Read With Your Kids to Open Their Minds...and Yours
Updated: Nov 26, 2021
Daddying's 2nd Annual Books To Read With Your Kids
Holiday Gift Guide & Book Giveaway!
By Scott Beller
Daddying Editor
Introducing my daughters to new ideas, activities, and life experiences has always been one of my most important jobs as a dad.
Basically, as a parent, I see it as my responsibility to help my kids understand the world around them – beautiful, exciting, messy, and dangerous as it may be. As they get older and become more independent, I want them to be able to make good decisions and navigate their lives safely and with open minds. And just as important, I want them to empathize with how other people experience that same world and, if needed and appropriate, to offer a helping hand.
Like everything else about being a parent, that last part – the putting yourself in other peoples' shoes part – isn't always easy.
Luckily, we parents have some excellent tools at our disposal for exposing our kids to different cultures and ideas and making it a little bit easier for our kids to be open to and ponder new points of view: travel and books. And when for whatever reason we aren’t able to provide the former, books and reading are the next best things to being there.
Since my girls were in preschool, we’ve been lucky to have the means to take them on trips around the U.S. and, more recently, outside of it. But before they were old enough to broaden their perspectives this way, to understand much of what the world and its diverse inhabitants might throw at them, the books we read to them daily were easily-accessible passports to anywhere else they could (and couldn't) imagine.
Sure, books exist to entertain and even distract our little ones. But they also serve to inform, inspire, socialize, challenge what kids think they already know, stoke curiosity, and ignite their imaginations.
And, great news: reading aloud with our kids has as much positive impact on us as parents as it does on them. Not to mention that having our little ones read to us provides us with almost as much joy as the confidence it provides our young readers.
Another benefit to reading together is that, regardless of their age, it offers parent and child precious opportunities in a non-threatening environment to weigh and discuss events, behaviors, and themes in those books. It lets kids share feelings and ask questions. It gives us a chance to validate those feelings and give answers...or admit we don’t have them. And maybe that spurs us to seek out credible sources, to read more, and figure out the answers together.
One of my favorite pieces of parenting advice is that kids should be taught how to think rather than what to think.
Sure, books exist to entertain and even distract our little ones. But they also serve to inform, inspire, socialize, challenge what kids think they already know, stoke curiosity, and ignite their imaginations.
The more kids read, the more they find out. The more they find out, the more they want to read. I believe parents and grandparents (and, yes, teachers and librarians) are and should be a vital part of that cycle. We should be helping facilitate it rather than commandeering it or completely shutting it down, which only damages our kids' freedom and ability to think, grow, and express themselves. From our kids' earliest years, we as parents instill the reading habit by reading with them and providing easy access to a variety of books. As they get older and their tastes and awareness expand, I believe we should be giving our kids even more freedom to choose the material they want to read, not less. And then we should be ready sounding boards for them when they get excited, challenged, or maybe confused by those new books and ideas they’ve discovered.
During these times of reading, sharing, and discovery, kids and parents alike are nourished.
There was no better feeling than having my toddlers on my lap, my arms around them holding a book they asked me to read, seeing and listening to them react to my voice helping bring the pictures and words to life for them. And helping work out the things they didn't yet understand. Now they’re in middle and high school and reading on their own. These days, we mostly discuss what's happening in the episode of Squid Game we're watching or the latest viral TikTok video. While that's fine and we're still able to talk and laugh and explore new ideas, I miss the unique warmth and closeness of those story times gone by.
I’ve read that there’s still great benefit to reading aloud with your older kids. And while I’d love to do it and have suggested it to my girls a few times, they aren't so enthusiastic. Not yet! Maybe one day I'll finally talk them into picking out a book together, each reading our own copy, and then discussing it like a family book club. I'm sure we'd all learn something valuable.
Of course, I could just have them read to me. Anyway, it’s worth a shot.
Maybe we'll get a jump on our New Year's reading resolution by picking out one or more of the middle-school or YA books on this year’s Daddying Books Holiday Gift Guide below. Because they’re such sentimental favorites of ours, you’ll find some of the same titles on this year’s list as appeared on our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide. But fear not, because we made sure to stuff this year’s list with plenty more dad-approved book recommendations for kids, pre-K through high school, and beyond. Some of these are so compelling and thought-provoking, you might want to rush out and buy your copies before some rogue school board tries to ban them.
Happy holiday shopping, everyone – keep reading and daddy on!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Many of the award-winning books on our list below have been or are currently being targeted by anti-civil rights and other groups in an attempt to have them banned from school libraries and classrooms in communities across the United States. The reasons for these thoughtful and thought-provoking books being targeted only give us more incentive to heartily recommend them and similar books. The targeted books are denoted with an asterisk.
Daddying Books to Read With YOUR Kids
2021 Holiday Gift Guide
Books for Younger Kids (Pre-K and Under 8):
GIVEAWAY BOOK: Daffodil Grey and the Colorful Parade and The Extraordinary Day of Daffodil Grey by Anna Gilchrist
GIVEAWAY BOOK: Samuel's Story by DADvisor Hakim Bellamy and Melvin Mayes (with DJ Flo Fader)
GIVEAWAY BOOK: Go Wild! Sea Turtles (National Geographic) by Jill Esbaum
GIVEAWAY BOOK: Little Kids First Big Book of Rocks, Minerals & Shells (National Geographic First Big Books) by Moira Donohue
More Bears! by Kenn Nesbitt and Troy Cummings
Line and Scribble by Debora Vogrig and Pia Valentinis
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale series, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus series, Elephant & Piggie series, and My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho
The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell
And Tango Makes Three* by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Poem In My Pocket by Chris Tougas and Josée Bisaillon
If You Give A Moose A Muffin (among others in the series) by Laura Numeroff and Felica Bond
Guess Who Zoo and Guess Who Farm by Howard Eisenberg
Wishes by Muon Thi Van and Victo Ngai
Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorelland Frane Lessac
Leo the Late Bloomer (and others) by Robert Kraus and Jose Aruego
A World of Pausabilities by Frank Sileo and Jennifer Zivoin
I Am A Bird by Hope Lim and Hyewon Yum
Dragons Love Tacos, Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, and Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri
Aaron Slater, Illustrator (The Questioneers series) by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
Shy Spaghetti & Excited Eggs by Marc Nemiroff and Jane Annunziata
Jonathan James & the Whatif Monster by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
Frederick (and others) by Leo Lionni
Caps for Sale and More Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina and Ann Marie Mulhearn Sayer
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Change Sings: A Children's Anthem by Amanda Gorman and Loren Long
Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley
The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds
We All Play by Julie Flett
It Feels Good to Be Yourself by Theresa Thorn and Noah Grigni
I Am Frida Kahlo, I Am Neil Armstrong, I Am Anne Frank, I Am Jim Henson, and many more from the “Ordinary People Change the World” series by Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos
What Happened To You? by James Catchpole and Karen George
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark, Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley
Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham
Once I Was Very, Very Scared and Holdin Pott by Chandra Ghosh Ippen and Erich Peter Ippen Jr.
Zonia's Rain Forest by Juana Martinez-Neal
Night Catch by Brenda Ehrmantraut and Vicki Wehrman
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson
Nicky & Vera by Peter Sís
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano and Marietta Collins
Home Again by Dorinda Silver Williams and Brenda Grilliam
I Can Do Hard Things: Mindful Affirmations for Kids by Gabi Garcia and Charity Russell
The Night Walk by Marie Dorleans
Nano by Jess Wade and Melissa Castrillon
Arno and His Horse by Jane Godwin and Felicita Sala
For Older Elementary Kids (Ages 8-11):
GIVEAWAY BOOK: The Ultimate Book of African Animals (National Geographic) by Emmy Award-Winning Filmmakers Beverly and Dereck Joubert
GIVEAWAY BOOKS: National Geographic's 101 Life Hacks: Genius Ways to Simplify Your World by Aubre Andrus and Brain Candy 3 by Michelle Harris and Julie Beer
The Beatryce Prophecy and Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Willowdeen, Crenshaw and The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
The Whoosh of Gadoosh by Pat Skene
The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid by Dylan Thuras and Rosemary Mosco
Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Stories For Boys Who Dare To Be Different by Ben Brooks
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones
The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer
All the Wrong Questions mystery series by Lemony Snicket
Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
Zin Mignon and the Secret of the Pickled Pigs Feet by Michael Daswick
Out of My Mind and Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper
For Middle School+:
GIVEAWAY BOOK: If God Invented Baseball by E. Ethelbert Miller
Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis
Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman and David Polonsky
Melissa (previously published as George) by Alex Gino
The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Drained by Marc Daniel Acriche
Tiny Infinities by J.H.Diehl
Dune by Frank Herbert
What If? by Randall Munroe
The Magic Fish* (Graphic Novel) by Trung Le Nguyen
Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras
Bluebird and The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny
The Pants Project* by Cat Clarke
How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days: The Tale of Bryant Adams by Megan O'Russell
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Night* by Elie Wiesel
For High Schoolers+
GIVEAWAY BOOK: The Fifth Inning by E. Ethelbert Miller
GIVEAWAY BOOK: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
Fahrenheit 451* and Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
The Hate U Give* by Angie Thomas
1984 and Animal Farm* by George Orwell
Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve
Love Is A Revolution by Renée Watson
All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach
Beloved* and The Bluest Eye* by Toni Morrison
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* by Sherman Alexie
His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham
To Kill A Mockingbird* by Harper Lee
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
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings* by Maya Angelou
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
Thirteen Reasons Why* by Jay Asher
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
The Confessions of Nat Turner* by William Styron
The Beekeeper of Aleppo: A Novel by Christy Lefteri
Skeleton Crew: Stories by Stephen King
Klara and the Sun: A novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
In the Wild Light and Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner
Out of Darkness* by Ashley Hope Pérez
One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Fences* by August Wilson
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith
Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel by Anthony Doerr
The Handmaid's Tale* by Margaret Atwood
WE'RE GIVING AWAY GREAT Read-Aloud BOOKS from our Holiday Gift Guide!
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Giveaway runs through Friday, December 31, 2021 @ 11:59 pm ET
Scott Beller is the proud, imperfect dad of two mighty girls, Morgan and Lauren, imperfect husband of rock-star mom, Elisabeth, avid reader and occasional finisher of books, and also Editor of the Daddying blog and DCG's Director of Communications. He's a seasoned writer and PR agency veteran with more than 25 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.
