Irresistible Book Series for Kids
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To become a reader, your child needs that one story that makes him or her fall in love with reading. That story that transports; one that he can’t put down.
But, finding that story can be hard.
ALL of these books are series that I’ve read and highly recommend. See if one will be that perfect book for your child!
And, feel free to ask me questions in the comments — it’s my FAVORITE thing matching kids with books. 🙂
FIND BOOK SERIES FOR EVERY AGE GROUP HERE!
Irresistible Book Series for Kids
Never Girls by Kiki Thorpe (ages 6 – 9)
My 8-year old daughter whizzes through this book series and loves them. She only hates that there aren’t 20 books in the series yet. (YET.)
Rescue Princesses by Paula Harrison (ages 6 – 9)
Princesses who love and want to save animals who are in trouble. Â This is another great book series option for your daughters who are ready to get hooked on a good book series.
Galaxy Zack by Ray O’Ryan (ages 5 – 8)
What a fun concept for a new reader, illustrated chapter book series — moving to a new planet! I enjoyed reading Galaxy Zack. It’s fun and relatable. Boys (and girls) are sure to devour this far-out series.
Captain Awesome by Stan Kirby (ages 6 – 9)
Can Eugene aka. Captain Awesome, comic-book and superhero fan, save the town from villains without revealing his secret identity? Totally funny — and a good action-packed adventure series.
The Imaginary Veterinary by Suzanne Selfors (ages 7 – 10)
I totally love this entertaining adventure series! It’s got action and fantasy with both boy and girl main characters who discover the secret veterinary when trying to help a baby dragon and capture an escaped Sasquatch in the first book. As apprentices to the veterinarian, they encounter more mythological creatures — some nice and some not so nice.
Spirit Animals by various authors (ages 8 – 12)
Our main characters are some of the rare children who when of a certain age, can summon a spirit animal. These heroes must use their new bonds with their animals and each other to save the world from a dark and evil force. Â I haven’t read this chapter book series yet but my 11-year old says it’s awesome and highly recommends it.
Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja by Marcus Emerson (ages 8+)
Sarcastic and funny, this is one diary, er, chronicle, that totally rocks. There’s never a dull moment for a ninja. Even in sixth grade. Love it.
Stick Dog by Tom Watson (grades ages 7 – 12)
Stick Dog is hilarious. Why is he called Stick Dog? Because our author / narrator can’t draw. And also, because he likes sticks. The funny cartoonish illustrations make this story of stray dogs easy to read, and very entertaining series for kids.
Ever After High by various authors (ages 8 – 12)
We love this clever, new series about characters from fairy tales in school together! Follow the children of fairy tale legends as they make their own way in the world (eg. the evil queen’s daughter rejecting her mother’s evil path.) Excellent!
The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick (ages 8 – 12)
Action from the first paragraph of the first book, these stories draw you in immediately. First, Megan sees zoo monkeys on the rooftop. Then, she disappears. Her brother Noah and their friends find that something IS going on at the zoo. And the fate of the world is at stake. Your kids will love this series.
The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger (ages 8 – 12)
Middle school. Is weird. Even weirder when Dwight’s paper-folded Yoda finger puppet begins giving sage advice with dorky Dwight seemingly clueless. Before long, Jabba the Puppet, Darth Paper, and the Fortune Wookie get involved in middle school life, too. (I told you middle school was weird.) Excellent books for kids!
The Last Dogs by Christopher Holt (ages 8 – 12)
In this dystopian world, dogs rule and humans have disappeared. This chapter book series is full of action, adventure, mystery, and danger. I loved it — and I don’t normally like books with animals as main characters. Great writing!
A Tale of Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (ages 8 – 12)
The first and third book ARE dark and creepy, at least for me. Maybe for your kids, too. The second book is one of my all time favorite books EVER. That being said, this is a series that will engage kids with compelling writing and a unique and very Grimm-like life lessons.
The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (ages 11+)
This is one of those can’t put-it-down book series! Michael Vey’s mom has been hiding him because of his powerful electrical abilities — like zapping people when he gets mad. When his mom is kidnapped, he and his friends discover the Elgin Academy where other electric kids are either held as prisoners or are helping the evil men who seek world domination. A fantastic adventure!
Psion Gamma by Jacob Gowans (ages 11+)
I generally dislike self-published children’s books. But not self-published YA books. This is one of those book series — self-published and excellent! A dystopian world where some have unique powers (psion powers) that he can use to fight the ongoing battle for a better world. Loved it!
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (ages 11+)
I loved this series . . . mostly. I didn’t love the last books and how the story ended — but that often happens with series doesn’t it? Series are hard, especially when the first book starts out so strong. In this dystopian world, kids are either killed or must kill to survive. There are tons of plot twists which I loved.
Above World by Jenn Reese (ages 11+)
I love this series and can’t wait for the third book. The world’s humans have been genetically modified into part-human, part animal species — horses, snakes, mer, and birds. Aluna must convince the different to band together in order to fight the evil man who started the genetic modifications and controls the tech.
Dead City by James Ponti (ages 11+)
You’ve been wondering when I’m going to get to the zombies, right? Well, here you go. Non-stop action, this is a fantastic creative series — that isn’t too creepy. Molly’s recruited to hunt zombies in New York City, just like her mother, who is either dead or a zombie. I am looking forward to this book series.
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (ages 11+)
I’m a total wimp with scary books but I really liked this book. Even though it did creep me out. But, the writing was stellar – and the plot kept me engaged and in suspense. The world is infested with zombies, cities are barricaded. At age 15, Benny must either fight zombies like his brother Tom or find a different job, or else his rations will be halved.  So many of the “zoms” are people he once knew – and loved – and soon Benny learns there are people in the world who are worse than the zombies.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (ages 11+)
Loosely based on Cinderella, we follow the story of a half-android, a second-class citizen in a futuristic China threatened with intergalactic war from the Lunar queen who wants to marry Prince Kai, who Cinder meets and falls in love with when she helps repair his android. It’s Cinder mysterious past that might be the key in saving Kai and the world. Fantastic!
Penryn & the End of Days by Susan Ee (ages 11+
Angels (not the friendly kind, the warrior kind) rule the world using humans for experiments, and disposable arm candy. Penryn’s sister is kidnapped, and she is determined to rescue her. On her journey, she meets Raffe, an angel whose wings were brutally cut off. The two work together and what they discover at the angel compound will make the world even worse off than it already is. I couldn’t put this book down — totally mesmerizing!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (ages 11+)
Probably THE most creative fantasy series I’ve ever read, this isn’t your normal angel vs. beast story. At all. Forever enemies, what would happen a chimera and angel fell in love? Â And when their betrayal was discovered? I don’t even want to give away anything – but let me just say that even my non-fiction reading husband loved this book series!
Any other best book series you’d to add to this list?
Want more ideas? Read “24 Chapter Books in a Series.”
Historical Fiction Books for Kids
Books for 8-year olds
Books for 9-year olds
Books for 10-year olds
Books for 11-year olds
Books for 12-year olds
Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook for more ideas.
Love this. My 8 yr old son is finishing up Harry Potter right now and I’m searching for something to follow those (he also loved the Hunger Games)…so there are some tough acts to follow here! He loves zombie stuff, so I think I’ll check out some of the ones with zombies here. Thanks!
What a GREAT list! My 10 year old daughter is always looking for books on her level that have action and adventure in them. This list has a lot of great choices. Though, I’m curious what it is that makes the Seven Wonders series less appealing to you? I haven’t heard of it before and it sounds like something she might like. Just wondering what it was that you didn’t like about it. 🙂 Thanks so much!!
nothing bad – just didn’t have that compelling can’t-put-it-down kind of writing. (I could put it down.) But that’s just my opinion for what it’s worth.
Thanks for that great list, Melissa! I’m glad I stumbled upon your site! I would love to hear your thoughts about a series (or stand-alone chapter book) that would be appropriate for both my 5.5 year old son and 3.5 year old daughter. Because my better half travels so much, I end up reading to the kids together at bedtime a lot, and most of the series I know of don’t seem quite right for my daughter. She’ll happily listen to pretty advanced books on CD with her brother (Nate the Great, Encyclopedia Brown, Clementine, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, etc), but I’d prefer something that’s more on her level but still engaging for my son for bedtime reading. I hope that’s a fun matching kids to books question for you! Thanks!
My kids (4,7, and 9) LOVE The Magic Tree House books. You can download the e-books from the library, if your libraries do that!
(I think my previous reply disappeared so here it goes again — if it appears, sorry for the repeat.)
I would really encourage you to stay as long as you can in picture books for bedtime reading — maybe 2 or 3 books. There are so many rich and wonderful stories in picture books and it won’t be too long before they won’t be interested in picture books at all. Take a big bag to the library and fill it. Bedtime stories can be reading through the new books, and seeing what you like. Some of my favorites are Mo Willems, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Mac Barnett, Audrey Wood, Robert Munsch, and Judy Schachner. What do you think about this? But, if your son wants chapter books try Magic Tree House series, Frankie Pickle, Doyle & Fossey Science Detectives, or Mercy Watson.
I would also add that poetry is awesome to start at those ages. It’s something I can read both my kids (who are now 6 and 11 but I started reading my daughter poetry around 3) My son loves Shel Siverstein and we also through in some classical poetry every now and again. It’s great for their vocab (my sis in law actually commented this weekend on my 11 year old’s use of the phrase “my dad would be reluctant to…..” and my 6 year old’s phrase of “I would prefer…”) as well as encouraging their imaginations 🙂
You’re so right, Melissa! In order for a child to become a reader, she needs to find that magical book that makes her fall in love with reading. For me it was Dr. Seuss and, to this day, he is still my favorite author (and to this day I feel nervous if I don’t have a book by my bed because reading is an essential part of my daily life!) All these series make me nostalgic for the pure joy of reading “chapter books” for the first time. What a smile-inducing post 🙂
aaah, you got to love Dr. Seuss – he’s the best! 🙂
Where did you find the quilt or comforter from the picture with the child reading?
I didn’t take this photograph myself so I can’t say. I purchased it from a Stock Photo site.