The Greatest Books of All Time on Parenting

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
265 Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton 1948 South African English
451 Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler 1903 British English
472 The Man Who Loved Children Christina Stead 1940 Australian English
687 Rabbit Is Rich John Updike 1981 American English
875 The Last Samurai Helen DeWitt 2000 American English
915 The Yearling Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 1938 American English
996 Dombey and Son Charles Dickens 1846 British English
1103 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Brontë 1848 British English
1317 The Naked Ape Desmond Morris 1967 British English
1433 Random Family Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 2003 American English
1460 Never Mind Edward St Aubyn 1992 British English
1484 Independence Day Richard Ford 1995 American English
1548 What Maisie Knew Henry James 1897 American English
1674 The Ordeal Of Richard Feverel George Meredith 1859 British English
1704 The Argonauts Maggie Nelson 2015 American English
1782 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Dave Eggers 2000 American English
1831 Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Anne Tyler 1982 American English
2002 Freedom Jonathan Franzen 2010 American English
2182 Far From the Tree Andrew Solomon 2012 American English
2283 Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian 1981 British English
2586 Empire Falls Richard Russo 2001 American English
2664 Early Autumn Robert B. Parker 1980 American English
2671 This Boy's Life Tobias Wolff 1989 American English
2696 Pet Sematary Stephen King 1983 American English
3019 Diary Of A Provincial Lady E. M. Delafield 1930 British English
3172 Oblivion David Foster Wallace 2004 American English
3176 Priestdaddy Patricia Lockwood 2017 American English
3232 Freakonomics Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner 2005 American English
3311 Growing Up Russell Baker 1982 American English
3469 Kudos Rachel Cusk 2018 British English
3638 The Century Of The Child Ellen Key 1900 Swedish Swedish
3638 The Origins Of Intelligence In Children Jean Piaget 1936 Swiss French
3887 Lunar Park Bret Easton Ellis 2005 American English
4107 Summerhill Alexander Sutherland Neill 1960 British English
4216 The Beginning of Spring Penelope Fitzgerald 1988 British English
4570 No Kiss For Mother Tomi Ungerer 1973 French English
4595 Nora Webster Colm Toibin 2014 Irish English
4785 Sarah, Plain and Tall Patricia MacLachlan 1985 American English
4979 The Hare with Amber Eyes Edmund de Waal 2010 British English
4988 Territory Of Light Yuko Tsushima 1979 Japanese Japanese
5485 Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty 2014 Australian English
5490 The Slap Christos Tsiolkas 2008 Australian English
5634 A Life's Work Rachel Cusk 2001 British English
5651 Nothing To See Here Kevin Wilson 2019 American English
5667 For Your Own Good Alice Miller 1980 Swiss French
5718 Manhood For Amateurs Michael Chabon 2009 American English
5931 Small Fry Lisa Brennan-Jobs 2018 American English
5967 The Perfect Nanny Leïla Slimani 2016 French French
6097 Duke of Deception Geoffrey Wolff 1979 American English
6434 On Immunity Eula Biss 2014 American English
6736 Room Temperature Nicholson Baker 1990 American English
7216 The Duke's Children Anthony Trollope 1880 British English
7588 Commonwealth Ann Patchett 2016 American English
7669 Soldier Sailor Claire Kilroy 2024 Irish Unknown
8024 Loved And Missed Susie Boyt 2023 British English
8078 Nurture Shock Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman 2008 American English
8108 The Home Maker Dorothy Canfield Fisher 1924 American English
8145 Society Without The Father Unknown 1998 Unknown German
8624 Things In Nature Merely Grow Yiyun Li 2025 Unknown English
9107 Operating Instructions Anne Lamott 1993 American English
9151 The Curve Of Time M. Wylie Blanchet 1961 Canadian English
9260 Lit Mary Karr 2009 American English
9260 A Children’s Bible Lydia Millet, Xe Sands 2020 American English
9339 Born Twice Giuseppe Pontiggia 2000 Italian Italian
9562 Reviving Ophelia Mary Pipher 1994 American English
9653 The Dinner Herman Koch 2009 Dutch Dutch
9918 Miracle Creek Angie Kim 2019 American English
9942 My Sister's Keeper Jodi Picoult 2004 American English
10194 Little Soldiers Lenora Chu 2017 Unknown English
10267 Forever Pete Hamill 2002 American English
10407 Bata, Bata... Pa'no Ka Ginawa? Lualhati Bautista 1983 Filipino Filipino
10415 The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt 2024 American English
10529 Splinters Leslie Jamison 2024 Unknown English
10745 The Fifth Child Doris May Lessing 1988 British English
10996 Not Without My Daughter Betty Mahmoody 1987 American English
11279 The Need Helen Phillips 2019 American English
11445 Man And Boy Tony Parsons 1999 British English
11595 Family Pictures Sue Miller 1986 American English
11676 The Boy In The Moon Ian Brown 2009 Canadian English
11676 With A Daughter's Eye Mary Catherine Bateson 1984 American English
11958 Eden's Outcasts Jon Matteson 2007 American Unknown
12265 Cinderella Ate My Daughter Peggy Orenstein 2011 American English
12330 Yes Please Amy Poehler 2014 American English
12533 Alva Myrdal Sissela Bok 1991 Swedish Unknown
12533 A Mom's Life Kathryn Grody 1991 American English
12660 Dream School Jeffrey Selingo American English
12740 Notes To John Joan Didion 2025 American English
12763 Unfit Parent Jessica Slice Unknown English
12943 Second Life Amanda Hess 2025 Unknown English
13038 Fatherhood Augustine Sedgewick 2025 Unknown English
13299 Golden Child Claire Adam 2019 Trinidadian English
13611 The School For Good Mothers Jessamine Chan 2022 American English
13619 Les Enfants Gâtés Philippe Heriat French French
13808 Make Way For Ducklings Robert McCloskey 1941 American English
13987 Standard Deviation Katherine Heiny 2017 American English
14008 Parenting With Love And Logic Foster Cline 1990 American English
14041 The Maples Stories John Updike 2009 American English
14098 The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For Alison Bechdel 2008 American English
14116 The Idea Of You Robinne Lee 2017 American English
14214 This Is How It Always Is Laurie Frankel 2017 American English
14488 A Spool Of Blue Thread Anne Tyler 2015 American English
14588 The Deep End Of The Ocean Jacquelyn Mitchard 1996 American English
14662 Dad Is Fat Jim Gaffigan 2013 American English
14782 Letters To His Children Theodore Roosevelt 1919 American English
14791 Adelphoe Terence -160 Roman Latin
14898 Father And Son E. O. Plauen 1934 German German
15010 A Child Called 'It' Dave Pelzer 1995 American English
15010 A Home at the End of the World Michael Cunningham 1990 American English
15010 My Brother's Husband Gengoroh Tagame 2014 Japanese Japanese
15010 The Children's Bach Helen Garner 1984 Australian English
15010 God Of Carnage Yasmina Reza 2006 French French
15010 Bossypants Tina Fey 2011 American English
15010 The Memory Keeper's Daughter Kim Edwards 2005 American English
15010 The Latecomer Jean Hanff Korelitz 2022 American English
15010 Above Ground Clint Smith 2023 American English
14160 Jennie Ralph G. Martin 1969 American English
15669 Look How Happy I'm Making You Polly Rosenwaike 2019 Unknown English
15747 My Father's Life (Continental Classics) Restif de La Bretonne 1779 French French
15897 Life Among The Savages Shirley Jackson 1953 American English
15897 Seven Little Australians Ethel Turner 1894 Australian English