We asked local authors, and our own editors, to name a book they couldn’t put down as a child, and why:

Once again, we’re being bombarded by the graphic images of devastation. For parents, it becomes a difficult challenge: how to offer emotional support to our children in the wake of a tragedy. In the new book, On Grief and Grieving, Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages of Loss (Simon & Schuster, $25), by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler, has a chapter of helping children deal with loss. Kessler, the co-author with the late Kubler-Ross of Life Lessons, offers these timely tips for parents:

Clothing and Toys

Poisonings are the second leading cause of unintentional home-injury death and account for nearly one-third of all unintentional home injuries. “Every American home has potentially toxic products, including medications, pesticides and automotive fluids,” says Home Safety Council president, Meri-K Appy. “While families with young children need to take extra precautions, poison hazards are a risk for every family member. Safe handling and storage of potentially dangerous products should be a standard practice at home.”

As a pre-schooler, Josh Selig, 40, was a child-actor on Sesame Street during the show's first two seasons.

Bad press about public education notwithstanding, the cognoscenti know there are many neighborhoods in which the local schools range from perfectly adequate to truly superior.

Choking on food items is a major cause of death among youngsters. How can you help make a difference? ELIZABETH MILLER reports on a bill currently before Congress, which needs your help!

Tonya Pinkins has made one of the most complicated journeys of any Broadway star — from welfare mother to a Tony-nominated role in Caroline, or Change. The mother of four children, ages 17, 14, 8 and 5, Pinkins plays an African-American maid to a Louisiana Jewish family in the Tony Kushner musical.

Despite an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to phase out the use of pressure-treated lumber in playground equipment, the pesticide-treated wood continues to be sold. Unwitting consumers could use this wood for decks or backyard planters, where the pesticide can leach into the soil or get on children¡?s hands. Composite wood, cedar and redwood, while more expensive, are non-toxic alternatives. JENNIFER LACEY explains why.

Last month, we focused on nannies. This month, we conclude our series.

DR. JAYNE RIVAS is chairperson of the department of pediatrics at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers/St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. One of six children, she grew up on Staten Island. At 14, she started working at St. Vincent’s as a ‘Vincenteen’, a fully trained nurses’ aide, and continued that work part-time throughout high school and into college, intending to become an R.N. But she switched majors to chemistry and applied to medical school instead.

Water babies We tote our babies on land, why not in water, too? The WaterToT neoprene infant carrier allows parents to comfortably and securely attach babies — from 8 to 30 pounds — close to their bodies during water recreation or even when showering! $59.99; for more info: www.watertot.com.

Here’s some vital info from the folks at Coolibar …

As children seek refuge from the summer heat in pools and lakes, parents should be alert for the symptoms of painful swimmer's ear.

Kate White is Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan, the largest-selling, most successful young women's magazine in the world. She began her career as an editorial assistant at Glamour, after winning their "Top Ten College Women" contest and appearing on the cover.

If you looked through the bookshelves of any child in America, chances are there would be at least several Dr. Seuss books. Amazingly, if you looked through that child’s parents’ childhood book collection, you would probably see many of the same Dr. Seuss titles. Theodor Geisel, born 100 years ago, wrote and illustrated 44 books as Dr. Seuss — books that still charm, educate and tickle the funnybones of children. Dr. Seuss’s books have also influenced a generation of children’s book authors. We asked some locally to expound on Dr. Seuss’s impact on their writing. . .

Physicians and scientists at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have successfully established a diagnostic technique that virtually eliminates the risk of passing on certain genetic traits from parent to offspring, a significant medical advancement that could spell the end to a family’s history of dealing with a deadly disease.

As a former public school teacher and American history professor — with time spent on the faculties of Vanderbilt, University of Virginia and CUNY, City Councilmember Eva Moskowitz (D-Manhattan, District 4) knows a little something more about the importance of fostering a better school system for New York’s public school children. In fact, as the City Council’s current Chair of the Education Committee, it’s her number one priority.

Actor and director Matthew Modine recognizes the importance and power of the arts for young people.

No one really bothers calling television the "boob tube" or "idiot box" anymore, especially with video games to kick around. As one media option of many, TV no longer seems to take all the lumps. Seems is the telling word. The definition of television has changed in some circles.

Although Mardi Gras isn’t on the calendar until February, the spirit of Carnival appears nightly under the big top, in Big Apple Circus’ new production, Carnevale!

Just four periods a year. That's just another of the fringe benefits women will reap from the first and only extended-cycle oral contraceptive to prevent pregnancy, recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.