Education, Family & Parenting, Guides
Top Book Picks for Parents, Teens, and Kids for Read Across America Day
Read Across America Day is right around the corner on March 2nd!
My family loves, loves, loves reading and have become frequent visitors and supporters of our library. I’m proud to be raising little readers who, even before they could read, respect, and get joy from, books. Read Across America Day helps celebrate everything that books bring into our lives (which, if you’re a bookworm like me, is a lot!).
I’ve rounded up some of my favorite book picks for moms, dads, kids, and teens for you to add some new selections to your bookshelves.
Best Books for Dads
Dads Know Best by John Luzzi & Don Miggs
Anyone who’s going into parenthood for the first time has questions. A lot of ’em. But these guys answer every soon-to-be-dad’s most pressing questions in a lighthearted manner that is brutal in honesty but also hilarious. Every newbie dad can learn something from this book, which covers everything from labor and delivery to handling the big issue of screen time with your toddler.
A sneak peek at some of the funny (but so true) parenting explanations from Dad’s perspective.
How to Raise a Superhero by Joe Grutzik
This book gives dads some emotional support in the emotional support department. Emotions are something that dads can struggle with, especially when raising boys, but Grutzik talks about the subject with grace to help dads boost their kids’ emotional security.
Buy How to Raise a Superhero on Amazon.
The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester
If you love learning about how things work and how technology has shaped the world we live in now, then this book is perfect (and it has nothing to do with parenting!). Winchester explores a lot of important questions that won’t leave information-seekers disappointed.
Buy The Perfectionists on Amazon.
Best Books for Moms
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
If you haven’t heard of this book by now, you’re likely hiding under a rock. But Hollis’ refreshing look into everything that tends to make women feel unworthy is more than just a new trend; it’s a necessity for your bookshelf. Although it’s not geared toward moms, Girl, Wash Your Face is a book moms, who tend to feel like failures about 2,000 times a day, shouldn’t ignore.
Buy Girl, Wash Your Face on Amazon.
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
I recently picked up this book from the library and I couldn’t put it down. Picoult is a master of storytelling, obviously, but this one went beyond a story.
As a mom, you know that one of the scariest things ever is the possibility of something happening to your child. This story follows teenagers as they experience a school shooting and the details that unravel after. It’s scary, it’s eye-opening, and it’s a necessary read.
Buy Nineteen Minutes on Amazon.
Sh*tty Mom: The Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us by Laurie Kilmartin
Looking for some serious laughs? This book has them. And they definitely won’t make you feel like a crappy mom for ending up in a sticky parenting situation because, NEWSFLASH….we all do.
Buy Sh*tty Mom: The Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us on Amazon.
Best Books for Teens
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
This book is set to become a movie soon, but if your teen prefers to read the full story in book form first, then snatch this up. There won’t be a dry eye after they learn more about Stella and Will, two extremely ill hospital patients who aren’t supposed to get within a few feet of each other, much less fall in love.
But that’s exactly what they do, and their story is riveting.
Buy Five Feet Apart on Amazon.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
It’s a scary, but necessary, topic to tackle: Racism and its connection with law enforcement. This book provides a touching look into one girl’s quest to find answers about the death of her childhood friend at the hands of a police officer.
Buy The Hate U Give on Amazon.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
My daughter had to read The Giver in her advanced language arts class. Although she wasn’t fond of it at first, it seemed to grow on her as her class spent more time on it, prompting me to read it too. It’s so different that it’s captivating, and it’ll definitely have your teen really thinking about the issues as a society we face today.
Best Books for Kids
Guided Journals by Jess Volinski
These guided journals offer prompts to spark creativity and thinking.
I was introduced to Jess Volinski and her amazingly innovative journals and coloring and activity books marketed to tweens, ages 8 to 12 over a year ago and I continue to fall in love with her stuff. These guided journals are filled with prompts that get preteens thinking, talking, and drawing about stuff they love, goals, they have, and more.
An excerpt from the Fabulous Fashion Guided Journal
Buy Peace Love and Music Guided Journal on Amazon.
Buy Fabulous Fashion Guided Journal on Amazon.
Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Collection by Dr. Seuss
Read Across America Day is on March 2nd every year. Why is that important? Because it’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday!
Celebrate the legend himself with this collection of some of his very best works to build your young reader’s book inventory. It comes with favorites like Hop on Pop and The Cat in the Hat.
Buy Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Collection on Amazon.
National Geographic Kids Why?: Over 1,100 Answers to Everything by Crispin Boyer
Kids sure do love answering questions, which is why they’ll probably get a kick out of this fun book. It covers some of the most interesting facts about animals, places, space, the human body, and just about anything else your child would normally ask you to ask Google.
Buy National Geographic Kids Why?: Over 1,100 Answers to Everything on Amazon.
What are some of your favorite books you’d recommend for dads, moms, kids, and teens? Let me know in the comments!
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