When parents support their kids in literature, it adds value to our world as it creates a written document of what unconditional love can be like and the effect it can have on us as children and adults. To celebrate the wonderful parents who care, love, and support their children, here are five books where supportive parents are seen encouraging their children and their passions.
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez shows twelve-year-old Malú and her fight against her anti-punk administration to show everyone it is okay to express yourself.
When she finds a few friends at school and starts a band with them, Malú finds support from her punk dad, but also finds herself struggling to open up to her mom in fear that she won’t approve. With her band of misfits, Mrs. Hidalgo, and her parents, Malú finds the courage to be herself even when it goes against authority. Pérez’s prose along with her incorporation of zines makes this a fun, light-hearted read that reminds readers it is okay to embrace what we love.
This Is How It Always Is: A Novel by Laurie Frankel
This Is How It Always Is: A Novel by Laurie Frankel follows the story of a family during one of the children’s transitions from little boy to little girl.
Rosie and Penn go on a journey they never expected when one of their children finds out early that they feel more comfortable living as a girl. Through storytelling, doctors, private conversations, and friend drama, this family creates an environment filled with love and acceptance. Frankel put into perspective the changes families go through and the ways that they overcome each obstacle together to become stronger than ever.
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya tells the story of a kid ready to save his community from being torn down.
When a land developer threatens to change Arturo’s community the same summer that Carmen moves to the neighborhood, they work together, with the help of untold family stories, to protest and fight for the town and its community. With so much on his plate, Arturo works to answer the question of whether he can accomplish it all or will it all become an epic fail? Cartaya tells a beautiful story of family and community through the eyes of a teenage boy ready to fight for everything and everyone he loves.
Meet Me in Mumbai by Sabina Khan
Meet Me in Mumbai by Sabina Khan tells the story of a young mother faced with the ultimate choice and a daughter who follows the path her birth mother left her to find her way back to her.
When Mira finds a box of letters from her birth mother asking her to find her way to meet her in India when she’s eighteen, she wants to know more about where she came from. With the support of her moms who adopted her, Mira faces her questions and fears to create an outlet and make her way back to her birth mother. Khan works with the power of choice to tell this exquisite story of family across time.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune tells Linus’ story as he is assigned to investigate an orphanage that may or may not bring the end of times.
Six children reside in the Marsyas Island Orphanage with their odd entities from gnomes and spirits to wyverns and the antichrist. Being taken care of by Arthur Parnassus, a man willing to do anything to keep them safe, Linus must grow closer with them, but in turn, grows attached to Arthur and the family leaving him with a difficult choice. Klune takes us on this fantasy journey that shapes the discovery of unlikely families and the effects connections can have on our livelihoods.
The love that parents show for their kids through their unconditional support will always flourish in the name of storytelling. Their narratives are essential to each child’s story as their influence shapes their kid’s lives. I hope these recommendations warm your heart and remind you of the value of a supportive family.
Want more to read for supportive parents? Click here.
Looking for coming-of-age books to read? Check out our Adventures Beyond Pages: A Young Adult Journey bookshelf on Bookshop.org.
