



























Books/Authors Featured in May 2021
By Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book

Books/Authors Featured in May 2021
Collectively, May is the height of spring. Trees and flowers are in full bloom, the world seems to be awake with new sights, smells, and a feeling of sunshine. It's Mother's Day, but also Mental Health Awareness Month. As a mother myself, this is tender, special time, but also one that is a bit challenging. Growing up, my mother struggled with myriad mental illnesses. Celebrating her was a challenge. We were estranged when she took her life in May, six years ago. For this reason, I am featuring books on memoir and mothers, and mental health/illness.
It's also Better Speech & Hearing Month/Apraxia Awareness Day. My first book, SPEAKING OF APRAXIA: A Parents' Guide to Childhood Apraxia of Speech was my answer to learning more about this rare, neurologically-based motor-speech disorder, one my oldest daughter once struggled with.
I'm also a sucker for children's literature and feel it's such a wonderful way to connect and bond with children--it's a way to bring history, art, and inquisitiveness to them. With children's books, we can engage in 'dialogic reading' and this can enhance vocabulary, attention-to-detail, sequencing, more. Plus, it makes for a wonderful extension activity. Read a book with child, then go on a nature walk. Go to the circus or zoo or beach...then curl up with story on the same subject. Compare and contrast the book and the experience. Make art or a craft or a food inspired by the book. The possibilities are endless.