Best Summer Reading For Christians Serving Kids and Teens

Best Summer Reading For Christians Serving Kids and Teens - Teach One Reach OneSummer 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

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