HTLLA Member Mike Anderson has a new book out, Hugging Porcupines: Month-by-Month Strategies to Support Our Most Challenging Students. Supporting our most challenging students takes patience, skill, and heart—and Mike Anderson’s new book delivers all three.

In Hugging Porcupines: Month-by-Month Strategies to Support Our Most Challenging Students, Anderson offers practical, compassionate, and actionable guidance educators can use all year long to build relationships, respond to behavior with purpose, and help every student thrive.

He addresses how to

• Develop relationships slowly early on, strengthen them throughout the year, and bring them to a positive conclusion in the spring.
• Maintain, and even build, relationships through effective discipline.
• Connect with porcupines' families.
• Foster porcupines' interpersonal skills.
• Facilitate effective problem-solving conferences.
• Support new students when they arrive mid-year.
• Support students' transition to the next year

This timely resource provides thoughtful strategies to navigate real classroom challenges while fostering belonging, growth, and success for even the “prickliest” learners. It will deepen K-12 teachers' understanding of why porcupines struggle academically and behaviorally in school and equip them to provide more appropriate support. It is a must-read for educators committed to reaching every child.

You can order this book on Amazon or through ASCD.