A team of professional adult literacy educators identified approximately 100 titles of picture books and young adult books appropriate for the adult learner. A collection of their ideas, titled Recommended Trade Books for Adult Literacy Programs: Annotated Bibliography with Teaching Suggestions, contained information on 93 titles, including lesson plans for some books and teaching suggestions for all of them. Three teachers in greatly different classes and programs piloted the materials. Using picture books and young adult literature in the adult literacy classrooms not only fostered critical thinking skills but also a love for reading. Reading authentic literature connected adult learners with others' feelings and experiences while broadening their view of the world; it sparked an interest that workbooks and basal readers could not do. Suggestions for teachers from the piloting teachers include: allow sufficient time; provide each student with his or her own copy of the book; keep a journal; in a one-on-one situation include the students in the book selection process; include art or other activities; and encourage the students to talk to family and friends about his or her reading. Contains five references. (YLB)