, and with the books I like, you often can judge a book by its cover. But in case you're still searching, I want to help.

Kids are changing faster in these years of early adolescence than at any time since infancy. They're trying to figure out not only how their bodies work but who they are going to be and where they fit in.

It shouldn't matter what kids want to read. They should just read. If they want to spend half an hour doing MadLibs, or reading a sports magazine, or a comic book, or novel, or a fix-it book, or a book of jokes they should. It's all reading.

Children yearn to grow up faster than most parents want them to. One area that parents thought might still be under their watchful eye was reading. What could be the problem with reading? Believe it or not, peer pressure.

I've taken it upon myself to pick out the books I believe to have the most universally sound parenting advice. The lessons learned in these books are powerful, making them worth a second read as an adult.