Books for nieces

Sisters, ages 8 and 9 --
They loved the Wings of Fire series, and the Amulet series. Yes, they're reading Harry Potter too, but have stopped at Book 4 for now. Dog Man was pretty good, and Peanuts comics have been OK too. THANKS

Dealing with Dragons and sequels by Patricia C. Wrede.

Perhaps the Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott.

If they like Peanuts they might like Calvin and Hobbes

There are a lot of good middle-grade series out there-- try Lily Quench, the Pandora series by Carolyn Hennesy ...and Joan Aiken's classic Wolves series, beginning with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

>4 Capybara_99: That's a great suggestion! I loved newspaper strips as a kid, so that has rubbed off on my daughters who are around that age. King Aroo is another daily strip to look into. It is fantasy with wonderful surreal comedy.

A couple graphic novels they might like include Bone by Jeff Smith, which is a fantasy with a solid female protagonist, or Nimona, which also has great female protagonists and absolutely brilliant art.

At that age, I really liked both Karen Cushman and Eva Ibbotson. They're a bit older but might satisfy literary fantasy for middle grade.

My nearly 10-y.o granddaughter loved the following titles (number in brackets her age when she started):

Hilda graphic novels, e.g. Hildafolk Luke Pearson (7, but still likes it at 9)
The Bobbsey Twins series Laura Lee Hope (9)
Ballet Shoes Noel Streatfeild (9)
Warriors Chronology (series) Erin Hunter (9)
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great; Double Fudge etc. Judy Blume (8)
The Ogre Downstairs, Enchanted Glass, The Pinhoe Egg, Diana Wynne Jones (9)
Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce (8)

Some of these are vintage but republished and still very popular.

Assuming graphic novels are OK (not sure whether it was the GN or text Wings of Fire series here):

The Witch Boy books. We read these to my 7 yo and he adores them, but they're aimed at a little bit older than he is.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier and the related Guts and Sisters.

Non-GN, either the Hamster Princess or Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon.

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Publication Order by Diana Wynne Jones (the previously mentioned Pinhoe Egg is a novel in that series).

I would second the Ursula Vernon recommendation.

Around that age my son started the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter and the Animorphs books by K.A. Applegate. He also enjoyed the Wings of Fire series.

I remember reading the Chronicles of Prydain around that age. I loved those stories!

You could try the Witch Hat Atelier series.

They might like David and the Phoenix, The Cay, and Lost Dog Jerry

The Unicorn Rescue Society series?
The Creature of the Pines (The Unicorn Rescue Society) by Adam Gidwitz

Peter and the Starcatchers series, I recommend this as a read-aloud. We started reading this series aloud to my oldest when she was in elementary school. The fourth book came out when my daughter was a freshman in high school and she never missed a night.

The Lumberjanes graphic novels, and if they like it then there's a whole series with optional spinoffs, although each book is self-contained.

These are all amazing, Thank you! I did buy a few and got them shipped off for Christmas, but I'll be checking back on this list for upcoming birthdays and things too. Thank you!! (PS, Keep 'em coming! Just wanted to say Thanks!)

>1 benjclark:

Take a look at Edward Eager's Tales of Magic series. Half Magic is my favorite, but the rest are also excellent.

mythbegotten Thanks!

Redwall by Brian Jacques and its many companion books are excellent fantasy reads for middle graders. Fun for grown-ups to read along, also.