nicmax@tampabay.rr.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Transymom@aol.com
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.
Wonderful connection between the wisdom of the ages and the expectations of the young.

Meenmom714@aol.com
I would give A Short Guide to a Happy Life and Being Perfect, both by Anna Quindlen. These books have excellent advice from a woman who has done both the career thing and the motherhood thing. However, there is much in these books that would apply to the male of the species. Actually, a third choice would be Ready or Not, Here Comes Life by Dr. Mel Levine.

Bkwia@aol.com
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Sheila5199@aol.com
For any age graduate, I would still give the graduation classic Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss.

Pizza365@aol.com
The three classic books by William Least Heat-Moon: Blue Highways, Prairie Land, and River Horse. What better than travel mixed with a little philosophy for the graduate.

VL Watts
I would give graduates a copy of the book and movie Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. It's a life-changing book that may make a difference in their future choices.

hagarrpt@earthlink.net
I would give a graduate the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of the most beautiful books ever written, it is a testament to perseverance, tolerance, and living your beliefs.

T. Shaw, Scottsdale, AZ
The best book for a high school graduate is Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. It's a sentimental token of the transition from child to adult. Sometimes I'll bring it to a graduation party and have guests sign the inside of the cover as a keepsake of the party.

mbennett@carmel.lib.in.us
One More Thing Before You Go by Maria Shriver

Ells50@aol.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

nortomb@webtv.net
A cookbook. Or a book on financial management.

Melonyfawn@aol.com
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer.

schot@cox.net
I enjoy giving Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss.

Goycrazy@aol.com
The Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon

firsterie@adelphia.net
I'm a big fan of the book Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. But I like the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You'll Go! just as much. Both books appeal to all ages.

Beverly Rowe
I would love to give graduates some of the great old classics, but they probably wouldn't read time at this time in their lives. So I would give them something really entertaining like Janet Evanovich's first Stephanie Plum story, One for the Money. Keep them reading!!

Anonymous
No doubt --- I always give Oh, the Places You'll Go! and Oh! The Things You Can Think!, both by Dr. Seuss. They're celebratory and accessible on many thought-filled levels, edgy without being mordant, good for the graduate headed to the workforce or to graduate school. One recipient thought they were universally well-received because they acknowledge that the grad is at the start of a grand new adventure, while also (well, being Dr. Seuss and all...) validating his or her right to hang onto that security that can only come with a bedtime story.

simecka@comcast.net
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

DonDragon@aol.com
An Underground Education by Richard Zacks

MHaury2@aol.com
An Incomplete Education, Revised Edition by Judy Jones and William Wilson. I loved this book and still read it all the time.

dmdclancy@hotmail.com
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Monahani@aol.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

baxtergr@msn.com
I have a young friend who has been awarded a Fullbright Scholarship to study in India. I am giving her The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi, a book that I enjoyed very much and that I believe she will also enjoy reading.

cosmicvibe@comcast.net
Emily Post's Etiquette is a useful tool for your entire life. Covering such important topics as communication, career, personal life, formalities, entertaining and entertainments, travel and tipping, celebrations and ceremonies, gifts, thank-yous, and of course weddings, this is a book that will provide the graduate with skills they were likely not taught in school.

Carseatdeanna@aol.com
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

DaveRudy@aol.com
What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles

bandwrice@earthlink.net
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

MMarcia48@aol.com
Most graduates have already established their reading habits. However, as bright and well-read as they might be, most graduates starting out in the world cannot do many of the simple, hands-on tasks that keep our daily lives moving along. ie: light the pilot for a water heater, change a faucet washer, replace the gasket on a refrigerator. Alas, I think the Readers Digest Complete Do-it-Yourself Manual should be on most "gift lists for grads".

Sharon Cook
How To Survive Your Freshman Year by Hundreds of Heads Books. This is the ultimate college guide with advice from grads from all over the country who have "been there, done that." It has advice from what to take to college, the pros and cons of living on campus and off, best times and places to study, getting along with roommates, dating, partying and making friends for life. It's an easy read and offers great advice on how to thrive and survive in college.

pnichols@woodruffelectric.com
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

p10z@adelphia.net
I think that the best book to give a graduate is Dr. Seuss's book Oh, the Places You'll Go! It has a lot of wisdom wrapped up in rhyme. (And the graduate could be anyone, from preschool to college, or Tech school --- any learning environment.)

sschmooch2@comcast.net
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

m.poyer.43802@ttc.mailcruiser.com
In general I'd have to say Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. But for the rest, they'd have to be specific to the person.

Terry
To each graduate I would give a blank journal so they can begin their story.

SummerMom53@aol.com
I would give A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen.

Jaretzlaff@aol.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Annabelle973@aol.com
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Joyfulpond@aol.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

mo-n-cats@worldnet.att.net
For a female graduate, I would select Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Blanche Weisen Cook's biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, or Madeleine Albright's autobiography.

For the male graduate, perhaps a collection of Robert Frost's poems or Whitman's Leaves of Grass. If he were a sports fan, perhaps the new biography of Lou Gehrig.

amygraham67@hotmail.com
A book on finances, savings, etc.

annie.haynes@netxv.net
I usually give graduates a good paperback dictionary, and if it's someone special I also give The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White, an invaluable yet inexpensive tool.

RCaruso@AxelJohnson.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

lcherir@sbcglobal.net
I would give a graduate Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The viewpoint of the book almost demands readers to broaden their own views to see the world from a different perspective. A new graduate needs this ability to live in the world as it is.

DISTEFANO@aol.com
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Deblasio.Don@epamail.epa.gov
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Lies My Teacher Told Me James W. Loewen
Lies Across America by James W. Loewen

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