Childhood & Youth

"We look at the world once, in childhood," writes poet Louise Glück. "The rest is memory." As adults, our childhood may lie in the past, but its influence never leaves us. This collection gathers texts that depict and examine the innocence and insights of childhood and youth.

Little Men

by Louisa May Alcott

Publication year 1871

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Education, Friendship, Coming of Age, Forgiveness, Joy, Love, Femininity, Masculinity, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Environment, Place, Mothers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature

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Lives of the Saints

by Nino Ricci

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Immigration, Femininity, Childhood & Youth, Mothers, Community, War, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Historical Fiction, Education, Education, Italian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature, Classic Fiction

Lives of the Saints (1990) by Nino Ricci is the first in a trilogy of novels about an Italian immigrant to Canada, Vittorio Innocente, and his family. The author, Nino Ricci, is the son of Italian immigrants who grew up in Leamington, Ontario, home to a large community of Italian immigrants. The novel is a coming-of-age story told in first-person narration that details Vittorio’s life growing up in an impoverished small town in Italy, and... Read Lives of the Saints Summary

Locomotion

by Jacqueline Woodson

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Family, Race, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Hope, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Education, Beauty, Literature, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt

Tags Realistic Fiction, African American Literature, Children`s Literature, Arts & Culture

Locomotion, Jacqueline Woodson’s 2003 novel in verse, follows the perspective of Lonnie Collins Motion, nicknamed Locomotion. After his parents die in a fire and his sister is adopted, Lonnie grieves and navigates life, first in a group home and then with Miss Edna, his foster mother. Through poetry, he slowly finds joy in life again, highlighting the themes of The Search for Identity and Belonging, The Healing Power of Writing, and The Enduring Support of... Read Locomotion Summary

Looking for JJ

by Anne Cassidy

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Daughters & Sons, Childhood & Youth

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Children`s Literature, Horror & Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Looking for JJ is a young adult thriller by Anne Cassidy about a British teen struggling to piece together her life despite a dark secret: As a child, she murdered another child. First published in 2004, the novel was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Book Award and won the Booktrust Teenage Prize. Narrated from the offender’s perspective, the novel explores themes of guilt, justice, and forgiveness. Seventeen-year-old Alice Tully lives with her foster... Read Looking for JJ Summary

Loser

by Jerry Spinelli

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Humor, Bullying, Parenting, Relationships, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

Loser is a young adult novel published in 2002 by American author and Newbury Medal winner Jerry Spinelli. It tells the story of Donald Zinkoff, an eccentric goofball of a kid who stumbles enthusiastically through his elementary school years, largely without friends, before becoming an accidental hero in middle school. Written entirely in the present tense, Loser garnering several awards and nominations.Plot SummaryAt first, the other kids don’t notice little Donald Zinkoff, except to see... Read Loser Summary

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

by Christina Henry

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Action & Adventure

Written by American author Christina Henry, Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook is a 2017 dark fantasy retelling of J. M. Barrie’s original play, Peter Pan. Henry has written several dark retellings of fairy tales to date, including Alice, which is based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; The Girl in Red, which adapts the story of Little Red Riding Hood; and The Mermaid, which based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The... Read Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook Summary

Madwoman

by Chelsea Bieker

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Childhood & Youth, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Gender & Feminism

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Marie Antoinette

by Antonia Fraser

Publication year 2001

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Power & Greed, Apathy, Conflict, Fear, Joy, Femininity, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Place, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Biography, Historical Nonfiction, European History, Politics & Government

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McTeague

by Frank Norris

Publication year 1899

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth

Tags American Literature, Naturalism, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Published in 1899 and written by author Frank Norris, McTeague: A Story of San Francisco is a novel in the tradition of Naturalism, a literary movement that explores how people are at the mercy of forces, internal and external, that dictate their behavior and destiny. In McTeague, despite their attempts to fight these forces, even fundamentally good people are brought to their destruction by their nature, their environment, and their social class. As their tenuous... Read McTeague Summary

Men of Iron

by Howard Pyle

Publication year 1891

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Revenge, Masculinity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Friendship, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Action & Adventure, Medieval, Politics & Government, Children`s Literature, World History, Fantasy

Men of Iron is an 1891 young adult novel written and illustrated by Howard Pyle. Pyle was born in Delaware in 1853, and after years of training—beginning with a childhood passion for art—he taught illustration at Drexel University before establishing his own institute, the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. His style of art, which he himself was instrumental in developing, was named the Brandywine School after the mid-Atlantic region from which the artists in... Read Men of Iron Summary