So, my niece is 8 years old, soon to be 9 and she has taken after me, being a huge nerd and bookworm. But so far all her books have been in the "diary of wimpy kid" style. Illustrated, stylized and '"easy"(i love the series btw). Now she wants to graduate to "big girl books". Her parents are readers but much prefer non fiction and asked me for help getting her books.
She is quite smart for her age. She liked the harry potter movies and wants to read the series. I read them when I was 10 and i could grasp everything quite well. I think she can handle them, and she wants to try, so that's one.
However, i'm completely lost on what else to recommend. I never really read children's and tween's books when i was younger, i totally skipped to teen/adult books as early as 11 (and probably read a lot of things I shouldn't have so I'm not about to recommend those and have her parents mad at me lol). My mom trusted me and left me quite free to pick what I wanted, but my brother (probably because he knows the amount of shit I have read) wants to vet the books before he buys them.
So please, give me your best recommendations of children's books(that do not treat children like they are dumb) for a quite smart almost-nine year old.
For more info: she loves dinosaurs and all sorts magical stuff. She is also in a magical girl phase.
by Mountain-Today1698
23 Comments
As someone who loved Magical Girls at age nine, The Girl Who Could Fly By Victoria Forester
Terry Pratchett, THE WEE FREE MEN.
Enchanted Forest Chronicles are great – the first is Dealing with Dragons.
Very wholesome animal series – Heartwood Hotel – the first one is A True Home by Kallie George
Enid Blyton books, Roald Dahl books…
Mystwick School of Musicraft, A Wish in the Dark (Soontornvat), where the mountain meets the moon by Grace Lin all have some magical elements.
Very thoughtful of you! I hope you find something she enjoys!
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda and Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson are brilliant stories for that age, especially if she’s into fantasy and adventure. maybe the Narnia series too?
Stig of the dump, Carbonel and Green Smoke. The lion The witch & the wardrobe books. All fairly old so may be hard to find.
Take her to the library and let her run amok in the kid’s section.
It might also help to think about what she in particular enjoys. I know a lot of kids that age like things like Percy Jackson and Warrior Cats. If you could get your hands on Dinotopia or similar that might be fun, or a more recent kid’s series about dinosaurs.
If she still wants something illustrated, but more cerebral, something like A Wolf for a Spell by Karah Sutton, A Wolf Called Wander by Roseanne Parry, or the works of Brian Selznick might be good!
Check out Chris Colfer’s “Land Of Stories” series. Three books telling the story of some children who get swept away into the fantasylands of their favorite stories and have to help characters and find their way back home. *The Wishing Spell* is the first in the series.
Enid Blyton’s adventure books are dated in their treatment of race, gender, and class, but I understand that they have been, er, bowdlerised to suit modern sensibilities, which is probably for the best for the little kids in the former British Empire who grow up reading them 🥹 I still have fond memories of the Secret Seven, Famous Five, R-mysteries, Adventure series, and Five Find-Outers. They were the first chapter books I read.
At the same age, my niece (now 15) loved Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events and all the Ronald Dahl books, esp Matilda and James & the Giant Peach.
I absolutely adored Wendelin van Draanen’s Sammy Keyes series when I was her age.
Also, Ronia, the Robber’s daughter by Astrid Lindgren is a phenomenal book.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Princess, Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
All Narnia books by C.S.Lewis
Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maut Montgomery
The Railway Children, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet by Edith Nesbit
I loved a Series of Unfortunate Events when I was roughly her age. Could also try Charlotte’s Web, or if she is into non-fiction at all, the Horrible Histories series.
Pages & Co series by Anna James
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series by LD Lapinski
Anything by Katherine Rundell
Anything by Katherine Webber
The Mapmakers by Tamzin Merchant
Anything by Abi Elphinstone
The chronicles of prydain by Lloyd Alexander would be a great way to go
Nancy Drew series, Percy Jackson, The princess diaries, Dear America series, Redwall, Warrior cats.
Dragon’s Green – Scarlett Thomas
Amari and the Night Brothers – B.B. Easton
The Hobbit!
A Series of Unfortunate Events
One of my favorites!
A Series of Unfortunate Events, which had my kids spellbound at that age.
Maybe Deltora Quest if she likes magic stuff. And Rangers Apprentice, although I can’t remember how suitable that is for an 8yo – I think my daughter wasn’t much older than that when she read them, and she only just got rid of her copies at the age of 26 lol
Oh! And Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap books are delightful.
Honestly there are so many amazing books out there for kids I’m a little jealous they weren’t around in the 70s when I was the right age. Doesn’t stop me reading them though 😁
Anything by Tamora Pierce that is set in the realm of Tortall (I suggest starting with The Lioness quartet).
The Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
Roald dahl books: Matilda, Charlie and the chocolate factory, the BFG, Georges marvellous medicine, James and the giant peach all great for that age!
Classics: Alice in Wonderland, the secret garden, the little princess, Anne of green gables, Heidi, the wizard of oz, the wind in the willows, the little prince, the lion the witch and the wardrobe
Jaqueline Wilson books: The story of Tracey Beaker, The Double Act, Hetty Feather, Buried Alive, the illustrated mum, the suitcase kid, cliff hanger.
You’ve already got some great recommendations for fantasy, but for the others I’d start there.
Michelle Harrison, A Pinch of Magic series
Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson series – she’ll love this, it’s great for her age and stage.
Cressida Cowell, Wizards of Once series
You may have some luck with YA books that are also enjoyed by adults. Maybe the folks in r/YAlit will have suggestions.
I recently read a wonderful YA book that didn’t have dumb dialogue and was well written. It was a very unique story that deals a lot with empathy and understanding.
{{Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling}}