Child Welfare

Many believe the child welfare system protects children from abuse. But as Torn Apart uncovers, this system is designed to punish Black families. Drawing on decades of research, legal scholar and sociologist Dorothy Roberts reveals that the child welfare system is better understood as a “family policing system” that collaborates with law enforcement and prisons to oppress Black communities. Child protection investigations ensnare a majority of Black children, putting their families under intense state surveillance and regulation.

Ava Thomas knew leaving was the right decision. Trapped and manipulated in her relationship, and after yet another violent beating whilst she was pregnant, Ava was helped to a women's refuge with her children. Listening to the stories of other women there, Ava began thinking back to where it all started to go wrong. Brought up by a mother who never loved her, Ava sought that missing care and warmth elsewhere. Running away to her father's home as a teenager, she thought she might finally be safe. But after being abused by her own brother, she was thrown out onto the streets.

Shattered Bonds tells this story as no other book has before - from the perspective of a prominent Black, female legal theoretician. The current state of the child-welfare system in America is a well-known tragedy. Thousands of children every year are removed from their parents' homes, often for little reason other than the endemic poverty that afflicts women and children more than any other group in the United States.

We all want our children to excel and lead happy, productive lives, but now more than ever today's parents need a basic guide that tells them everything they need to know and provide them with the answers they are seeking in the most effective yet simplistic fashion. Revolutionize Your Child's Life will do just that for parents looking to help their children while at the same time empowering them to make their own sound decisions as they grow and face challenges that lie ahead of them.

Children of Coercive Control extends Evan Stark's path-breaking analysis of interpersonal violence to children, showing that coercive control is the most important cause and context of child abuse and child homicide outside a war zone, as well as of the sexual abuse, denigration, exploitation, isolation, and subordination of children. The book provides a working model of the coercive control of children and illustrates its dynamics and consequences with dramatic cases drawn from the headlines and Dr. Stark's forensic practice.

In Beastly Brains, Nancy Castaldo delves into the minds of animals and explores animal empathy, communication, tool use, and social societies through interviews and historical anecdotes. Researchers from Charles Darwin to Jane Goodall have spent years analyzing the minds of animals, and today's science is revolutionizing old theories and uncovering surprising similarities to our own minds. Humans are not alone in our ability to think.

Happy Mamas is a lyrical audiobook that pays tribute to the universal joys of mothering in the animal and human kingdoms. A charming listen by the author, with sound effects and music, depict all the activities that bring joy to a mama and her baby over the course of a day: feeding her cubs bundles of bamboo shoots, teaching her calf how to trumpet a loud jungle cheer, playing peek-a-boo, watching her chicks fly from the nest, singing a serenade to the man in the moon, or crooning owly lullabies through the deep, dark woods.

This is an unconventional biography of an unconventional woman. Eglantyne Jebb moved from drawing rooms to war zones, often defying expectation and at times breaking the law. Although not fond of individual children, she founded Save the Children and originated the revolutionary concept of children's human rights. Clare Mulley brings to life the brilliant, charismatic, passionate, and compassionate woman, whose work has saved millions of lives and permanently changed the way the world treats children. Save the Children ambassador Joely Richardson narrates this extraordinary story.

Have you always looked at the lizard, frog, or beetle in the shop and wondered if you could provide a good home for it? Have you been wanting a companion who will listen to you sing and hear about your long day? This audiobook aims to teach you how to consider each pet and what types of questions to think about and ask before bringing a pet home.