There must be a surge in children reading (hooray!) because I’m getting asked over and over these days for book recommendations for kids. I love this, mainly because I’ve been a book lover since third grade. My boys are readers too. (I have one that I’m still working on. Ha!).
I’ve put together a list of books that I would sincerely recommend to kids from the ages of 7-13 or so. (Obviously, this depends on reading level and maturity of the child.) If you take any of my suggestions, I’d love to hear what your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend thinks of these stories.
  • The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner (These characters were my first book friends.)
  • The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin (This is the series that started my bookworm habits.)
  • Stuart Little by EB White (Classic. That is all.)
  • Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (anything by Gary Paulsen is a hit around here!)
  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (This is a must-read series. This is one of my favorite authors of all time, so anything by Ms. Blume is a guaranteed winner. This book is a good jumping in point if you haven’t read her before.)
  • 39 Clues by a collaboration of authors (My oldest son loved this series. It’s adventurous with some mystery.)
  • I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis (My youngest two boys were obsessed with these books.)
Also try:
  • Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald
  • The Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osbourne
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Tip: Kids Book Boxes
Are you not sure what to send your favorite kids for birthdays or holidays? Yeah. Me too. I mean, I know what to get my boys, but my nieces and nephews live far away and I’m not really sure what they want or need. What’s my go-to answer? Kids Reveal Book Boxes. They’re customizable by gender and/or age. Boxes are hand-selected by a staff of book lovers. You really just can’t go wrong.
Check them out here: