Recs if you like Sarah, Plain and Tall...

"What a midwesterner he was, a thoroughly unhip guy with his heart in the usual place, on the sleeve, in plain sight." — Charles Baxter, The Feast of Love

Fiction that embodies the experience of being Midwestern and full of big feelings: depression, yearning, being lost in a cornfield

Bring on those Gen Y memories! A list of books likely to give people born between 1981 and 1996 a lot of feelings.

This list is for those of us who grew up eagerly awaiting the Scholastic Book Fair, watching Reading Rainbow (or Wishbone!), and dreaming of a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.

Note: these are not books published in 1981-1996, but books that had a hold on the millennial generation.

Also check out the Dear America series, American Girl series & Royal Diaries series.

As a parent of 2 boys, I want to introduce them to good literature as early as possible! This is my list of classics that are appropriate for kids to listen to (read them aloud or listen to the audiobook). I’ve left some off this list due to misogyny and racism I thought was unforgivable. But ALL these books were written by imperfect people in an imperfect world, there may be topics you may need to have deeper conversations with your kids. ❤️

The books your teacher made you read between the ages of 11-14. They changed the way you saw the world, they made you realize books were more than just goofy or sentimental stories you gobbled up before bedtime, and they stuck with you, all these years later.

Suggestions welcome, especially from non-American readers!!

Note: this list was made by a Millennial, so I'd love to hear from some different generations! What did your teachers assign you?

According to the ALA, "The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

This list contains 1 book from each of the 50 states (author or topic), Presidents & First Ladies, other American authors & works of note. The good, the bad, the ugly - a lot has happened in 250 years.

Complete as of August 2026.

Other items used: "Americana Instructor's Handbook", "Americana Student Workbook Part 1", "Americana Student Workbook Part 2", "Science D Instructor's Guide", "Language Arts D", "History/Bible/Literature D Instructor's Guide", "Sheet of Book Labels D", "American History I Lap Book", "Electives D" (includes "A Child's Introduction to the Orchestra" and "Building Thinking Skills Level 2"), "50 States Unit Study", "US Elections Lap Book", "Extra Language Arts D Student Activity Sheets", "Extra Science D Student Activity Sheets", "Discover & Do: Level D Experiments Paper Packet", "Discover & Do: Science Supplies Kit D", "The Timeline Book", "Timeline Figures D", "Sing the Word: Great in Counsel and Mighty in Deed", "Erasable Colored Pencils", "Discover & Do: Level D Science Experiment Videos", "MathTacular 3", "MUS4 Delta Online Instruction with Video", "Math-U-See Integer Block Kit", "Markable Map", "Markers" and "3" Binder with Tabs".

Winners of the award for "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children."