CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

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Youth and Incarceration: Big Emotions, Personal Accounts, and Familial Experiences

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, 1.9 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. in a prison or jail. Furthermore, 113 million adults in the U.S. have an immediate family member who has been to prison or jail (Prison Policy Initiative, 2025). While impactful, what these statistics do not capture is the immense number of children who have also had an experience with incarceration, whether through their own involvement or the experience of a loved one. Incarceration can be a scary, confusing, and unsettling experience. One way that educators, caregivers, and community members can ensure youth have tools to deal with these often-prolonged situations is to provide them with literature that reflects their lives, shows others’ experiences, and lends a hand in working through emotions.

The following books feature youth who have been incarcerated, families who have an incarcerated loved one, and books that offer ways to talk about emotions youth may encounter when a loved one is incarcerated or after they return home. This list contains current-day and historical narratives, fiction and nonfiction, and U.S.- and non-U.S.-based experiences of.

Categories are broken into 1) books about processing emotions not directly tied to incarceration, 2) first-person youth experiences with incarceration, and 3) incarcerated parents and loved ones. Each category contains books for a range of ages.

Compiled by Caitlin Tobin

Big Emotions

My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood
by Brown, Tameka Fryer
Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. Viking, 2013. 24 pages. Ages 5-8

Beneath
by Doerrfeld, Cori
Illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld. Little, Brown, 2023. 32 pages. Ages 4-7

I'll Go and Come Back
by LaRocca, Rajani
Illustrated by Sara Palacios. Candlewick, 2022. 32 pages. Ages 3-8

Life Without Nico
by Maturana, Andrea
Illustrated by Francisco Javier Olea. Kids Can, 2016. 36 pages. Ages 4-8

First-Person Youth Experiences with Incarceration

Let the Children March
by Clark-Robinson, Monica
Illustrated by Frank Morrison. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. 32 pages. Ages 7-10

Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away
by Cooper, Candy J.
Astra/Calkins Creek, 2024. 192 pages. Age 13 and older

I Am a Taxi
by Ellis, Deborah
Groundwood/House of Anansi, 2006. 205 pages. Ages 10-14

Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South
by Hudson, Wade
Crown/Penguin Random House, 2021. 258 pages. Age 12 and older

Love in the Library
by Tokuda-Hall, Maggie
Illustrated by Yas Imamura. Candlewick, 2022. 32 pages. Age 8 and older

Punching the Air
by Zoboi, Ibi and Yusef Salaam
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2020. 386 pages. Age 13 and older

Incarcerated Parents and Loved Ones

Ruby on the Outside
by Baskin, Nora Raleigh
Simon & Schuster, 2015. 163 pages. Ages 9-12

Milo Imagines the World
by de la Pena, Matt
Illustrated by Christian Robinson. Penguin Random House/Putnam, 2021. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

Taming Papa
by Goupil, Mylene
Translated by Shelley Tanaka. Groundwood/House of Anansi, 2024. 154 pages. Ages 8-11

My Brother Is Away
by Greenwood, Sara
Illustrated by Luisa Uribe. Random House/Random House Studio, 2022. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Visiting Day
by Woodson, Jacqueline
Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Scholastic Press, 2002. 32 pages. Ages 5-9

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.