You asked for it. Here it is — a wholesome middle grade chapter book list for boys ages 9 – 12 with nice (not rude) main characters. There’s a lot of subjectivity in a list like this. So my criteria (besides excellent writing) is the following:
- books with main characters you’d want your kids to be friends with
- books with main characters who are kind, helpful, and / or determined
- books with characters who are respectful towards adults and siblings
- no romance
- no swearing
That being said, I did not reread every book I put on this list. IF I got a book wrong, please let me know! Or, if you have a good addition, let me know that as well, please.
Don’t forget that there are so many amazing books with characters who start out troubled yet find their inner peace through life’s struggles. Witnessing this arc of growth is life-changing as a reader. People grow in ways we can always predict. Books like Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, The Seventh Most Important Thing: One Kid. One Crime. One Chance to Make Things Right. by Shelley Pearsall, and Ghost by Jason Reynolds come to mind.
But back to this list … the books below can appeal to both boys and girls. You’ll know your own child at what appeals to them. However, I’ve made a separate list specifically for girls here.
Oh, one more quick thing — I’ve tried to list the books in order of difficulty with easier books at the beginning of the list and more challenging at the end. If you want wholesome easy chapter books with no potty humor or sass, I have a list here.
Wholesome Middle Grade Chapter Books for Boys
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
REALISTIC
Narrated by one gorilla named Ivan, this story will immediately grab your heart — it’s sad but keep reading, it’s an amazing story. Making it even more compelling, it’s true! Ivan is kept in a cage in a run-down mall for 27 years without seeing another gorilla, only the stray dog, Bob, who sleeps with him, Stella the Elephant, and Ruby, a newly purchased baby elephant. Before she dies, Stella begs Ivan to find Ruby a home with other elephants. Ivan reluctantly agrees, but it won’t be easy.
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
REALISTIC
Crenshaw is the new book from the author of The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate, and it’s another amazing story dealing with poverty. After having lost their home and living in their van for 3 months, the family is now about to lose their apartment. Although Jackson’s parents don’t tell him this, he knows the signs. He knows why they’re having a yard sale. He knows it’s not his dad’s fault for having MS but he’s mad and worried and alone. It isn’t until Crenshaw shows up and pushes Jackson to speak the truth to his parents that Jackson learns that he’s not facing this alone. Oh, and who is Crenshaw? He’s Jackson’s large, imaginary cat friend from when he was little now returned to help Jackson in his time of need. I felt like it was a God metaphor. I wonder what you’ll think?
Holes by Louis Sachar
ADVENTURE
Poor Stanley. He’s got the worst luck of anyone — and is now sent to a youth detention camp in the desert where he has to dig holes all day long. All because of his no-good, pig-stealing great-great-grandfather. This was one of my students’ favorite books (mine, too)! You’ll love the crazy adventures as Stanley and his new friend figure out what’s happening at this supposed detention camp and escape, with only onions to eat. And yes, even that has to do with Stanley’s pig-stealing grandfather. You’ll love it.
I Survived by Lauren Tarshis
HISTORICAL FICTION / ADVENTURE (series)
Excellent, fast-paced adventures set during significant historical events, these are great for reluctant readers. Your kids will zip through these fascinating adventures. The books always are about a kid trying to survive the historically important, life-changing event.
Hero Rescue Mission by Jennifer Li Shotz
FANTASY (series)
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
REALISTIC
This book is both “a meditation on kindness” and not judging people by how they look on the outside. “I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.” Wonder helps us see compassion, empathy, and acceptance from a variety of character’s points of view. Auggie, a boy with a facial difference, starts public school for the first time in 5th grade. His experience, though often difficult, shows his inner strength. And kindness wins over bullying!
Refugee by Alan Gratz
HISTORICAL / CURRENT EVENTS
Follow three distinct, alternating stories to experience being displaced from your country, on the run, and in danger. First is a young Jewish boy who escapes from Nazi Germany on a ship to Cuba, only to be turned away from the Cuban port and sent back to Europe. Next is a Cuban girl in the 1990s who, with her family and neighbors, flees in a homemade raft to the United States at great peril. Finally is a Syrian boy whose home is bombed in a country at war. He and his family travel a great distance to find a country that will allow them shelter. Gatz skillfully connects all three stories with a satisfying, realistic conclusion.
Science Comics: Bats Learning to Fly by Falynn Koch
Factual information is embedded within this graphic novel story about a lost little bat who observes a tour group in the desert learning about bats from a tour guide. When the little bat gets hurt, he’s taken to a wild animal hospital where he meets other species of bats. At the hospital, the bats lively conversations help the little brown bat learn more about bats — what they eat, how they fly, different species, echolocation, and where they live. SO well done!
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
REALISTIC (will be a series)
Like The Penderwicks, you’ll fall in love with this quirky, close-knit family. The Vanderbeekers’ landlord wants them out by the end of December but the Vanderbeeker kids are determined to change his mind, even though he hates noise, kids, and their family. But it’s almost Christmas and their efforts are only making things worse. What will they do? Charming and heart-warming.
Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood
HISTORICAL FICTION (based on a true story)
Thinking Hitler will invade England next, Ken’s family sends him to safety in Canada. But, Ken’s ship doesn’t make it. It’s torpedoed and sunk only days into the journey. Written in verse, this is a moving account of bravery and survival as Ken, several other kids, a priest, the ship’s only woman, and members of the crew spend weeks adrift at sea in an ill-stocked lifeboat. You’ll read about their swollen feet, dehydration, and starvation as well as the stories and songs that helped keep the kids distracted and hopeful. Ultimately, you’ll be left with a sense of amazement at the resiliency of the human spirit. Very well-written.
Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
FANTASY (series)
I think you already know about these books but if you don’t, they’re absolutely engaging fantasy adventures that will hook your kids. Start with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, a story about four siblings who enter a magical world where they must help defeat the evil queen.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
SCI-FI (series)
I’ve read this book so many times, I can’t count — many times with my classes as a read aloud — and every time it’s just as fantastic. (That doesn’t always happen with books.) A Wrinkle in Time is a remarkable, well-written adventure in space that deals with the overarching theme of good vs. evil. Meg and her brother, Charles Wallace, and friend, Calvin, set off to find her scientist father who disappeared while researching tesseracts.
Edge of Extinction The Ark Plan by Laura Martin
ADVENTURE / SCI-FI (series)
Action from the first page! This is an awesome story about a dangerous world where cloned dinosaurs have taken over. Now Sky and her fellow humans live below ground in safety with Noah as their supreme ruler. Sky discovers that her missing (maybe traitor?) father left her a secret note with cryptic instructions on how to be found. She decides to leave the underground city in order to find her dad. Barely outside a day, she and her friend Shawn are rescued from hungry dinosaurs by a boy who lives in a treetop enclave. When his enclave is attacked by Noah’s soldiers looking for her, Sky realizes that everything she believed about Noah is wrong and is even more determined to find her father. LOVED it!
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
REALISTIC
This book hooked me from the first page, taking me on a coming-of-age story that was both heartbreaking and filled with hope. Perry is well-loved by his mother and her friends. . . in prison. That’s where Perry has lived since he was born eleven years ago. But in an unexpected and unpleasant turn of events, his best friend’s stepfather, the new District Attorney, forces Perry to leave the prison. Not only that, the DA tries to stall Perry’s mother’s parole hearing. Perry discovers the stories behind the inmates lives, hoping that they’ll be helpful in reuniting him with his mother. This story will stay with you long after you read the last page.
The Quest for the Truth series (books 1 – 4) by Brock Eastman
SCI-FI / CHRISTIAN (series)
I couldn’t put these books down — which was a very fun surprise because I didn’t know what to expect from a Christian fiction series like this. The writing is fantastic — fast paced and engaging and the story itself is intriguing, a futuristic world in which the four siblings archeologist parents are kidnapped by forces trying to find artifacts which will lead them to eternal life. The kids pursue both the artifacts and their missing parents across different planets where they discover a hidden civilization of blue-colored people, escape a dangerous laboratory with predatory creatures including dinosaurs, learn a friend is really a foe, get captured by pirates, and so much more. I’m looking forward to the final book, book five!
Eddie Red Undercover Mystery in Mayan Mexico by Marcia Wells
MYSTERY (series)
Eddie, his best friend Jonah, and his parents are on vacation in Mexico. When Eddie’s dad becomes the primary suspect in a theft of a stolen Mayan mask so Eddie and Jonah decide to solve the mystery themselves. Only they don’t speak Spanish all that well, and there’s more to this mystery than just a stolen mask. You’ll love the Spanish words throughout, the well-paced action, and the characters.
This is a must-read, excellent Newbery winning book about amazing lab rats with intelligence who escape from the lab and form their own community. This was always one of my fifth graders favorite read-alouds.
The Fog Diver by Joel Ross
SCI-FI (series)
Dystopian middle-grade! The world is covered by a deadly “fog” that kills humans so the humans live only on the highest mountain peaks. Our heroes, a band of scavenging orphans, are trying to find something in the world below that they can sell in order to travel to another city where they can treat the cloud sickness of their beloved mother-figure. I loved the suspense, the fascinating world, the characters, and the happily ever after. I couldn’t tell from the ending if there will be more books because thankfully there was no cliff hanger. I gave this book to a 12-year old boy recently and he LOVED it so much.
Luminous and heartfelt, 11-year-old Alex Petroski’s story will grab your heart and expand it. His dream is to launch a rocket into space with his iPod of recordings about life on earth. The story is a transcription of what he records on the iPod — his solo journey to the rocket convention, the interesting people he befriends on the way and there, his trip Las Vegas to find information about his deceased father, and his unique, innocent perspective that tries to make sense of the world. Readers will notice Alex is super naive yet so sweet; this is a good one to read in a book club or with a parent because there’s so much to discuss.
The Ruins of Gorlan: Ranger’s Apprentice book 1 by John A. Flanagan
FANTASY / ADVENTURE (series)
We follow a boy named Will as he’s apprenticed to become a Ranger, a job he’s unsure about. But as he develops a relationship with his master and learns what being a Ranger is all about (spying for the kingdom), Will comes to embrace his new life. When an old enemy of the kingdom sends out dangerous beasts to attack Will’s master, Will is instrumental in getting help and killing the creatures. Action, fantasy, adventure, friendship, excellent writing — this book has everything and it’s a favorite series for many boys!
** This book does have the word damn in it.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
After his plane crashes in the woods, Brian is stranded in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet. His journey of survival is incredible and will captivate readers.
You May Also Like:
Wholesome Early Chapter Books for Boys
Challenging Books for Young Advanced Readers (Lexile 1000+)
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Catherine Needles-Sharpley says
My son and I really enjoyed The Edge Chronicles – might be a bit of an older demographic
Melissa Taylor says
Thanks for the suggestion — I’ll check them out!
Kaitlin says
I would recommend The Story Theives by James Reilly. It’s an amazing series with great adventure. I found the first one at a garage sale and read it to my six year old (he’s advanced for his age) for a bedtime story and he is hooked. He even prayed that he would get more of the books for Christmas. I sometimes even read ahead after he falls asleep because they are hard to put down. We are currently on book three. So far there are hints of girls and boys liking each other, but no romance. I’m pretty sure they would meet the criteria of the list. Thank you for the ideas. I have a hard time finding books that keep my son interested that don’t get too inappropriate.
Melissa Taylor says
You’re very welcome & thank you for the suggestion, Kaitlin.
Karen Meyer says
I found your blog through a link on Redeemed Reader from April ’18. I like to read middle grade books because I write for that age group. Most of mine are historical fiction, which is my favorite genre to read as well. I’d like to recommend my books, as I see that your list is short on that genre. Conflict at Chillicothe, Battle at Blue Licks, Missing at Marietta, Whispers at Marietta, The Tiara Mystery, and North to Freedom are my historical novels. Simon Kenton, Unlikely Hero, is a biography.
Melissa Taylor says
thanks for sharing, Karen.
Pamela says
Lovecraft Middle School series by Charles Gilman! My sixth grader couldn’t put the first three books down! Eagerly awaiting the fourth book!
Melissa Taylor says
thanks for the suggestion!
betertha jonkins says
gobble’m smack
betertha jonkins says
i know its cool
Cheri says
Code of Silence by Tim Shoemaker was one my boys loved. We used it as a read aloud. Thanks for the list. I’m very excited about it for summer reading suggestions.
Melissa Taylor says
ooh, it looks so good! I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the suggestions.
Michelle says
We’re always looking for great books, so we’ll be sure to check into some of these. 🙂 I would, however, suggest caution with the Who Was…biography series. We ran into one, and there may be others, that had more than a passing mention of infidelity. That’s not something I think is necessary in a book designed for kids this age. It was enough to make me decide to not let my kids read the series. 🙁
Melissa Taylor says
thanks — I took it off.
Carrie says
The Mick Bogerman Series. 3 of the 4 have won at least one award. Caring brothers, life’s lessons, awesome books.
It starts with:
How to Navigate Zombie Cave and Defeat Pirate Pete.
Then How to Rid Your Swimming Pool of a Bloodthirsty Mermaid.
How to Destroy the New Girl’s Killer Robot Army.
How to Protect Your Neighborhood from Circus Werewolves: Slug Pie Story #4 (Slug Pie Stories
I’m anxiously waiting for the next one to come out.
.
.
Melissa Taylor says
The subjects don’t seem not fitting for this particular list but I will give them a look. Thanks.
Beth says
Hi there,
I actually have not heard of most of these books, so will look for them now.
I am wondering if you have read any of Gary Paulsen’s books, or Will Hobbs? I worked as a library director for awhile, and those two authors are ones that I recommend to young boys regularly. I have no hesitation in recommending any of Gary Paulsen’s books. I do not feel the same about Will Hobbs’ books, as I believe there was at least one that I would recommend a parent pre-read.
Melissa Taylor says
oh, yes — love Gary Paulsen! Thanks for reminding me. Will Hobbs has been hit or miss for me — any favorites I should give another chance?
Amanda says
Thank you for creating a list for boys! It’s not that girls can’t or wouldn’t enjoy these books, it’s about having stories that are full of adventure, which most boys enjoy. I’m always looking for good books with content I can trust.
I noticed that Land of Stories was in the pic, but not listed. Following your “wholesome requirements” I would keep it off the list. My boys love the story!! But since I’m reading aloud, I can skip the words and the boy/ girl love story parts. It’s not one that I would like my boys to read on their own.
Melissa Taylor says
yes, I took Land of Stories off — I had forgotten the language so it shouldn’t be on this particular list. Thanks so much!
j Ryan says
Why are they for boys? Are we gendering books now? Yes, yes. Pink books for girls on knitting and sewing and sitting with our ankles crossed… Blue books for boys… with adventures and dinosaurs and pirates and sciency things to difficult for the female brain…
Melissa Taylor says
I realize I am generalizing. I’ve created two lists based on reader requests to help parents, teachers, and librarians more easily find books their children will enjoy. As I mentioned, the lists have a lot of overlap — including dinosaurs.
Kathleen Smith says
Thank you for this list! “Ensuring gender equality for girls and women does not require ‘gender sameness’. In the new millennium, neuroscience shows us that males and females are not the same, though their brains overlap a great deal across a wide gender spectrum. We can now build equality without the false premise of sameness, and we must do so in order to help all children.” Michael Gurian, Saving Our Sons, 2017, pg.viii
Jenn | Practical Family says
Someone JUST recommended Vanderbeekers to me, I’m excited to put more wholesome chapter books on our list for homeschooling this year. Thank you!
Melissa Taylor says
You are going to LOVE it! And, I saw on her IG that the sequel is coming out spring 2019!
Dawna says
So glad you have The Ranger’s Apprentice series on here. It is a fave for kids, parents and grandparents in our family as well as the accompanying Brotherband series also by John Flanagan.
Melissa Taylor says
I agree. Both are really amazing –great writing & epic sagas!