As a parent and former bookseller, I’m aware of a transitional period when young people may not want their parents to know what they’re reading, and some parents don’t want to know what the young adults in their lives are reading. This is a time when older children or young adults can comprehend more and more of what they read, and content becomes an issue, either for the young person, or the parents.

With this in mind, perhaps a useful approach for is this: invite your young adult child to read to you from whatever book they choose. That way they can skip the parts that might upset you, the way you’ve done that for them all these years.

The truth is, reading is not just about entertainment and learning, it’s about freedom. Teens often want to read content (books that address depression, suicide, sex, drugs, divorce, illness, family and community violence, etc.) that their parents are not ready for them to read. It’s normal for parents to try to protect their kids. Some parents think kids will read about these things and take them as a road map. I think it’s much more likely that when content is over the young reader’s head, they will either won’t absorb it until they are ready, or they will ask questions about the content. Great.

If a reader of any age wants to read on a certain topic, no one will be able to stop them. The question is, don’t you want to be there for them while they read what they need to read. Shouldn’t we be there for each other? Wherever you stand on this issue, please consider approaching the read aloud topic with young adults with sensitivity and the intention to learn something from them. Have fun!

The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert

The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore

Fire, by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore

The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, by By Diana Wynne Jones

A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Tahereh Mafi

Blood Water Paint, by Joy McCullough

Furia, by Yamile Saied Méndez

We Set the Dark on Fire, by By Tehlor Kay Mejia

Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer

Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor

Song of the Lioness Quartet, by Tamora Pierce

First Test, by Tamora Pierce

Page, by Tamora Pierce

Squire, by Tamora Pierce

Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

On The Come Up, by Angie Thomas

The Sun Is Also A Star, by Nicola Yoon

American Street, by By Ibi Zoboi

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

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25 classics (Dana’s favorites)

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll

My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell

Birds, Beasts and Relatives, by Gerald Durrell

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Graham

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

The Earthsea Trilogy, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling

The Chronicles of Narnia (series), by C.S. Lewis

Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren

The Story of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting

Winnie the Pooh (original), by A.A. Milne

Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit

Tales of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

Stuart Little, by E. B. White

The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White

The Sword in the Stone, by T.H. White

The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

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From Dana: 100+ Read-aloud books by OwnVoices and BIPOC authors

A note from Dana:

I gathered this collection from many excellent websites. I’m sure I missed some important titles, please drop us a line if you have a title for us. Maybe we’ll start a list of recommendations from our readers! The focus of this list is to offer as many picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, poetry, and history books for children, all written by authors with lived experience of the material. Reading books by people with varied life experience helps round out the big picture of who we all are. It helps us see the whole world.

When I was growing up there weren’t many books featuring characters who weren’t white. I remember A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats fondly, and one called, One Small Blue Bead by Byrd Baylor. These two books, as much as I loved them, were not written by people who could tell those stories from the inside out. They were not #OwnVoices, but they made me think, opened me up to stories other than my own, and I have never forgotten them.

This list is, to the best of my ability, all #OwnVoices books, all written by authors who speak with authority about what it is to be Black, to be Indigenous, to be a person of color, to be LGBTQ+. These stories deserve to be savored, and how better to savor them than to read, or listen to them be read, out loud.

Across the Bay, by Carlos Aponte

And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems, by Maya Angelou

A Child’s Introduction to African American History: The Experience, People, and Events That Shaped Our Country, by Jabari Asim, illustrated by Lynn Gaines

Anna Hibiscus’ Song, by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia

The Pencil, by Susan Avingaq

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

I Am Every Good Thing, by Derrick Barnes

El Deafo, by Cece Bell

Your Name Is a Song, by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow

Brown Boy Joy, by Dr. Thomishia Booker

More Than Anything Else, by Marie Bradby, illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet

Grandma’s Purse, byVanessa Brantley-Newton