What to Read Next: A Mosaic of Literature Selections for All Ages by Wendy BooydeGraaff
There’s a misconception running rampant out there: that books for children are sweet, classic, and in essence, the very same books we read as children. I suspect this is coloured by nostalgia, but when we talk about books we read as children, we exude a fondness that borders on mysticism. But most of those books we read as children don’t hold up for today’s younger readers or for our adult selves. When you reread your favorite childhood classic, you are reliving your childhood, who you were as a child. The book may or may not have anything to do with it.
I’ll tell you a secret. There are many, many newer books written for children that transcend age. A picture book about loneliness is as worthy a read as the ravely reviewed debut literary fiction. A middle grade book has themes of abandonment and found family. A good story is a good story.
My love for children’s literature began when I took my first class on kids’ books as an aspiring teacher. I loved Katherine Paterson’s The Bridge to Terabithia. I read it to my students and to my children at home. I began taking notes on other children’s books I read. When I started to write, I read as many books for children as I could, new ones, award winners, small press books. So many books. The classics will always be there, but these new books surprised me. They were better.
I read books for all ages—adult, YA, middle grade, picture books—and I’ve discovered an overlap, one that is hidden because most bookstores, libraries, and list-makers tend to keep readers in age-restricted aisles. What follows is a list of elegant, nuanced stories that connect across theme and tone. The list follows a If you loved this, then you’ll also love that format.
And, before you dive in to these mini-reviews, here’s a short definition of age levels, and what section of the bookstore/library to find these books:
YA: young adult/teen books with narrators aged 13 to 18, most often in the high school setting
Middle Grade: middle school aged kids, 8 to 12
Picture book: all ages! Generally read aloud with illustrations inherent to the story and geared toward ages 3 to 7
Board book: those chunky books with sturdy pages and few words for toddlers
Book titles that aren’t labeled in this review are considered adult.
I’ll tell you a secret. There are many, many newer books written for children that transcend age. A picture book about loneliness is as worthy a read as the ravely reviewed debut literary fiction. A middle grade book has themes of abandonment and found family. A good story is a good story.
My love for children’s literature began when I took my first class on kids’ books as an aspiring teacher. I loved Katherine Paterson’s The Bridge to Terabithia. I read it to my students and to my children at home. I began taking notes on other children’s books I read. When I started to write, I read as many books for children as I could, new ones, award winners, small press books. So many books. The classics will always be there, but these new books surprised me. They were better.
I read books for all ages—adult, YA, middle grade, picture books—and I’ve discovered an overlap, one that is hidden because most bookstores, libraries, and list-makers tend to keep readers in age-restricted aisles. What follows is a list of elegant, nuanced stories that connect across theme and tone. The list follows a If you loved this, then you’ll also love that format.
And, before you dive in to these mini-reviews, here’s a short definition of age levels, and what section of the bookstore/library to find these books:
YA: young adult/teen books with narrators aged 13 to 18, most often in the high school setting
Middle Grade: middle school aged kids, 8 to 12
Picture book: all ages! Generally read aloud with illustrations inherent to the story and geared toward ages 3 to 7
Board book: those chunky books with sturdy pages and few words for toddlers
Book titles that aren’t labeled in this review are considered adult.
- If you loved A Children’s Bible: A Novel by Lydia Millet, try We Were Liars (YA) by E. Lockhart. The island-like setting, wealthy parents ignoring their misbehaving children reminisces of William Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies. There’s a shared tone of mystery, of obscurity that lends to each of these narratives.
- Rachel Kondo’s O. Henry Prize Story “Girl of Few Seasons” and Coo (middle grade) by Kaela Noel both feature pigeons—in Kondo’s story, pigeons signify connection, and in Coo, pigeons signify familial and linguistic connection. (Pigeons parented Coo, the central character, when she was left in an abandoned lot.) Both stories have consistently calm narrative voices, and while Noel’s leans more magical, both lean into family, home, and how relationships influence our choices.
- Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li is strikingly poignant and humourous, much like life itself. Try Millicent Min, Girl Genius (middle grade) by Lisa Yee, a hilarious, stereotype-busting novel. Hyperboles abound, while an eleven-year-old genius navigates college. Beware, she’s nothing like Doogie Howser.
- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka and Long Way Down (YA) by Jason Reynolds share beautiful, spare language, and arresting emotion while exploring characters who live with imperilment both physically and mentally. Both highlight important societal themes of race and violence while invoking both history and today.
- Weather by Jenny Offil evokes Pool (wordless picture book) by JiHyeon Lee which explores the quiet, singular, and beautiful. Or try We Are Water Protectors (picture book) by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade, which gorgeously illustrates and narrates the importance of our natural world with its strong environmental themes.
- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan and Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement (nonfiction picture book biography) by Carol Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes extol themes of freedom, finding one’s voice, beauty in language, and attention to the world around us. Plus, with a picture book, you get amazing art that heightens and extends the story.
- Indelicacy by Amina Cain corresponds to Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind them All (YA) by Laura Ruby with that hazy, literary style meandering through a narrative that heads in unexpected directions. Both are books that leaves questions to ponder long after you are done reading.
- Sad Janet by Lucie Britsch—off-kilter and unconventional—is a treat. Try Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (middle grade) by Jack Gantos, which is about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, unhelpful parent figures, and manages to have one of the funniest literary sections ever, involving a scissors and a nose. Read at your own risk.
- Suicide Club by Rachel Heng, a stellar literary dystopian, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox (YA) by Mary E. Pearson, also a dystopian, concern themselves with immortality and the medical technology necessary to achieve it, as well as moral implications and beliefs in eternity.
- The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang and Challenger Deep (YA) by Neal Shusterman share a focus on mental health. Both tackle schizophrenia but while Weijun’s is a first person experience, Shusterman uses the fantasy genre to explore mental health in an underwater context. Both are singular, at the top of their craft, deeply personal, and themes of helplessness, disorientation, and overcoming emerge.
Wendy BooydeGraaff holds a Master of Education degree from Grand Valley State University and a graduate certificate in children's literature from Penn State. She is the author of Salad Pie, a children's picture book published by Chicago Review Press/Ripple Grove Press. Her fiction, poetry, and essays have been published in Critical Read, Taproot Magazine, Great Lakes Review, NOON, and elsewhere. She lives in Michigan. Find out more at wendybooydegraaff.com.
