Featured Books
Click on the photo of the book you are interested in and you will be taken directly to the blog posting for that book.

Nim Chimpsky is the sometimes delightful but ultimately tragic case of the chimp who was raised was a child. Nim and was adopted shortly after birth into a chaotic New York family, he slept in a bed, played with his "siblings" and brushed his teeth and wore regular clothes. He also learned American sign language as a means of communication. Nim's ability to communicate is controversial, some believe he was only imitating his owners while others contend that he actually had the ability to create new and different word combinations. Regardless of his progress on the language front, he was a rambunctious chimp who was sometimes dangerous around humans and as a result went through many owners and lived in many places over his short life. Nim Chimpsky is an incredibly insightful view into both animals ability to learn language and the ethical dilemmas caused by this type of animal research.

Can the color pink calm rowdy prisoners? Yes! Drunk tank pink is the affectionate name for the bubblegum-pink shade of paint used in jail cells in San Jose, CA in the 1980s. Soon after, the use of the color pink spread like wildfire in efforts to change people’s behavior. Drunk Tank Pink investigates how context effects and hidden forces shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is filled with studies that leave you wondering just how much we are impacted by the world within us, the world between us, and the world around us.

The Culturally Inclusive Educator walks instructors through the cognition and behaviors necessary for creating an atmosphere in the classroom and the larger school building that is welcoming and inclusive of all students. This process begins with acknowledging one's own bias and experiences. We must admit that as teachers we do not know everything about all of our students life experiences. The book continues to make recommendations for including all voices in the classroom and the activity provides some specific guidelines that teachers can think of in creating their culturally inclusive classroom.

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If you are interested in learning more about these books and many others, click on the Blog link at the top of the page. Each of the book review postings includes a brief explanation of the book, a related classroom activity, key psychological concepts referenced in the book, and other resources such as websites or podcasts.