Books
Finding Ground: Building Strong Elementary Programs
Anyone who works with elementary age children knows it takes a fine balance of leading, modeling, guiding, and setting limits to support learning and development. Education is both a science and an art, requiring scientific knowledge to undergird the educator’s practice, as well as the art of knowing each individual child to ensure their needs are being met. Finding Ground is for educators seeking balance between the science and the art of leading a strong elementary program.
The focus of this book is on practical implementation in Montessori elementary classrooms. The title is Finding Ground, because the aim is to help elementary educators and caregivers find their ground to walk on, or, in other words, to feel confident to create Montessori learning environments and experiences in service of all learners. Throughout this book, there are illustrative stories of elementary educators and classrooms, with real anecdotal details, along with practical tools and resources to support and ground educators.
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"Finding Ground: Building Strong Elementary is packed with practical wisdom and insight for Montessori elementary educators. The blend of useful guidance and rich anecdotes, capturing the daily moments of both children and educators, brings the philosophy to life in an inspiring and relatable way. This book pairs authentic Montessori pedagogy with clear diagrams, graphics, and frameworks, along with real-world stories from the field, to create a comprehensive and accessible roadmap for a fully implemented Montessori elementary environment. Informative, engaging, and deeply grounding, Finding Ground is an invaluable resource for educators navigating the joys and challenges of classroom life.” - Letty Rising, Montessori Innovator | Consultant | Writer
“As a Montessori elementary teacher this book is one I wish I'd had access to from the start of my career! It's replete with so many nuggets and gems. I believe this book will be useful for readers with little or a lot of Montessori experience, from the new teacher, parent or administrator, to those seasoned in the field. I truly wish my Montessori training had offered this as a resource, but I'm grateful it's now available. This book is one I will pick up over and over again and aim to gift to others, as the content is truly invaluable.” - Geneva Walker, Montessori Elementary Guide
Released August 31, 2023
Momentum: Montessori, A Life
in Motion
2024 Book Excellence Award for Women’s Fiction
2024 Indie Book Award Winner for Historical Fiction
2024 Rubery Book Award Finalist
Momentum is a captivating historical fiction novel offering a glimpse into the life of a remarkable woman, Dr. Maria Montessori, who was born in Chiaravalle, Italy, and grew up in a time when girls went uneducated. From an early age, Maria defied societal norms, becoming one of the first female doctors in Italy and going on to revolutionize education with a method that has spread around the world.
Taking its bones from a real diary written by Dr. Montessori in 1913 chronicling her first voyage to America, Momentum is a fictionalized retelling of that same voyage. Told from Maria’s perspective and written directly to her son to illuminate a complicated inheritance, the novel explores how she came to send her son—born out of wedlock in 1898—to be raised by others while she concentrated on her work.
Momentum builds on the tradition of historical fiction novels, like Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network, that celebrate the lives of trailblazing women. Dr. Montessori’s own telling of events barely written about in biographies reveals what led to the decisions she made, the cultural implications, and her feelings about those choices, and provides an inspiring portrait of a woman who overcame countless obstacles to reform education and brings recognition to both the unlimited potential of every child and their role in changing the world.
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“Simply brilliant--no, complexly brilliant. I have never read a more absorbing, unflinching, intense embodiment of biographical fiction.” — Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab’s Wife
“Momentum by E.G. Slade is a deeply inspiring meditation on the early life of Maria Montessori whose brilliance and perseverance led to her groundbreaking Montessori Method. Courageous and determined, Montessori broke numerous taboos being a woman during the turn of the century, but not without great personal sacrifice. Momentum is an extraordinary story about a remarkable woman!” - Gail Tsukiyama, author of Women of the Silk
"Elizabeth Slade has added a profound new book to the literature around Dr. Maria Montessori's life that takes readers on a first-person historical fiction narrative that embraces Montessori's personal life, her journey into motherhood, and ultimately, her humanity as the person behind this incredible movement.” — Mariana Bissonnette, author of Babies Build Toddlers
Released July 2021
Montessori in Action: Building Resilient Montessori Schools
Montessori in Action delivers a practical and actionable method to provide a strong Montessori experience for all children, families, and educators. The first of its kind, this book offers readers a collection of modern and concrete ways to build an equitable and resilient Montessori program by discussing topics like:
Working within the unique, complex ecosystem of Montessori to build a unified community empowered to serve the mission of the school
Sharing ways to create a culture of honest conversation based on the values of growth and clarity
Offering ways to build strong and resilient systems that will engage the whole community and yield results
Montessori in Action will support educators in taking action! This book provides structures, tools, and timetables to strengthen and improve schools. It will also earn a place in the libraries of the parents of Montessori children who desire to create and maintain an equitable environment that benefits all students, regardless of their background.
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“Slade applies her considerable experience in public Montessori to a structured plan for helping this unique and evidence-based pedagogy succeed in its mission to create equitable learning spaces where every child can flourish.” —Angeline S. Lillard, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia; author of Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius
“Montessori in Action: Building Resilient Montessori Schools is the book I wish I’d had when I was a school leader! It offers a framework to (re)organize and operate our Montessori schools in ways that work for adults—enabling experiences of genuine collaboration, interdependence and equity—so they can work for children.” —Jacqui Miller, Director of Montessori Programming and Operations, Cleveland Metro School District
Released March 2012
Rest Stops
A coming-of-age novel that won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in 2012.
Rest Stops is a journey novel that explores what it means to be family. When Edgar and Kianna’s mother dies it is up to their Uncle Luis to drive them from Springfield, Massachusetts to Miami, Florida to live with their grandmother. Their journey sends them on many unexpected twists and turns as they learn about each other and themselves. Told through the unvarnished voices of its characters, Rest Stops is a book about finding and claiming home, redefining family, and every person’s quest for identity.
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In this raw, funny, and intimate first novel, Slade portrays childhood, parenting, and conflict in an urban American family with stunning emotional accuracy. — Reader
My first summer read and I miss them already. In this powerful debut novel, I laughed, cried and turned the pages with great anticipation of how Edgar, Kianna and Uncle Luis would cope with their common and personal losses. It is about healing with fear, hope, understanding and the incredible lessons of great mentors as constant companions on the roller coaster of their trip to the unknown of their young lives. I can't wait to hear what else Ms. Slade has to say! — Reader