I started this list a while back when Tania asked for some book recommendations for JT since they had finished reading their current series. Feel free to add your own recommendations! I've read all of these, and at least Bryce (my 14 yr old DS) has read them too - if not, I'll note that. Some of them Beth (one of my 12 yr old DD twins) has read as well. *Harry Potter series by JK Rowling *Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan- that's my first recommendation after the HP series. Loved them! Greek mythology in action packed story. Don't see the movie until after you've read the book. It's not a horrible adaptation, but they leave a ton of important things out. Rick Riordan has a couple of new series out/coming out - the Red Pyramid, first book in the Kane series, has an Egyptian theme. I wasn't overly fond of the writing style he used for this one, but the story was pretty good. The first book in the new series that is an off-shoot of the Percy stories comes out in October. They've got a sneak peek at Barnes & Noble online, and it looks just as good as the Percy books. -*added: we've got this one now, Beth is the first one to read it so far and she likes it. *Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo - there's 7 or 8 books in this series now, I think. Has a definite 'Harry Potter' sort of feel to it in the first book for a while, but then it gets over it and takes off on it's own. *Erec Rex series by Kaza Kingsley www.erecrex.com First book is 'The Dragon's Eye'. Book 5 came out in August 2010. *Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage 5 books so far. Magyk is the name of the first one, the fifth one came out not too long ago. Don't read them out of order, as the stories all build on each other. I happened to get book 5 before I got #4 last spring and didn't know who half of the characters were or what had happened so I gave up and turned it back in after about 2 chapters. It made much more sense after I had read #4 first LOL I'm sure there will be another book down the road in this series as some things with certain characters are far from resolved. *City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau - 3 books, with a fourth one that is a prequel (Prophet of Yonwood) that I would recommend reading after the other 3. They made a movie based on the first book- it was an OK adapation. They added lots of things to make it more 'exciting' that weren't in the book at all. This is definitely a series aimed at the upper elementary student in writing style. *Artemis Fowl series by Eion Colfer trolls, fairies, magic, smart boy getting himself into trouble all of the time - good series! I'm like 3 books behind in reading on this series now, but Bryce has read them all. *Eragon series by Christopher Paolini Excellent books- still one more to come out eventually. Definitely harder reading, but if you were reading it to him it would probably be OK. Has a definite "Lord of the Rings" feel to the overall storyline in theme and character types. Bryce read the first book in 5th grade, I think it was. I was surprised he made it through it as it definitely written at adult level. *Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott, 4 books - 4th just came out this summer I haven't read these, but Bryce has read all of them. *Deltora books by Emily Rodda There are actually 2 or 3 different series based on Deltora. The Deltora Quest is the first in the timeline http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Bind...=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283470975&sr=1-4 Then there are the Dragons of Deltora stories, and the Shadowlands stories. They are written for upper elementary age and are fairly short. I could read one in about an hour or two if uninterrupted. Looks like she has a fairy series too- may have to see if I can find those at the library since Carissa has always loved fairies. *Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey some of my all-time favorite books I first read back in HS. there are like 20 books in this series and they overlap and go back and forth in timeline. It gets a bit confusing at times when the same event is told in 3 different books from 3 characters point of view LOL I would still recommend reading the first 3 written as a starting point: #1 Dragonflight #2 Dragonquest #3 The White Dragon These have been around a long time and I bet you can find used copies cheap. I have a 3-in-1 book of the above three bound together. *Guardians of Ga'hoole series by Kathryn Huang Deep in the Forest of Tyto the adventure takes wing! Soren is born in a forest kingdom where Barn Owls have lived in peace for eons. But evil now lurks in the owl world, an evil that will shatter Tyto's peace and change Soren's life forever. In the first four books of this popular series Soren and his band make their way to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree where they will join with like-minded owls - honest, brave, wise and true - to boldly face danger and be tested in ways they never imagined. *Beth adored the Guardians of Ga'hoole series. She read them in 3rd or 4th grade. We own the first 11 of them- there was a great deal on a set in the Scholastic book order she brought home one month while she was reading them. I think they are up to #15 now. A computer animated movie version of the first 3 books came out this fall in the theater. *Warriors series by Erin Hunter The main characters of this series are cats. Lots of sub-series in this one, so a really long series as a whole. My DD Carissa (the other 12 yr old twin) is really into these right now and going through them very quickly. She has a good friend down the street a couple of years younger that loves them too. *Erin Hunter also has another series called 'The Seekers' with the main characters being bears. *Secrets of Droon series by Tony Abbott Eric and his two friends, Neal and Julie, discover a secret doorway in Eric's basement that leads to the rainbow stairs. The stairs reach down into the wondrous world of Droon - a land where all kinds of amazing things occur. A cast of magical characters appears to guide the kids on their journeys. And one thing is for sure-magical, fantastic adventure is in store! *39 Clues Books 10 books written by 5 popular children's authors.(has a collectible card series and online game that goes along with the books, we've never done the online game part for some reason despite all of the cards we have.)Bryce has read them all, I'm only half-way through the series.Likable orphans Amy and Dan Cahill have moxie (plus Dan can memorize numbers instantly) and frailties (Amy hates crowds). As the siblings compete with less honorable members of the Cahill clan, all distantly related to Benjamin Franklin, to win the fortune by collecting all 39 clues (only two are found in this first book), they learn about their dead parents, each other and world history. The humor is spot on—one uncle is credited with inventing the microwave burrito. The only flaw? The story does not end so much as drop off a cliff. *Diary of Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney We've never read these books at our house, but it was recommended by another friend. Main boy character starts 6th grade in the first book. There is a movie based on the first book that we saw in the theater over the summer. *Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osbourne Easier reading for 1st to 3rd graders approximately, good beginner chapter books. We own a good number, though not anywhere near all. The three older kids all read them and we listened to quite a few of them as audiobooks during long driving trips when they were younger.
Thanks for sharing Melinda!! I still look at this list all the time. JT just finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid, he was so excited last night. I wish the library had more of these and we could check them out for longer, he's still really slow.
Fabulous list! I'm tucking this away for reference! My oldest is in first grade... so this will be very useful in the year to come!
