Looking for some inspiring books to add to your 2022 summer reading list? We’ve curated a game-changer of a summer reading list that includes multi-disciplinary books that connect strategies for success at school through brain science, leadership, and self-compassion to your daily activities.

Big Feelings

By Liz Fosslein and Mollie West Duffy

Having difficult emotions doesn’t mean you’re malfunctioning. It means you’re human. What if regret, anger or perfectionism were flipped to work for you? Each chapter examines one uncomfortable feeling and lays out strategies for making it manageable.

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Mouse in the Room: Because the Elephant Isn’t Alone

By David Wood (Foreword by Jack Canfield)

If you want to create a school culture of belonging that attracts and retains great humans and builds caring communities, this book is for you! You may have taken our Elephant in the Classroom training, but what about the mouse?  Humans are wired to crave connection — both at home and at work. The system conditions you to hide behind a mask, rather than taking the risk of being authentic and getting rejected.

Atlas of the Heart

By Brené Brown

The relationship between you and your students predicts their success. And who better to learn the art of relationship from than the queen of connection. Explore eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human and walk through a new framework for cultivating meaningful connection. Bonus marks for watching the HBO special.

Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain

By Shankar Vedantam

The lies we tell ourselves to sustain our daily interactions can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and why some nations hold together while others splinter. Explore the paradoxical role self-deception plays in success and wellbeing.

Whole Brain Living

By Jill Bolte Taylor Ph.D.

Everything we think, feel, or do is dependent upon brain cells to perform that function. For half a century we have been trained to believe that our right brain hemisphere is our emotional brain, while our left brain houses our rational thinking. Now neuroscience shows that it's not that simple; in fact, our emotional limbic tissue is evenly divided between our two hemispheres. Consequently, each hemisphere has both an emotional brain and a thinking brain. Meet these four distinct characters and learn how to use them to get more done while flourishing.

Self-Compassion for Educators

By Lisa Baylis

There has never been a time in history when educators have felt such overwhelming levels of stress, burnout, and exhaustion. Still, we depend on teachers to be a positive guiding force in our children’s lives – often playing simultaneous roles as educators, parents, mental health counselors, and friends. Learn the skills to fulfill these vital roles by developing resiliency both inside and outside the classroom.

Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education

By Glenn Whitman and Ian Kelleher

Teachers are brain changers. You would think then that an understanding of the brain would be critical to a teacher’s success. Written by teachers for teachers, this book will help you to understand how the brain receives, filters, consolidates, and applies learning in both the short and long term.

When They Win, You Win: Being a Great Manager is Simpler than You Think

By Russ Laraway

Principals need to learn to lead in a way that measurably and predictably delivers more engaged teachers and better academic results. This book is designed for business leaders and managers however the skills the author learned during his time at Khan Academy translate directly to school leaders. The secret is the Big 3… a surprisingly simple, coherent leadership approach that measurably and predictably delivers more engaged teams and better results.