Book Club/Summer Reading List for Pre-teens, Teens & Special Ed Adults

One of the joys of my life is helping to facilitate a book club aimed at helping intellectually disabled adults improve their reading abilities.

It is honestly the best hour of my week…well, maybe rivaled with being a Sunday school teacher of some sweet, rowdy 3-4 year olds.

But as far as adults go, this is the most wonderful group that I enjoy being with so much.

They definitely each have their own distinct personalities, but they are so kind and respectful to each other and to us, it is just an absolute joy to be around. And they have quite the senses of humor, also.

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a second to acknowledge what I realized when I wrote the above — helping other people/serving as a volunteer is the most rewarding parts of my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a great life, but that serving others thing… well, it really is what makes my heart feel like it’s just swelling to overflow with light and positivity.

Therefore, if you don’t have an outlet in your life that you are serving others, PLEASE find something that fits well with your personality and skills. You will be handsomely rewarded. I promise.

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Who The Books Are Good For

These books are great for our adults who vary from avid readers with autism to participants with Downs Syndrome who have to have a facilitator read and they follow along and repeat the words.

This would also be great for teens and pre-teens during the summer to keep their brains scholarly and active.

At the time of updating this article, we are currently in quarantine and under stay-at-home orders to avoid the spread of a particularly rampant virus that shares the same name of a popular Mexican beer.

{Naming it has been shown detrimental to websites.}

But point is, this would be a great time to get your kids to read classic novels, and get a head start on their studies.

Plus, it may help in college interviews, where one I had asked what my favorite book is.

And you know they like to hear the classics being mentioned.

Where to Find the Books & How Many to Order

If you’re finding this list for a book club, Amazon is usually the best place to find them rather quickly and in bulk.

You will likely want to order one book per student/participant, and maybe even one for each facilitator, depending on how your book club is set up.

A Note on the Books

The books are primarily condensed versions of very long, classic novels.

(I find it interesting that I benefit from reading these, as well, as I’m also deepening my knowledge of literature.)

Most of these books are from a certain brand of books, as they are very well done and sturdy.

Be sure that you select Hardcover (or Paperback, if preferred.) We generally do hardcover, as they stand up well since participants take them home every week.

So, let’s get into it, shall we? Here is a suggestion of the books we’ve used, alphabetized.

For your convenience, I have provided an alphabetized list below, as well as the covers of each of the books with a link for where to find them.

Please let me know in the comments at the bottom if this was helpful to you!

If you have any issues with the links, please also let me know that! Thanks for your feedback!!