Daughter is an avid reader and pretty proficient for her age (more age 10 I’d guess?). Been through Roald Dahl, Tom Fletcher, JK Rowling back catalogues and she is ready for something new.
Also, recently enjoyed the Mr Penguin series by Alex T Smith.
Any genre is fine – but bonus points for children protagonists on a mission. Google just keeps circling round the same books and I am sure there are some lesser heard of classics out there!
by RaceHarder
26 Comments
Half Magic is a classic!
Chronicles of narnia
The Graveyard book
Have Spacesuit Will Travel
Alcatraz Vs The Evil Librarians
Middle grade series from Brandon Sanderson
* **Howl’s Moving Castle** by Jones
* **The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents** by Pratchett
* **Strange the Dreamer** by Taylor
* **The Old Genie Hottabych** by Lagin
* **The Little Prince** by Saint-Exupery
Percy Jackson!
Any and all books by Tamora Pierce. She has several quartets that are all set in the same fantasy world. The first is {{ Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce }}. I also really loved her Protector of the Small quartet that starts with {{ First Test by Tamora Pierce }}.
A Wrinkle in Time is still my all time favorite book since I first read it in 3rd grade.
The worst witch series, any dianna wynn jones book, the little vampire series, most Jacqueline Wilson books
She’s a bit younger than I was when I read it (I was around 10) but she might almost be ready for {{ A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle }}
I really liked the warrior cats series when I was young. It’s recommended for ages 9-12, but be aware that they can be violent. Some books have murder (between cats) and mentions of blood, so maybe look into it more to see if that’s something you’re comfortable with her reading.
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett – a girl must venture into faeryland to rescue her little brother.
My neice is the about the same age and she loves the Ruby Redfort books:
Ruby Redfort is a book series written by Lauren Child. The plot involves a teenage girl named Ruby Redfort who is a masterful code-cracker and becomes an agent at a secret organisation called Spectrum. The books are. Ruby Redfort, Look Into My Eyes. Ruby Redfort, Take Your Last Breath.
Old book but I loved it as a child and so did my son. The Boxcar Children. I can’t remember who it is by, but it’s a series (1st one is the best but others are good).
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
The Arlo Finch series by John August was a lot of fun.
The StormKeepers Island by Catherine Doyle! Lovely trilogy.
*The Thief of Always* by Clive Barker
*Un Lun Dun* by China Mieville
Also: A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison is lovely and definitely kids on a mission!
Cornelia Funke! Dragon Rider series is perfect for this age but also lots of her other books
When I was about her age, I adored Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain chronicles, a five-book series about the struggle against a Death Lord in a medieval kingdom inspired by Wales and Welsh mythology.
The Miraculous Life of Edward Tulane is one of my all time favorite books. I’d also suggest Mr. Limoncello’s Library, especially for the “children on a mission” angle.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
My 8 yr old (with a reading age far higher) has absolutely loved the following recently:
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Greenwild by Paris Thompson
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
The Kingdom over the Sea by Zohra Nabi
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, and The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall! I absolutely can’t recommend them enough, those series were my favorites when I was her age and an avid reader. 🙂 Penderwicks is more slice of life, about a group of four sisters. Mysterious Benedict Society is more mystery/adventure/puzzle solving, with a team of four children.
{{Running out of Time}} by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a middle grade book. It’s about a girl who lives in a small town in the 1840s. >!Only she quickly learns it’s a fake town and it’s really 1996, and she’s set out into a world she’s never seen to try to get medicine for some really sick children. A little scary but a mostly happy ending, a couple kids died before she got the medicine but she and her family are all good.!<
Tamora Pierce, specifically the Alanna Series