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.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

by Stephen King

Publication year 2000

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Art, Childhood & Youth, Language

Tags Arts & Culture, Self-Improvement, Biography

Stephen King’s 2000 memoir, On Writing, details King’s formation as an author and provides writing advice. The memoir is divided into five sections: “C.V.,” “What Writing Is,” “Toolbox,” “On Writing,” and “On Living.”In “C.V.,” King provides a curriculum vitae describing how he was formed as a writer. He begins in his early childhood and describes his life with his mother, Nellie, and older brother, David. King’s father is not in the picture, and the family... Read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Summary

Open

by Andre Agassi

Publication year 2009

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Fame, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Teamwork

Tags US History, Sports, Biography

... Read Open Summary

Oranges

by Gary Soto

Publication year 1985

Genre Poem, Fiction

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

Tags Lyric Poem, Narrative Poem, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Food, Poverty, American Literature

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Ordinary Hazards

by Nikki Grimes

Publication year 2019

Genre Memoir in Verse, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Childhood & Youth, Family, Mental Health, Perseverance, Race, Coming of Age, Mothers, Self Discovery, Equality, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Biography, Mental Illness

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Original Sins

by Eve L. Ewing

Publication year 2025

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Shame & Pride, Indigenous Identity, Race, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Education, Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice

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Orphan Island

by Laurel Snyder

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Family, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Safety & Danger, Order & Chaos, Loyalty & Betrayal, Plants, Animals, Food

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Animals, Food, Relationships

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Out of My Heart

by Sharon M. Draper

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Joy, Loneliness, Memory, Disability, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Music, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Art, Animals, Appearance & Reality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Disability, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Out of the Dust

by Karen Hesse

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Death, Social Class, Place, Climate, Coming of Age, Safety & Danger, Disability, Siblings, Community, Forgiveness, Shame & Pride, Daughters & Sons, Economics, Music, Guilt, Mothers, Art, Loneliness, Hope, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Fathers, Grief, Food, Education

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Agriculture, US History, Great Depression, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust is a historical middle-grade novel in verse first published in 1997. Through 110 first-person free verse poems, the narrative tells the story of two years in the life of Billie Jo Kelby, young daughter of a struggling farming family in the Oklahoma Panhandle in the mid-1930s. After a tragic accident results in the death of Billie Jo’s mother and baby brother, she and her father must find a way... Read Out of the Dust Summary

Over Sea, Under Stone

by Susan Cooper

Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Place, Siblings, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction

Over Sea, Under Stone (1965) is the first installment in Susan Cooper’s renowned The Dark Is Rising series, which comprises five books published between 1965 and 1977. The novel follows three siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, as they uncover a long-lost Arthurian manuscript that leads them to a copy of the Holy Grail. Drawing on Anglo-Saxon folklore and mythology, the novel sets up the conflict between two supernatural forces, the Light and the Dark... Read Over Sea, Under Stone Summary

Paperboy

by Vince Vawter

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Race, Childhood & Youth

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Life-Inspired Fiction, Disability, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History

Paperboy by American author Vince Vawter explores themes of The Acceleration of the Civil Rights Movement, The Treatment of People With Speech Disorders, and Independence in Childhood through its singular voice. Published in 2013, Paperboy was a Newbery Medal Honor Book in 2014. Vawter, who worked for more than 40 years in the newspaper business, wrote Paperboy as a lightly fictionalized version of his own childhood, which contributes to the text’s authenticity. This guide references... Read Paperboy Summary

Paradise on Fire

by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Perseverance, Grief, Childhood & Youth, Friendship, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger

Tags Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Survival Fiction, Coming of Age

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Penpal

by Dathan Auerbach

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Daughters & Sons, Family, Mothers, Community, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

... Read Penpal Summary