The Daddying Blog's 4th Annual Books To Read with Your Kids
Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide & FREE Book Giveaway
By Scott Beller
Daddying Editor
“I think there is a danger in oversimplifying this conversation. What is necessary is that it be a conversation. That we have more people coming from the right places with the best intentions curating on behalf of young people. And what we have instead are activist groups going over the heads of librarians, who are American heroes and who are trained to have a good eye for what is going to help expand the minds and hearts of young readers.”
- Jonathan Safran Foer, author Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, speaking on MSNBC’s Velshi Banned Book Club, 12/10/22
The first time we took the kids to Boston was 2012. It was a trip filled with amazing adventures, including, their first plane ride, exploring the Boston Children's Museum, saying "hi" the the Make Way for Ducklings statue in Boston's Public Garden, and their essential first visit to Fenway Park to see Big Papi and my Sox play.
But our first area of exploration was Cambridge and Harvard Square. Our girls were going on 3 and 5 years old so, almost immediately, they were drawn to The World's Only Curious George Store, situated at the curved intersection of Brattle and John F. Kennedy Streets. Crowned with an unmistakable, bright-yellow and white Curious George logo, the bookshop's entryway beckoned kids of all ages to come immerse themselves in the misadventures and merchandise of that adorable little monkey. And we did.
Because, by then, my wife and I had instilled in our own curious little monkeys a love of wandering through libraries and bookstores and an appreciation for the magical potential such places hold. Books give you the ability to travel without actually traveling. To experience something you never knew existed. To understand how others feel and think without ever meeting them. To discover a story and realize it is your own. And, maybe, most importantly, the ability to feel understood and see yourself as not alone in a world that often feels isolating, harsh, terrifying, and hopeless.
Books teach. But to many young readers, they are also a refuge. Often, their lifeline.
Like most parents, we've nurtured our kids' love for books and reading from the beginning. Initially, of course, we decided which books to buy based on what we loved to read ourselves as kids, recommendations from others, and what just "looked good" to us as we browsed. But once they were old enough to toddle themselves over to our well-stocked sling book shelf, we gave the kids freedom to pick out the books we read to them. And we did, over and over, until their bindings and dust covers frayed.
Now that they're older and have more demands on their waking hours (*cough* crew *cough*), our girls mostly read for school. Some book selections are dictated by their teachers, but more often, they're given a list of several options from which to choose. That reading list is grade level-appropriate and curated by their teachers and librarians, whose goal is to provide rich materials that will provoke thought, stimulate class discussion, and illuminate issues with historical context.
Thankfully, in our school district, educators are trusted and mostly unrestricted in what reading materials may be offered to students. That is, parents have complete online access to their kids' syllabus. Additionally, we are given advanced notice by teachers if students will be reading books with material that some might consider "sensitive" or having "mature themes," which then allows those parents and their kids to opt out if they choose.
"Book bans in public K–12 schools continue to intensify. In the 2022–23 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of books banned, an increase of 33 percent from the 2021–22 school year." - PEN America
What we don't do is let one parent (or activist) dictate what an entire class, school, or school district reads. We let professional educators do their jobs of opening kids' minds, providing opportunities, and introducing new ideas, cultures, and perspectives so that our kids may learn how to think and choose for themselves.
Of course, not all ideas, cultures, or ways of thinking are comfortable to everyone. Ideally, this discomfort plays out as an exchange of ideas, a new understanding of other points of view, compassion, and awareness of common ground even if total agreement or acceptance can't be reached. But recently, this discomfort has instead sparked more attempts to control decisions for everyone based on the beliefs of a relative few extremist groups.
I say "recently," but, really, it's just the latest iteration of the same hate and unconstitutional effort to seize control that's been around for generations. Only this time, extremists in our country have been invited in from the fringe and emboldened to spread their bigotry and intolerance far and wide. Not in code, but full-throated and in broad daylight. And banning books, particularly those that share the history and experiences of long-oppressed minorities in America, is a flagrant sign of a democracy in trouble. A helpful reminder: the book banners have never been the good guys.
Thankfully, the vast majority of students, parents, educators, and the rest of our multicultural voting public around the country have been rejecting this renewed assault on books, the backbone of education and free thought. Last summer, I wrote about our trip up to Philadelphia to watch my daughter row in the annual Independence Day Regatta (IDR). One of the highlights was witnessing the massive pushback by citizens' peacefully demonstrating against the misnamed "Moms for Liberty," a book-banning group in town for its annual "summit" and, presumably, to spit directly in the face of our founding fathers. Appropriately, the protest was loosely organized by a group of current and former librarians. The group distributed materials from various LGBTQ+ and library support groups and the Free Library of Philadelphia, which we are proud to say will be the site of next year's Daddying Film Fest and Forum (D3F) live event.
Although some state legislatures and ideologues continue to challenge our kids' right to read and think, public sentiment against them has only grown stronger. In my state of Virginia, I'm thankful that after our recent election results, the threat to education, books, libraries, and classroom sanity has been neutralized. For now.
If there's one thing I've learned as a voter, reader, AND parent, it's that we must stay engaged. We must be ever-vigilant so that we're prepared for whatever comes next. Speaking of what's next, the best thing about putting together our annual Books to Read with Your Kids Holiday Gift Guide is it always reminds me of the great stories I used to read with my girls:
Moo, Baa, La La La
Hippos Go Berserk
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
Are You My Mother?
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
More Bears!
Chicky Chicky Chook Chook
Knuffle Bunny
Rocko and Spanky Have Company
Olivia
Make Way For Ducklings
Many of these and others have found a permanent home on my office bookshelf (and some have returned to the Gift Guide below). Seeing them each day, if only for a moment, helps me hold onto those lovely days and nights when the kids could still crawl onto my lap, lean against my chest, and eagerly turn pages while listening to me do all the voices. Sadly, The World's Only Curious George Store closed in 2021 due to financial difficulties with the pandemic. But our memory of visiting that amazing shop on our daughters' first big trip will stay with me forever. One day, I hope I am able to read and enjoy them all over again with my grandchildren.
When she was two, there was no better way for our Morgie to greet the day.
You'll see that this year's list again contains plenty of our family's and Allan's old favorites as well as many, many new and recently-released titles. You'll also notice that the overall number of books in each grade-level category has grown – well over 80+ books in each, including several award-winning books that have, nonetheless, been banned or targeted in the U.S. With such a large and diverse selection, we're sure you'll be able to find an amazing, imagination-stirring, thought-provoking story to share with every reader on your holiday shopping list.
Also be sure to register for FREE to win a great kids book in our Rafflecopter giveaway, which runs today through Monday, December 18. Giveaway books are identified below in the Gift Guide and you'll find the giveaway posted at the bottom. And, if you'd like to help ensure that kids of all backgrounds can enjoy the gift of reading in the coming year, please consider donating to FirstBook.org this Giving Tuesday.
Thanks for reading, shopping, and entering/sharing our awesome giveaway!
Daddying Books to Read With Your Kids
2023 Holiday Gift Guide
FREE Book Giveaway Details Below Guide
EDITOR'S NOTE: Many of the books on our list, including many award winners, have been banned at some point in the past, are currently banned in at least one school district in the U.S., or are actively being targeted by anti-civil rights, pro-censorship, and other repressive groups in an attempt to have them banned from school libraries, classrooms, public libraries, and even bookstores in communities across the United States. Targeted/banned books below are denoted with asterisks*. and are categorized according to publisher/booksellers' suggested age groups. When you deem them age-appropriate for your own children, we wholeheartedly recommend you read and discuss them together, over and over again. Happy holidays to you and yours – READ and Daddy on!
Books for Younger Kids (Pre-K and Under 8):
Amazing kids' titles, past and present. Even more amazing: nearly half of the books pictured above and many others listed below have been targeted and/or banned from school libraries and classrooms in some parts of our country.
GIVEAWAY BOOKS: I Am Mr. Rogers and copies of I Am Jackie Robinson, I Am Sacagawea, and I Am Neil Armstrong signed by Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos
GIVEAWAY BOOKS: Giant-Sized Butterflies on My First Day of School (illustrated by Paola Escobar) and I'll Be Your Polar Bear (illustrated by Chuck Groenink) by Justin Roberts
GIVEAWAY BOOKS: I Know My Rights (coloring book), The Extraordinary Day of Daffodil Grey and Daffodil Grey and the Colorful Parade signed by Anna Gilchrist
The Map of Good Memories by Fran Nuño, illustrated by Zuzanna Celej and translated by Jon Brokenbrow
I Am Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I Am John Lewis, I Am Wonder Woman, and many more from Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos's Ordinary People Change the World series
A Little Emotional by Chris Eliopoulos
The Great Henry Hopendower (illustrated by Deborah Hocking) and The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade (illustrated by Christian Robinson) by Justin Roberts
More Bears! by Kenn Nesbitt and Troy Cummings
Curious George by H.A. Rey
Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea* by Chris Butterworth
A Big Mooncake for Little Star* by Grace Lin, who spoke with Ali Velshi earlier this year on MSNBC's Velshi Banned Book Club segment about how ridiculous it is that her Caldecott Honor book has been targeted.
Once Upon A Book by Grace Lin and Kate Messner
Noticing and Trying by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Elise Hurst and Maybe, illustrated by Gabriella Barouch
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz
Thank You, It's an Afro by Gabrielle W. Bridges and Cassidy Bridges
Daddy, Papa, and Me* by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Carol Thompson
Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year and The Questioneers picture book series by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts
The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone, illustrated by Michael Smollin
I'm Not Scared, You're Scared by Seth Meyers, illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.
Once I Was Very Very Scared and You Weren't With Me by Chandra Ghosh Ippen, illustrated by Erich Peter Ippen Jr.
The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship and The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad and illustrated by Hatem Aly
Zilot and Other Important Rhymes by Bob, Erin, and Nate Odenkirk
When Spring Comes to the DMZ* by Uk-Bae Lee
Grandfather Tang's Story* by Ann Tompert, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
Jonathan James & the Whatif Monster and A New Friend for Jonathan James by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
Help Me Tell: Finding Your Voice After Trauma by Jasmine Rush, illustrated by Danyelle Tobias
Shy Spaghetti & Excited Eggs by Marc Nemiroff and Jane Annunziata
The Gift of Ramadan* by Rabiah York Lumbard, illustrated by Laura K. Horton
Dumpling Soup* by Jama Kim Rattigan, illustrated by Lillian Hsu
When Aidan Became a Brother* by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Change Sings: A Children's Anthem by Amanda Gorman and Loren Long
Save the Reef, Save the Bees, and the Save the Earth series by Bethany Stahl
And Tango Makes Three* by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Steph Littlebird
Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates* by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Raúl Colón
Ocean Meets Sky by Terry and Eric Fan
This Is My Daddy! by Mies van Hout
The Story of Ferdinand* by Munro Leaf
Before She Was Harriet* by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome
Henry Aaron’s Dream* by Matt Tavares
The Great Squirrel Burglar by Mary Ellen Graham Wehrli and J Lawrence Graham
Family Dynamics: Embrace Your Sound by Courtney Vowell Woodward, illustrated by Thu Vu
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane
Stella Brings the Family* by Miriam B. Schiffer, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh! and the Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus series, and Because by Mo Willems
Ricky, the Rock That Just Couldn't Rhyme, Ricky, the Rock That Couldn't Roll, Patrick Picklebottom and the Penny Book and Patrick Picklebottom and the Longest Wait by Mr. Jay and Gary Wilkinson
Eyes That Speak to the Stars and Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho
When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball* by Mark Weakland, illustrated by Daniel Duncan
The Catalogue of Hugs by Joshua David Stein and Augustus Heeren Stein, illustrated by Elizabeth Lilly
The Dirt Book: Poems About Animals That Live Beneath Our Feet by David L. Harrison, illustrated by Kate Cosgrove
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress* by Christine Baldacchino and Isabelle Malenfant
The Big Cheese, The Sour Grape, and the rest of The Food Group series by Jory John and Pete Oswald
The Two of Us Belong Together: A Story About Friendship - Despite Being Different (from the You Are Unique and Precious series) by Michael Engler, illustrated by Joëlle Tourlonias
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? and The Lorax* by Dr. Seuss
The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood and illustrated by Christiane Engel
If You Give A Moose A Muffin (and others in the series) by Laura Numeroff and Felica Bond
Chik Chak Shabbat* by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker
I Am Jazz* by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
It Fell From the Sky and Ocean Meets Sky by Terry and Eric Fan
Atoms (Big science for little minds) by John Devolle
Women Who Broke the Rules: Sonya Sotomayor* by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Angela Dominguez
Nour's Secret Library by Wafa' Tarnowska, illustrated by Vali Mintzi
We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorelland Frane Lessac
The Truth About the Couch (pre-order) by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Liniers
Dragons Love Tacos, Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, and Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri
If You Come to Earth, Hello Lighthouse, and Negative Cat by Sophie Blackall
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade
Islandborn* by Junot Díaz, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham
Big by Vashti Harrison
Julián Is a Mermaid* by Jessica Love
Soccer Star* by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by Renato Alarcao
The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López
Neither* by Airlie Anderson
How Was That Built?: The Stories Behind Awesome Structures by Roma Agrawal
The Dirt Girl and The Little Green Jacket by Jodi Dee
The Velveteen Rabbit: 100th Anniversary Edition by Margery Williams and illustrated by Erin Stead
Children Who Dance in the Rain by Susan Justice, illustrated by Lena Bardy
A Family Is A Family Is A Family* by Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng
For Older Elementary Kids (Ages 8-11):
GIVEAWAY BOOK: Transforming into a Powerful Third, Fourth, or Fifth Grade Navigator of School Success signed by Dr. Todd Feltman
Ban This Book: A Novel and Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggars
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
The One and Only Ruby, Odder, Crenshaw, and The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass
The Boy At the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
The Best At It* by Maulik Pancholy
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water* by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
Whale Done and the FunJungle series by Stuart Gibbs
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict and The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart, illustrated by Carson Ellis and Diana Sudyka
MacKenzie's Last Run by Gayle Rosengren
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell
The Book Scavenger and series by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
The Wild Robot Protects and the Wild Robot series by Peter Brown
A Story of Whoa by Chris Corbett, illustrated by Richardo Galvao
The Book That No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade, illustrated by Tor Freeman
Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson
Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio* by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Raul Colon
Carter Reads the Newspaper* by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by and Don Tate
Stella By Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
The Tighty Whitey Spider: And More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up by Kenn Nesbitt and Troy Cummings
A Duet For Home and The Vanderbeekers series by Karina Yan Glaser
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Human Kaboom: 6 Explosively Different Stories with the Same Exact Name (pre-order) and The Ice Cream Machine: 6 Deliciously Different Stories with the Exact Same Name by Adam Rubin
Growing Sustainable Together: Practical Resources for Raising Kind, Engaged, Resilient Children by Daddying blog contributor Shannon Brescher Shea
Lost Boys* by Darcey Rosenblatt
The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968* by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Barbed Wire Baseball: How One Man Brought Hope to the Japanese Internment Camps of WWII* by Marissa Moss, illustrated by Yuko Marissa Shimizu
Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story From Afghanistan* by Jeanette Winter
The School for Good and Evil collection and Rise of the School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani
Elf Dog and Owl Head by M. T. Anderson, illustrated by Junyi Wu
October, October by Katya Balen
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
Nano by Jess Wade and Melissa Castrillon
Black Frontiers: A History of African American Heroes in the Old West* by Lillian Schlissel
The Secret Sunshine Project* by Benjamin Dean
Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army* by Art Coulson and Nick Hardcastle
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
Nicky & Vera by Peter Sís
The Superteacher Project, Restart, and The Fort by Gordon Korman
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
The Girl Who Rowed the Ocean and The Boy Who Biked the World by Alastair Humphreys
The Whoosh of Gadoosh by Pat Skene
To Night Owl from Dogfish* by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
The Math Inspectors series by Daniel Kenney and Emily Boever
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Stories For Boys Who Dare To Be Different by Ben Brooks
All the Wrong Questions mystery series by Lemony Snicket
The Flag of Childhood: Poems From the Middle East* compiled by by Naomi Shihab Nye
My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness by Georgia Heard, illustrated by Isabel Roxas
New Kid: A Graphic Novel by Jerry Craft
Out of My Mind and Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper
The Mighty Miss Malone* by Christopher Paul Curtis
Coyote Sunrise (pre-order), Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
Those Kids From Fawn Creek and We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
Worst-Case Collin by Rebecca Caprara
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Concealed* by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
For Middle School+:
Night* by Elie Wiesel
Refugee by Alan Gratz
The Perks of Being a Wallflower* by Stephen Chbosky
Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation* by Ari Folman and David Polonsky
Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe and The Arc of a Scythe trilogy by Neal Schusterman
Persepolis: The Story of A Childhood* by Marjane Satrapi
We Were Liars and Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
All American Boys* by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
The Poet X* by Elizabeth Acevedo
Feeding Dangerously (illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli), The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope and We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time by José Andrés
They Called Us Enemy* by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott, illustrated by Harmony Becker
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West* by Gregory Maguire - JUST BANNED by the school board in Hanover County, Virginia (November 2023) along with more than 70 other books, including some you'll find elsewhere in this Gift Guide like Forever and The Handmaid's Tale.
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades by Rebecca Renner
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney
The Hunger Games* and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins
Life Skills for Teens: How to Cook, Clean, Manage Money, Fix Your Car, Perform First Aid, and Just About Everything in Between by Karen Harris
What If?, What If? 2, and How To by Randall Munroe
Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park
Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
The Merciless Ones and The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jason Griffin
The Magic Fish* (Graphic Novel) by Trung Le Nguyen
The Giver* by Lois Lowry
The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan
Call Us What We Carry: Poems* by Amanda Gorman
As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds
Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King
Spy School Goes North and the Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs
The Shadow and Bone Trilogy and Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo
Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Brett Helquist
Billy Gillis: 7-Year-Old Screenwriter by Frank Conniff
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Melissa (previously published as George)* by Alex Gino
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams and Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri
I Must Betray You and Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South and the Medical Fiascoes series by Gail Jarrow
The Final Gambit and The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Drained by Marc Daniel Acriche
When You Wish Upon A Star, Fate Be Changed (pre-order), and the A Twisted Tale series by Liz Braswell and Farrah Rochon
Bluebird and The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre* by Carole Boston Weatherford
A Long Pitch Home* by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny
Whiteout and Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
The First to Die At the End and They Both Die At the End* by Adam Silvera
Spy x Family series* by Tatsuya Endo
Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin
The Pants Project* by Cat Clarke
My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen
When Women Were Dragons: A Novel by Kelly Barnhill
A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk
Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The Assignment by Liza Wiemer
For High Schoolers+
GIVEAWAY BOOK: Life Is as Magical as You Make It signed by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
GIVEAWAY BOOK: I Never Met My Father: My Journey from Fatherless to Fatherhood signed by Eugene Schneeberg
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall
Gender Queer: A Memoir* by Maia Kobabe was the most banned book of 2022 and has been the most targeted of 2023 for telling nonbinary author Kobabe’s journey toward self-discovery.
I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart
Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
The Handmaid's Tale* by Margaret Atwood
Built From the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street by Victor Luckerson
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May
Parable of the Sower* by Octavia E. Butler
To Kill A Mockingbird* by Harper Lee - once again, this classic has been in the crosshairs of those who would ban it from classrooms rather than allow the work to spark open, honest, and, importantly, educational discussions about important issues.
We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir by Raja Shehadeh
Out of Darkness* by Ashley Hope Pérez
Letters of Enchantment series by Rebecca Ross
The Boys in The Boat and Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown
North Woods: A Novel by Daniel Mason
One of Us Is Back and the rest of the One of Us Is Lying* series by Karen McManus
People Kill People*, Tricks*, Identical*, and The You I've Never Known* by Ellen Hopkins
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison
Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
The Critic's Daughter by Priscilla Gilman
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue* by V.E. Schwab
Looking for Alaska*, Turtles All the Way Down*, and The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
The God of Small Things* by Arundhati Roy
This Book Is Gay* by Juno Dawson
Man o' War* by Cory McCarthy
All of Us Villains and All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close* by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Things Our Fathers Saw series by Matthew Rozell
Holly and On Writing by Stephen King
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings* by Maya Angelou
Fences* by August Wilson
A Place for Us: A Memoir* by Brandon J. Wolf
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry
A Court of Thorns and Roses* series by Sarah J. Maas
Forever* by Judy Blume
Crown of A King and the rest of The Carolingian Chronicles by regular Daddying blog contributor J. Boyce Gleason
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
The Dictionary of Lost Words: A Novel by Pip Williams
Monday's Not Coming* by Tiffany D. Jackson
Starter Villain and The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
SOLD* by Patricia McCormick
Abyssal Arcanist (Book 3 of the Astra Academy series) by Shami Stovall
The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth by Ben Rawlence
Mickey7: A Novel by Edward Ashton
The Hate U Give* by Angie Thomas
1984* by George Orwell
Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
Dear Martin* and Dear Justyce* by Nic Stone
Fahrenheit 451* and Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles
A House Between Earth and the Moon: A Novel by Rebecca Scherm
Beloved* by Toni Morrison
Let Us Descend and Where the Line Bleeds by Jesmyn Ward
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race* collection compiled by Jesmyn Ward
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* by Sherman Alexie
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out* by Susan Kuklin
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre* by Brandy Colbert
Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani
Great Circle: A novel by Maggie Shipstead
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Thirteen Reasons Why* by Jay Asher
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
The Confessions of Nat Turner* by William Styron
Klara and the Sun: A novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
Out of Darkness* by Ashley Hope Pérez
Lucky* by Alice Sebold
Hey, Brown Girl by Janay Harden
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Boneshops & Bonedust and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Stranded by Sarah Daniels
WE'RE GIVING AWAY Some GREAT BOOKS FROM OUR 2023 Holiday Gift Guide!
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Scott Beller is the proud, imperfect dad of two mighty girls, imperfect husband of a rock-star mom, truth teller, former soccer coach and current equipment hauler, part-time driving instructor, purveyor of banned books, Editor of the Daddying blog, and Director of Communications for DCG and D3F. He's a seasoned writer and PR agency veteran with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations of all sizes reach audiences and tell their stories. Prior to launching his own creative communications consultancy in 2003, he led PR teams with some of the world’s most respected agencies, including Fleishman-Hillard and The Weber Group. As a consultant, he’s helped launch two other parenting advocacy nonprofits with DCG founder Allan Shedlin. His first book, Beggars or Angels, was a ghostwritten memoir for the nonprofit Devotion to Children's founder Rosemary Tran Lauer. He was formerly known as "Imperfect Dad" and Head Writer for the Raising Nerd blog, which supported parents in inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and creative problem solvers. He earned his BA in Communications from VA Tech.
