Summer is finally here – more or less! Hopefully, you will have some vacation time or just a few “lazy” afternoons or evenings. Why not read a book that will help you be a better volunteer serving kids and teens as you teach them about God? Our list of favorites includes books on educational best practices, empathy building, leadership and more. Enjoy!
Books to Build Empathy
• I Beat the Odds From Homelessness, to the Blind Side and Beyond – Michael Oher
• Voices From the Fields: Children of Migrant Farmworkers Tell Their Stories – S. Beth Atkin
• Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution – Ji-Li-Jiang (oppression)
• Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism – Temple Grandin
• Three Little Words: A Memoir – Ashley Rhodes (foster care)
• In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir – Neil White (jail and leprosy)
• Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference – Warren St. John
• The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World – Jacqueline Novogratz
• The Other Wes Moore – Wes Moore (urban)
• Helen Keller: The Story of My Life – Helen Keller and Candace Ward
• Night – Elie Wiesel (war)
• Stand Strong – Nick Vujicic (physical disability, bullying)
• Miss Brenda and the Loveladies – Brenda Spahn and Irene Zutell (parolees)
• 10 Days Without – Daniel Ryan Day (empathy exercises)
• The White Umbrella – Mary Frances Bowley (sex trafficking)
• Foreign to Familiar – Sarah A Lanier (culture)
• More or Less – Jeff Shinabarger (empathy exercises)
Service Leadership Development – Teens and Young Adults
• Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations – Alex and Brett Harris
• Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are – Alex and Brett Harris
• Lose Your Cool: Discovering a Passion that Changes You and the World – Zach Hunter
• Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World – Zach Hunter
• Take Your Best Shot: Do Something Bigger Than Yourself – Austin Gutwein
• Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality – Henry Cloud
• Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk – Ben Carson
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die – Chip and Dan Heath
• Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcolm Gladwell
Mentoring
• The Art of Coaching – Elena Aguilar
• The Mentor’s Guide – Lois J. Zachary
• Mastering Leadership–Course Materials (2012 Workbook) – National Student Leadership Conference
Project Creation – Ideas and Improvement
• Thinking Through Project Based Learning – Jane Krauss, Suzie Boss
• Enriching the Curriculum Through Service Learning – Edited by Carol W. Kinsley and Kate McPherson
• The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects – Barbara A. Lewis
• Becoming a “Wiz” at Brain-Based Teaching – Marilee B. Sprenger
Leadership
• Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge – Dr. Henry Cloud
• The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business – Patrick Lencioni
• Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats – George Barna Nonprofit Management
• Forces for Good – Leslie Crutchfield and Heather Grant
• Exposing the Elephants–Creating Exceptional Nonprofits – Pamela J. Wilcox
Books to Make You Rethink Everything
• What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell
• unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation – Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Jamieson
• Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion – Jay Heinrichs
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain
• Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain – Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• Contagious: Why Things Catch On – Jonah Berger
Christian Service
• Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches – Peter Greer and Chris Horst
• Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids – Kara E. Powell and Chap Clark
• Relentless: Pursuing a Life That Matters – David Donaldson and Terry Glaspey
• When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself – Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
• The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism – Timothy Keller
• It’s Not About Me: Rescue From the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy – Max Lucado
• Firsthand: Ditching Secondhand Religion for a Faith of Your Own – Ryan and Josh Shook