Looking to purchase some books for my 10 year old niece. I’ve always been a big reader and at her age I was reading very different books than what she’s reading, so I have no idea what to suggest for her. My suggestions were Harry Potter, Eragon, Series of Unfortunate Events, Inkheart, etc. none of which she was interested in (which makes sense in retrospect).
I took her to the bookstore and she tended to gravitate towards novels about difficulties with friendship and school. Her family moves a lot unfortunately so she always struggles to make friends each year. I also know that she is very sad about their constant moving, so I don’t want any books that may be sad endings, only positive/happy endings that can give her some hope that things will get better.
I want to find some books for her that have strong, positive messages that also maybe have some good lessons in it for her. Nothing too lengthy like Harry Potter.
Please offer recommendations and suggestions 🙂 thank you!
by oryxii
14 Comments
I loved “a child called it” when I was around 10. “Push” by sapphire was the closest I could find to it but I always liked those kinds of books when I was young. It’s probably not something you’re looking for but that’s all I’ve got besides Harry Potter or twilight
What about Judy Blume books? They tend to deal in real-life issues, but are positive.
I wonder if she would like “The Secret Garden” or “A Little Princess.” Both deal with young girls encountering really difficult situations, and yet triumphing.
The 39 Clues is a fun series, also
My younger sister also preferred school/friendship based books at that age. I remember she really liked Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, and Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass. Also a lot of Judy Bloom books
The UpsideDown Magic series by Sarah Mlynowski has some nice “learning to fit in” moments.
The Front Desk series by Kelly Yang.
You could also check out the Babysitter’s Club graphic novels.
Both the Alanna books (start with *Alanna: the First Adventure*) and the Protector of the Small books (Start with *First Test*) by Tamora Pierce are about a girl trying to find her way in a school for pages with all boys. Each series consists of four short books. They’re fantasy. Alanna pretends to be a boy. Keladry is the first openly female page student, after Alanna paved the way. Keladry was also raised in a foreign country so she’s dealing with trying to fit in from both a gender and cultural perspective. That might make her more accessible for your niece.
The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend is a really fun fantasy about a girl struggling to fit in because she has a curse on her. It’s very funny with a positive and also suspenseful ending.
I really liked “Flipped” by Wendelin Van Draanen.
Book starts with a boy moving into a new house and the neighbor girl across the street coming over. He thinks she’s weird and mostly avoids her and she likes him. The cool thing about the book is each chapter changes from the boys to the girls perspective. The book also goes from the span of elementary school to middle school or maybe even highschool. It’s not necessarily a happy ending but not super sad either. Just friendship drama.
Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren.
The first couple Penderwick books are great for that age. They age up a bit too quickly to then read them one after another at age ten, in my opinion.
A place to hang the Moon by Kate Albus is a beautiful story and while it does have some sad bits is just so very endearing and hopeful.
I’d also add Anne of Green Gables!
Unfortunately, my taste in books when I was that age leaned heavily to fantasy and sci-fi, including the original Oz books, Narnia, Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain, etc. Far too old to have grown up with Harry Potter, etc.
Maybe the Harper Hall series by Anne McCaffrey, which is a side series to the Dragonriders of Pern. First book is _Dragonsong_.
The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei by Christina Matula
The Trouble with Robots by Michelle Mohrweis
Camp QUILTBAG by Nicole Melleby and A. J. Sass
Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman
Skellig by David Almond