Brief History of Morning Glory Press

1972: Jeanne Warren Lindsay was hired to start a teen parent program in the ABC Unified School District in Cerritos, CA. Available parenting resources were not appropriate for her students — the standard child development texts tended to depict older two-parent families, not teenage parents. Lindsay and other teachers in the teen parent programs springing up in Los Angeles and Orange Counties prepared and shared materials designed for this special population.

1977: First "book" was published, They'll Read If It Matters, actually a collection of study guides for other people's books. One of many decisions to be made — a self-respecting press needs a name. We decided Morning Glory, our wonderful and quite cantankerous Siamese cat, deserved the honor, so Morning Glory Press was born . . . an extremely small operation headquartered on the family's pool table.

1980: First "real" book, Pregnant Too Soon: Adoption Is an Option, was published because nothing else existed at that time concerning adoption from the birthmother's perspective. This was Lindsay's first book utilizing quotes from young people to reinforce the concepts presented. (Pregnant Too Soon was replaced in 1996 by Pregnant? Adoption Is an Option.)

1981: Teens Parenting: The Challenge of Babies and Toddlers. Our parenting book was written especially for school-age parents. Based on interviews with 65 young mothers (and one father — we pretty much ignored the fathers in those days), it was a how-to book on parenting the first two years after birth. Now out of print, it was replaced by the four-book Teens Parenting series in 1991.

1982: Do I Have a Daddy? A Story About a Single-Parent Child defies publishing conventional wisdom that only new books sell. Illustrations were changed and updated in 1991, and the book contin-ues to sell well — so far, 41,000 copies.
1984-1985: Teenage Marriage: Coping with Reality and Teens Look at Marriage: Rainbows, Roles and Reality, based not only on interviews with teen-agers married and/or living with a partner, but also on a cross-country survey of teens' attitudes toward marriage. (Replaced by Teenage Couples Series in 1994-1995).

1986: Open Adoption: A Caring Option, a book about the then somewhat radical approach of open adoption with continuing contact between birthparents and adoptive parents. Out of print.

1987: Teenage Marriage (out of print) and Pregnant Too Soon revised (out of print).

1988: Parents, Pregnant Teens and the Adoption Option: A Guide for Families (out of print). Based on interviews with parents of pregnant teenagers who were making an adoption plan. Still in print. Adoption Awareness: A Guide for Teachers, Counselors, Nurses and Caring Others, co-authored by Catherine Monserrat. Out of print.

1989: Teen Pregnancy Challenge: Strategies for Change and Teen Pregnancy Challenge: Programs for Kids, co-authored by Sharon Rodine. Out of print.

1990: School-Age Parents: The Challenge of Three-Generation Living (out of print). Book for parents of teen parents — and also for teen parents to help them communicate with their parents. Still in print.

1991: Surviving Teen Pregnancy: Your Choices, Dreams and Decisions by Shirley Arthur — our first book completely authored by someone other than Lindsay. Revised in 1996.

Also 1991: Teens Parenting Series: Your Pregnancy and Newborn Journey, Your Baby's First Year, The Challenge of Toddlers, and Discipline from Birth to Three, together with workbooks and teacher's guide.

1992: You Can Help Pregnant and Parenting Teens, Book 2: Curriculum Guide for Teens Parenting Series (out of print).

1993: Teen Dads: Rights, Responsibilities and Joys by Lindsay; Detour for Emmy by Marilyn Reynolds; Breaking Free from Partner Abuse by Mary Marecek (revised in 1998).

1994: Too Soon for Jeff by Reynolds; Did My First Mother Love Me? by Katherine Miller; Teenage Couples: Caring, Commitment and Change, and Teenage Couples: Coping with Reality by Lindsay. Video: "Discipline from Birth to Three," was produced through a joint venture with the Lincoln (NE) Medical Education Foundation.

1995: Beyond Dreams and Telling by Reynolds; Teenage Couples: Expectations and Reality by Lindsay. Video: "Your Baby's First Year."

1996: Will the Dollars Stretch? by Sudie Pollock; But What About Me? by Reynolds; and Pregnant? Adoption Is an Option by Lindsay. Two board games, "Pregnancy and Newborn Journey" and "Baby's First Year" were developed by Diane Smallwood.

1997: Teen Moms: The Pain and the Promise by Evelyn Lerman; Baby Help by Reynolds; and Books, Babies and School-Age Parents: How to Teach Pregnant and Parenting Teens to Succeed by Lindsay and Sharon Enright.

1998: Teens Parenting Series completely revised and expanded: Your Pregnancy and Newborn Journey; Your Baby's First Year; The Challenge of Toddlers; Discipline from Birth to Three. Teens Parenting Curriculum Guide revised and expanded. Also includes curriculum help for Teen Dads: Rights, Responsibilities and Joys.
1999: Nurturing Your Newborn: Young Parents' Guide to Baby's First Year by Jeanne Warren Lindsay; If You Loved Me by Marilyn Reynolds. Challenge of Toddlers Board Game developed by Diane Smallwood. Do I Have a Daddy? A Story About a Single-Parent Child revised with new, full-color illustrations.

2000: Finally - a book about teen pregnancy prevention - Safer Sex: The New Morality by Evelyn Lerman; The Two-in-One Pregnancy Bingo game developed by Diane Smallwood (actually two games, Pregnancy Terms and Labor and Delivery Terms); revised edition, Teen Dads: Rights, Responsibilities and Joys by Jeanne Warren Lindsay. We also revised and updated our videos and now have eight videos covering two Books, Baby's First Year and Discipline from Birth to Three.

2001: Love Rules, eighth novel by Marilyn Reynolds; Goodnight, Daddy, picture book by Angela Seward, illustrated by Donna Ferreiro; Creating Parenting Notebooks by Deborah Cashen.

2002: We celebrate our 25th anniversary! We also publish ROAD to Fatherhood: How to Help Young Dads Become Loving and Responsible Parents by Jon Morris; Five curriculum notebooks: Your Pregnancy and Newborn Journey Comprehensive Curriculum Notebook; Your Baby's First Year/Nurturing Your Newborn Comprehensive Curriculum Notebook; Teen Dads Comprehensive Curriculum Notebook; Challenge of Toddlers Comprehensive Curriculum Notebook and Discipline from Birth to Three Comprehensive Curriculum Notebook. We also develop and offer the Complete Parenting Curriculum.

2004: Teens Parenting Series, including Your Pregancy and Newborn Journey, Your Baby’s First Year, The Challenge of Toddlers, and Discipline from Birth to Three, was again completely revised. Diane Smallwood developed and we published our fourth board game, Discipline from Birth to Three.

2005: Nurturing Your Newborn was revised and expanded. The PPT Express newsletter was combined with the catalog and is now sent at no charge to our entire mailing list, and to anyone who requests it. The newsletter is directed especially to teachers and others working with pregnant and parenting teens.

2006: We publish Crianza del recién nacido, a Spanish adaptation of Nurturing Your Newborn: Young Parents’ Guide to Baby’s First Month, with workbook and teacher’s guide. Tu embarazo y el nacimiento de tu bebé( will be available July, 2006, and

We also publish an easier reading edition of Nurturing Your Newborn, grade level 2, with workbook, teacher’s guide, and personalized workbook disk. By fall we expect to have easier reading editions, GL2, available for Your Pregnancy and Newborn Journey and Your Baby’s First Year, along with workbooks and teacher’s guides.

We’re working on a new book, Mommy, I’m Hungry: Good Eating for Little Folks, by Jeanne Lindsay, Jean Brunelli, and Sally McCullough. Watch our website and catalog for more information.

Important: Tom Manners, Liquid Networks, completely redesigns our website, including on-line purchasing capabilities.

In addition to Jeanne Lindsay, the Morning Glory Press staff now includes Eve Wright, office manager, customer service, and accounts receivable, and Casey Powers, book packing and inventory management.

Our bookstore distributor is the Independent Publishers Group (IPG). Twice a year we/ve gone to New York to describe our new titles to their reps — many of whom don't appear terribly interested in teenage pregnancy. We're trying to change that with some success.

Most of our sales continue to be by mail, direct to schools, social services, and individuals. Today, Morning Glory Press continues to focus strongly on books for and about pregnant and parenting teens. In addition, Marilyn Reynolds' award-winning novels are absorbing reads for young adults generally, whether or not they have faced an early pregnancy. Novel topics include, in addition to pregnancy and parenthood, other serious crises in young people's lives. Her books are being used more and more by English teachers as well as being read in teen parent classes.

Morning Glory Press will continue to follow its mission to provide the best possible books and other resources for pregnant and parenting teens and for those who work with them.