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Want to know what series your kids might enjoy reading next? This post is all about the best books for kids to read.
Whether your kids are just now showing interest in books, or if they’re avid bookworms already, this list of kids books has something for every stage.
One of the great things about reading when your young is that the stories often match your own wild imagination. They are fun and exciting stories, but also have important messages about growing up, family, and friendships.
These books are laid out to progress in age with your child. Most of these series have tons of books in them, so once they find one they like there are so many stories for them to experience.
Whether they love dogs, cats, unicorns, dragons, or mysteries, there is a series for them. Since every child is different, the age ranges listed are simply suggestions. You know your child best and know what they will be ready for. But even if the reading is further advanced, these series are great books to read together.
This post is all about the best books for kids to read.
Best Books for Kids:
Ages 6-8 At the Unicorn Academy, students and their unicorns must work together to protect their home. The unicorns must learn their powers and work together. It is a very cute and easy read for those that love unicorns and magic. There are 21 books and a spin off called Unicorn Academy Nature Magic.
Ages 7-10 Jack (age 8) and Annie (age 7) discover a tree house filled with magical books. The tree house takes them back in time to different places each book. The first three books alone take the kids back to prehistoric times with dinosaurs, the Middle Ages with knights, and Ancient Egypt with mummies. There are currently more than 50 books in the series and they can be a good steppingstone into chapter books.
3. Dog Man
Ages 7-10 As you might have guessed, Dog Man is part dog, part man. He is a cop with the head of a dog and the body of a man and he and his friends fight to protect the city. This series is wholesome and stresses the importance of empathy, kindness, and persistence. It will definitely hit the funny bone of elementary aged kids. There are currently 10 books in this series.
4. Bad Guys
Ages 7-11 This series is about a gang of animals called The Bad Guys who are tired of being considered criminals and decide to try and change societies perception of them by doing good deeds. The Guys - Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake and Mr. Shark – take the reader on their path to goodness and their struggles when faced with life’s choices. There are 17 books in the series for your kids to enjoy!
Ages 7-12 Dink Duncan, Josh Pinto, and Ruth Rose Hathaway are third grade kids that solve mysteries and crimes together. Despite the name, these books are not scary. They feature the group of 9-year-old detectives trying to help others and do the right thing. They are wholesome and entertaining, and the good guys always win. As you may have guessed there are 26 books, one for each letter of the alphabet. Because of its popularity there is also an A to Z Mysteries Super Edition with 14 more books.
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Ages 7-13 Wayside School is a building that was built sideways, and the series follows the thirty kids that are in class on the thirtieth story. The series celebrates that all kids are different. The books are full of imagination and characters range all the way from John, who could read upside down until his brain got flipped, to Ron, a boy with weak feet that loves to play kickball. There are 4 books in the series. I am pretty partial to this series because I remember reading it as a kid and it is so nonsensical and fun, it brings back really fond memories.
Ages 8-11 Jack Sullivan, a 13-year-old living in his treehouse after a monster apocalypse, works together with his best friend, the school bully, and his crush to defeat Blarg (a monster). This series is great for kids that love action packed books, zombies and monsters. It is witty and entertaining, and the scare-potential is often thwarted with humor. There are 11 total books in the series, as well as 3 seasons of an animated tv series.
Ages 8-11 Two fourth graders, George and Harold, love to make comic books as an escape from their fun-hating school. The boys hypnotize their principal into thinking he is the superhero in their comic, Captain Underpants. His ridiculous adventures make for a fun and enjoyable read. It is a great adventure for two best friends up to no good. And they remain happy and positive in the face of their cruel principal. There are currently 13 books in the series.
Ages 8-12 This series is about Greg Heffley, who just entered middle school, and writes a diary of his daily life. Where some kids are already taller, hairier, and meaner, Greg tries to fit in and gain popularity. These books are humorous tales with important messages in friendship, loyalty, fitting in, and the demands of home life. There are currently 19 books in the series.
Ages 8-12 A group of friends (Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey) run a local babysitting service they've named The Baby-Sitters Club. The girls have complex lives and along with puberty must face loss, divorce, health issues, relationship problems, and more. The books teach that isn’t okay to make mistakes and it’s cool to be your own person. There are 131 books, so if it ends up being something your child enjoys reading, they will be entertained for such a long time.
Ages 8-14 Nancy Drew lives with her father and housekeeper after her mother passes away. As a teenager she likes to spend her time solving mysteries with her friends. There are 64 books and depending on where you start some feature Nancy as a younger kid and some as a high school graduate. The books have the right amount of mystery, innocent fun, and a mild amount of romance. For many people I know the Nancy Drew series sparked their love of reading and for mysteries.
12. Big Nate
Ages 9+ This series follows character Nate Wright, a rebellious sixth grader at P.S. 38 Middle School. Nate lives with his sister and dad and isn’t excelling at school. He’s a C student who prefers to spend time drawing comics or playing in his band. This series is about the struggles of middle school and is recommended for readers that enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There are currently 8 books in the series as well as a Big Nate show on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.
Ages 9-13 Now a popular franchise, this series follows Hiccup as fights between what is expected of him as a Viking and what he feels in his heart is right. There are now 16 books in the series, so even if your child has seen all the movies, there are still new plots to explore.
14. Dork Diaries
Ages 9-14 Dork Diaries follows female protagonist, Nikki Maxwell, an eighth grader that just moved to New York and is feeling inadequate compared to her super rich, seemingly cooler classmates. The series features Nikki as she tries to fit in at school. Her parents aren’t cool enough, she NEEDS a cell phone, she’s bullied by the mean girls, but she has two really great best friends helping her manage. There are 15 books in the series. Whereas Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate feature male protagonist, this series focuses on the struggles of teen and preteen girls.
15. Wings of Fire
Ages 10-13 The Wings of Fire series is part of the fantasy genre. The books are told from the perspective of dragons that have human-like traits. In the series, seven dragon tribes have been at war over a lost treasure for generations. Warning: it does contain violence as dragons die in the war. But the theme of the books are anti-war in general, with the protagonist of each story putting an end to conflict and representing love, courage, hope, friendship, etc. There are currently 15 books in the series and they are a great read for kids that love fantasy worlds.
16. Warriors
Ages 10-13 Warriors is a fantasy series written from the perspective of different clans of feral cats (Warriors) that try to survive their forest home and befriend the other clans. The series is praised for the depth of its characters and shows the true meanings of friendship and loyalty. There are seven series and each has six books.
