This recommended reading list is an invitation to pause, reflect, and deepen your thinking. These books have shaped my own practice and continue to influence how I understand children, learning, and teaching. They offer perspectives that support curiosity, connection, and thoughtful decision-making in our learning spaces. You’re welcome to explore them in any order - taking what resonates and leaving what doesn’t.

Pedagogy & Reflective Practice

From Teaching to Thinking (A. Pelo & M. Carter)
The Original Learning Approach (S. Axelsson)
Embracing Challenges in Early Childhood Education (P. Oken-Wright)

These books invite educators to slow down and examine how beliefs, values, and decision-making shape practice. They support a shift from doing and delivering toward noticing, reflecting, and responding with intention - especially in complex, real-world teaching moments.

Childhood, Time, and Presence

Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child (A. Clark)
Honoring the Moment in Young Children’s Lives (R. Grady)
“It’s Nature?!” Beginning Explorations of Child-Nature Relations in the Ecological Crisis (L. Goddard, article)

This collection centres the lived experiences of children and the importance of time, presence, and attentiveness. These texts remind us that meaning is often found in small moments - and that when we linger, rather than rush, deeper understanding can emerge.

Play, Art, and Inquiry

Art, Play and Inquiry (G. Lindsay, S. Probine, R. Denee & D. Savins)
The Language of Art (A. Pelo)
Pop-Up Studio: Responsive Teaching for Today’s Learners (M. Paterson)
Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul (S. Brown)

These books explore play and artistic exploration as powerful ways of knowing. They highlight creativity, curiosity, and embodied learning, offering inspiration for educators who want to support inquiry-based experiences that honour children’s ideas, processes, and joy.

Relationships, Collaboration, and Professional Identity

From Control to Collaboration (S. Broaden)
Cultivating Professional Friendships in Early Childhood Education (D. Kashin)

Focused on how we work with one another, these readings explore trust, collaboration, and relational leadership. They support educators in building strong professional communities where dialogue, shared reflection, and mutual respect are central.

Equity, Identity, and Belonging

Gender Expression and Inclusivity in Early Childhood (S, Broaden)

This category invites educators to reflect on identity, belonging, and the role of inclusive practice in early learning environments. These readings encourage thoughtful examination of assumptions and support environments where children and educators feel seen, respected, and valued.

Being Human in Education ~ Care, vulnerability, and the emotional landscape of teaching

Reimagining Heartbreak (S. Brandon)

These texts speak to the emotional and human dimensions of teaching - care, uncertainty, vulnerability, and resilience. They offer language and perspective for navigating the heart work of education, reminding us that feeling deeply is not separate from teaching.