The purpose of this website is to tell you about books I think are wonderful and recommend for children who are babies to 14 years old.
However, parents also ask me if there are books I do not recommend. For a long time I did not share a list of books I recommend children avoid. I really respect authors and illustrators, and I am also respectful of adults choosing the way they want to live for themselves and their families. Thus I held back from sharing a list.
But the truth is there are some books that are really not appropriate for children. And I understand that you as parents may want to know about these books and could use help from someone who reads and reviews a lot of books. I also bring a professional background in childhood development (I have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education) to my review of books for kids.
As a result on this page you will find a list of books I do not recommend. Please note I am not saying these books should be banned. What I am saying is I don’t recommend these books as a rule for children 14 and under. Please know that I put a book on this list with great care and consideration. My reasons for not recommending the book are listed for each title.
The most common reason is that the content is not developmentally appropriate for children. Kids are kids. They are not adults. When we all understand better what kids need at each stage of their development, then we can serve their reading journey more effectively. Again, we’re not banning books, we’re making choices.
Books are listed by title. You can jump to a title using the first letter of the first word in the title. If the first word is “a”, “an” or “the” please use the first letter of the second word in the title. This list is updated when I find a book that I feel should be added.
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
The Golden Compass
Author: Philip Pullman. Published 2001 by Yearling.
I am a huge fan of Philip Pullman. So it may surprise you that I don’t recommend this book or its sequels. The Golden Compass is a great read if you’re an adult, or an older teenager (16+) and I do recommend reading it then. But the content is not appropriate for children 15 and under. I have talked with many parents of 13-15 year olds who struggled with this book. The themes are too complex, the story includes murder and death, there’s quite a lot of darkness, and in the later sequels there is intimacy and sexual assault. Philip Pullman is in my humble opinion one of the most gifted writers living today. He has written several books that are outstanding for 14 and under kids (I’ll publish a booklist for you with those titles at some point). But not this book or the others in this series.
The Leak
Author: Kate Reed Petty. Illustrator: Andrew Bell. Published 2021 by First Second.
This book contains crude humor. I was stunned when I read it. Not only is the humor crude, it has layers of humor that to be honest went right over my head. The content was that crude and that type of talking is not part of my life. I was so surprised by this book that I showed it to a lot of other people to get their reactions. Librarians, teachers, and parents were all as surprised as me. This book is for ages 8-12 and the type of humor contained would be for older teens and adults. I do not support sharing this type of humor with children. Many adults share this point of view and you can see the reviews on Amazon for additional insight. Furthermore, the book gets into aspects of dating that are for teenagers. I also do not like the way a group of girls pressures the main character (also a girl) to kiss her friend who is a boy. For young adult this would be ok, for ages 8 to 12 it’s not developmentally appropriate. What I dislike the most is that this book won awards, making parents think it’s a good book. The inappropriate content does not show up till page 26, and no mention of it is shared in the promotional material for the book. I call that “sneaky” content.
Marley’s Pride
Author: Joëlle Retener. Illustrator: DeAnn Wiley. Published 2024 by Barefoot Books.
This book is promoted for ages 3-7. It delves into gender identify and pronouns. I’m sorry to say I am not getting on this bandwagon of gender identity books for young children. Teachers, including members of the LGBTQIA community, have shared with me that at this young age children are occupied with other developmental tasks. EVEN for a child who is challenged with the issues discussed in this book their recommendation would be professional therapy support, not this title. For other children the truth is the kids are very disinterested. I see this theme in kid lit as adults pushing adult topics down into the realm of childhood. I know that’s not a popular opinion, however, I can tell you kids are interested in stories, stories about things like trucks, horses, dogs, and frogs. They are learning their letters and how to count. They want to run and play with friends. Children in the age range of 3-7 are not developmentally ready for gender and sexuality topics which are quite complex. This book will create a lot of confusion. Parents have complained about the imagery in the book and I agree. I actually think very highly of Barefoot Books but not for this particular book. I appreciate the pressure the publishing industry is facing to adopt these types of themes. But truthfully and to repeat myself, this title is not developmentally appropriate for children.
Out of the Dust
Author: Karen Hesse. Published 1997 by Scholastic Press, a division of Scholastic, Inc.
This book is a prime example of a book that won a major children’s literature award but that does not mean it’s a good book for children. The story is sad overall. There is an accident which leads to very severe injury and death. The details are far too graphic for children. Frankly the details were far too graphic for an adult (my feeling when I read the story). I wish I had not read it. Parent reviews cite children grappling with nightmares after reading this book. It is sometimes required reading in schools. If that happens in your school I encourage you to exercise your rights and opt your child out of reading this book. I feel it won the Newbery Medal likely due to the format of the story which is a novel presented in verse (a poem). That aspect of it is marvelously well done and the incredible shame is that the book just goes too dark and too graphic and too sad to be appropriate for children.