Birth to Preschool:Jenny. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. Not only fun, with adorable illustrations, but if you're a mom or dad with a talent for doing the “voices” you’ve got a winner!
MaryKat. More Please, The Hungry Animal Book by Dorothy Kunhardt (author of
Pat the Bunny). Possibly the best book of all time—better than
War and Peace (sorry, Tolstoy).
Elementary School: Jenny. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. Not only did my daughter enjoy the fact that she could read this book all on her own, but she made her own Flat Stanley. Great for teaching opportunities.
MaryKat. Dandelion Cottage by Carroll Watson Rankin. The sweet, old-fashioned values (like sharing, looking out for others, making your own fun, etc.) in this girl’s book never go out of style.
Middle School:Jenny. Eva by Peter Dickinson not only captivated me, but offered amazing insight into the human psyche. Want your kids to think for themselves, learn empathy, AND develop a love of reading? Here’s your book.
MaryKat. Native Son by Richard Wright is what literature should be, thought-provoking, disturbing, ground-breaking, imperfect. This novel is life-changing. Caution is advised because of adult content.
High School:Jenny. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the first in a new series and full of suspense and conflict. Is your teen getting sick of reading the Twilight saga over and over again? Then try this.
MaryKat. Collected Poems, by W. B. Yeats. Yeats is the poet you want to read if you want to know what poetry was meant to be.
College:Jenny. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a great “weekend read” to cure textbook burn-out. It prompts readers to think about tough issues in a very intelligent and empathetic way.
MaryKat. The Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O’Brien. Brilliant writing, page-turning (page ripping) action, and more history (political, navel, natural) than you can absorb in one reading.
For Everyone: If you do not see anything of interest in our recommendations, or, better yet, you've read them all, here are some links to more book recommendations:
- A Mother's List of Popular Children's Books to Read Aloud
- Teachers' Top 100 Teenagers', Children's, and Toddlers' Books
- Looking for Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers?
- A Mother's List of Popular Children's Books to Read Aloud to Older Children
- Adolescent Books for Summer Reading