Montessori
Reading List

Montessori Websites: 

Montessori Guide
Maria Montessori
Joyful Child - useful for practical home application of the Montessori approach
Aid to Life - a site set up for Infant and Toddler Montessori



Montessori Book List 

- as comprehensive a list as possible. Please use comments to let me know of additional resources not listed here.



This list is as many of the Montessori books I could locate at the time of the list's creation that are associated with a Montessori training center in North America.

Each training center has its own list of required reading of Montessori books. Here I have noted the most prevalent indications with an AI, a P or an E.
AI = Assistance to Infancy
P = Primary Montessori required reading
E = Elementary Montessori required reading
***Scroll down for lists specific to Infancy/Toddler and Adolescence***

By Dr. Maria Montessori: 
To Educate the Human Potential E
The Montessori Method (updated 40+ years later and re-named "The Discovery of the Child")
Advanced Montessori Method, Volume 1 P E (also called "Spontaneous Activity in Education")
Advanced Montessori Method, Volume 2 E
From Childhood to Adolescence E
The Secret of Childhood AI P E
The Absorbent Mind AI P E
The Discovery of the Child P 
              (drastically updated; previously titled The Montessori Method - consider this a new resource - The Montessori Method is good for historical reading)
The Formation of Man P E
Education for a New World E
The Child in the Family E
Education and Peace P E
The Child, Society and the World E
Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook (older version; much has changed since this was published - consider this historical reading)
Creative Development in the Child P
What You Should Know About Your Child AI (on the AI reading list but mostly covers primary)
Basic Ideas of Montessori’s Educational Theory
PsychoGeometry P E
PsychoArithmetic P E
The 1946 (London) Lectures P E

By Sheila Radice
The New Children - Talks with Maria Montessori

By Mario Montessori Jr. 
Education for Human Development – Understanding Montessori 
The Spiritual Hunger of the Modern Child
The Four Planes of Development (AMI) P
The Human Tendencies and Human Education (AMI) P E
Cosmic Education (an essay available through AMI) E

By E.M. Standing 
Maria Montessori – Her Life and Work 
The Montessori Method: A Revolution in Education 
The Child in the Church (edited by EM Standing; articles by MM and others)

By Paula Polk Lillard 
Montessori, a Modern Approach 
Montessori Today
Montessori in the Classroom

Paula Polk Lillard With Lynn Lillard Jessen
Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three
(mixed reviews of how much actual Montessori is included; and how much is author interpretation)

By Angeline Lillard
Montessori: Science Behind the Genius

By Rita Kramer 
Maria Montessori, a Biography

By Barbara O’Connor
Mammolina: A Story about Maria Montessori

By Maja Pitamic 
Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child

By David Kahn, Sharon L. Dubble, and D. Renee Pendleton
The Whole-School Montessori Handbook for Teachers and Administrators

By Patricia Oriti 
At Home with Montessori

By Elizabeth Hainstock
Montessori in the Home: Preschool Years
Montessori in the Home: School Years
Essential Montessori

By David Gettman
Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under Fives

By John Chattin McNichols 
Montessori Controversy

Montessori Talks to Parents Magazines
Series One: The Home Environment, Discipline, The Spiritual Side of Love
Series Two: Language and Literature, The Child in Nature, Nurturing the Creative Personality

By Leslie Britton
Montessori Play and Learn

By Aline D. Wolf
A Parent’s Guide to the Montessori Classroom
Peaceful Children, Peaceful World: The Challenge of Maria Montessori
Montessori Insights for Parents of Young Children
Look at the Child
Child-size Masterpieces

By Lynne Lawrence
Montessori Read and Write: A Parents’ Guide to Literacy for Children

By Heidi Speitz
Modern Montessori at Home: A Creative Guide for Parents of Children 6-9 yrs
Modern Montessori at Home: A Creative Guide for Parents of Children 10-12
Montessori at Home: A Complete Guide to Teaching Your Preschooler at Home Using the Montessori Method

By Susan Stephenson and Michael Olaf
Essential Montessori (their original cataolog that included parenting and educational information) - two versions one for 0-3 and one for 3-12
Child of the World (ages 3-12+)
Joyful Child (birth to 3)
The Universal Child: Guided by Nature

By Simone Davies 
The Montessori Toddler 

Helen Yankee
Montessori Math – the Basics

Timothy Seldin and Donna Raymond
Geography and History for the Young Child

By Kathleen H. Futrell 
The Normalized Child

By William Crain
Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society  






Assistance to Infancy Reading:


By Susan Stephenson and Michael Olaf
Essential Montessori (their original cataolog that included parenting and educational information) - two versions one for 0-3 and one for 3-12
Child of the World (ages 3-12+)
Joyful Child (birth to 3)
The Universal Child: Guided by Nature

By Kathleen H. Futrell 

The Normalized Child

Paula Polk Lillard With Lynn Lillard Jessen
Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three
     (more detailed than Joyful Child - but some things are questionable in an attachment parenting home)

By Dr. Silvana Montanaro
Understanding the Human Being 

By Joseph Pierce
Evolution’s End 

By Lise Elliot
What’s Going on in There?

By Eric Ericson
Childhood and Society

By Louise Kaplan
Oneness and Separateness

By Ashley Montague
Touching

By Daniel Stern
The Interpersonal World of the Infant





Orientation to Adolescence:



The following list of readings is from NAMTA's website on their AMI Montessori Orientation to Adolescent Studies

(some books are listed above and repeated here for ease of organization)

Readings available for purchase from NAMTA:

Montessori, Maria. The Absorbent Mind ($16)
Montessori, Maria. The Formation of Man ($14)
Montessori, Maria. The Secret of Childhood ($17)
Montessori, Maria. To Educate the Human Potential ($13)
Montessori, Maria. From Childhood to Adolescence ($16)
Montessori, Maria. Education and Peace ($16)
Montessori, Maria. Basic Ideas of Montessori’s Educational Theory ($20)
The Montessori Adolescent: Analysis in Retrospect The NAMTA Journal 26:3, 2001. ($17)
Standing, E.M. Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work ($17)
The Third Adolescent Colloquium The NAMTA Journal 31:1, 2006. ($17)
The Fourth Adolescent Colloquium The NAMTA Journal 33:3, 2008. ($17)
The Fifth Adolescent Colloquium The NAMTA Journal 34:3, 2009. ($17)
(note: the First and Second Colloquiums are good reading, but are not necessary reading; all ideas are reiterated and fleshed out in later Colloquiums)

Readings available for free download:
Grazzini, Camillo. "The Four Planes of Development" The NAMTA Journal 29.1 (2004, Winter): 27-61.
Linked here in the event the online file is ever moved. 



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