Featuring 500 book recommendations covering a wide range of subjects, this preteen and teen reading guide is a “go-to resource for parents, students of young adult literature, teachers, and librarians” (School Library Journal) Needed now more than ever: a guide that includes 500 reading recommendations for preteens and teens with the goal of inspiring greater empathy for themselves, their peers, … themselves, their peers, and the world around them.
As young people are diagnosed with anxiety and depression in increasing numbers, or dealing with other issues that can isolate them from family and friends—such as bullying, learning disabilities, racism, or homophobia—characters in books can help them feel less alone. And just as important, reading books that feature a diverse range of real-life topics helps generate openness, empathy, and compassion in all kids. Reading lists are organized around topics, including:
• Adoption and foster care
• Body image
• Immigration
• Learning challenges
• LGBTQIA+ youth
• Mental health
• Nature and environmentalism
• Physical disability
• Poverty and homelessness
• Race and ethnicity
• Religion and spirituality
Each chapter explores a particular issue affecting preteens and teens today and includes a list of recommended related books—all published within the last decade. Recommendations are grouped by age: those appropriate for middle-grade readers and those for teens. Better with Books is a valuable resource for parents, teachers, librarians, therapists, and all caregivers who recognize the power of literature to improve young readers’ lives.
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Stories heal, bind, illuminate, and guide us. As an educator always searching for stories to help support and aid my students, I need a guide as thorough and essential as Better with Books. This will definitely sit on my shelf adorned with many Post-it notes!
If you’re a parent of tweens or teens, or you work with them, Better with Books is an absolute must-have reference book. Essays about important topics, such as body image, mental health, and race, are brimming with personal stories, author interviews, and other helpful information. You’ll also find five hundred recommended books for preteens and teens organized by topic, with summaries of each title. This gem needs to be on your bookshelf!
The right book read at the right time can change a life, and that’s why Better with Books belongs in every library. Timely, compassionate, and wise, this is a remarkable reference guide.
When you’re a teenager or preteen, knowing that you’re not the only one going through something makes you feel considerably less alone. Better with Books includes corresponding fiction and memoir recommendations to deal with all of the issues and insecurities that young people face. It’s super thorough and helpful and I will definitely be referencing it as my daughter grows up.
This book is incredibly insightful, organized, and detailed. Hart delivers a wonderful, diverse series of lists and summaries that would be an excellent addition to any home, library, or classroom.
I so wish I’d had this inspiring and powerful resource when my kids were younger. I wish my parents and teachers had had a book like this when I was growing up. It’s a brilliant idea: Use stories to help young people not only navigate the drama-filled adolescent years, but soar through them, all while growing their imaginations, hearts, language skills, empathy, and trust in their own worth. Hart’s book is warm, wise, user-friendly, rigorously researched, and, best of all, tween / teen tested. The author shares honestly how using “biblio-therapy” turned her troubled daughter’s life around and brought harmony and deep connection to the author’s family.
This book truly belongs in every household, classroom, synagogue, and church, and in the hands of every counselor, principal, bookseller, librarian, pediatrician, and teacher everywhere.
Authors write for many reasons, but one of the most important is to let readers know that whatever difficulty they face, they’re not alone. Few tweens and teens are willing to expose their vulnerabilities, and that is as it should be. But when they see their struggles in story—when they come upon a character with whom they feel true kinship—their sense of isolation recedes. We live in a culture where differences that should be celebrated are often not. Kids find truth in story, and often they find answers. Better with Books is a comprehensive guide for educators, parents, and anyone looking to find just the right book for a preteen or teen.
An essential resource for parents, librarians, teachers, and all who help guide our teens and preteens: the reading list topics speak precisely to the kinds of issues they face every day. Reading fiction and memoir offers them another way to expand their understanding of themselves and develop empathy for others—both of which are vitally important in an increasingly complex world.