Gift Guide: Series Chapter Books (Fiction)

As you all know, we are bookworms around here. While there are lots of great books the girls have read here and there, these are some of the series books they keep going back to time and time again. It could be an unending list if I let it keep going, but we’ll stop at the top 10 plus a few others. After I typed it up, I realized many of them are geared toward girls. Boys can certainly read and enjoy them as well, but since I have two girlie girls, that is what I know best for now. Later on, I may ask my nephew or some boy friends what they enjoy reading.

The Little House – I have never read this series when I was younger, but I ordered it for Melody when she was starting Kindergarten, and she has probably read it at least a dozen times since then.

The Magic Tree House – The girls have picked up so much history (and science!) knowledge from these books. I am very impressed by the free curriculum and games they have on their website. There are also some non-fiction books that are useful for research. I’ll share about them in a different post.

American Girl books – I can’t keep up with which dolls are going to be archived and all of that, but we do love reading the American Girl books around here. I blogged about some of that HERE. We are slowly but surely finishing up the Kaya series and hoping to start the Grace series in the new year. We have watched all the movies that have come out, except Grace since she is a newer Girl.

The Boxcar Children – I never got into The Boxcar Children as a little girl. I was more of a Baby-Sitters Club and Baby-Sitter’s Little Sister reader. Someone recommended this series to us when Melody was about four because even though the books are quite lengthy, they only had a certain number of words used in every book. So she didn’t need a large vocabulary to read the stories. The girls also really enjoy THE MOVIE.

Ramona books and most other Beverly Cleary books – We had a reluctant start to this series even though I told the girls I had read these books when I was a little girl. We ended up checking out the Ramona and Beezus DVD from the library and they liked it, so we read some more of the books. 🙂 I think the girls like identifying with Ramona during the different stages of her life in each of the books. And of course, some of the Henry books are great, and what’s not to like about Ralph S. Mouse.

Nancy Clancy books – The girls read the Fancy Nancy books when they were younger, so they naturally grew into read these chapter books. We loved learning fancy French words from the books. Nancy is a third grader who solves mysteries. You can probably already tell the girls really enjoy mysteries as most of the books on this list are mysteries. :p

Thea Stilton and Geronimo Stilton – These book series are originally from Italy. They are definitely different from your typical book. There are lots of fun lettering and bold photos in these books. Besides the Thea and Geronimo books, there are a few other mystical and mystery books. There are also DVDs as well, but it turns out the girls aren’t as big of fans as they are of the book.

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew and Nancy Drew Diaries – I have been trying to get Melody to read the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew books for a long time. I actually read one of the regular books when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and oh boy, it was scary! I never read another book after that even though I keep hearing about them from friends. :p They didn’t have the Clue Crew books for younger kids back then.
 

Cam Jansen – Jennifer Jansen is a girl with a photographic memory, thus her nickname – Cam! This is an oldie but a goodie. These books first came out when I was born, but have been reissued in the last decade. There are some book study guides on their website and there is also a series for younger kids as well.

Judy Moody – Judy is always in a mood. She’s just a girl with a little brother. She loves to collect things like Band-Aids. It is always an adventure wherever she goes.

A few other series chapter books that are read around here are: The Chronicles of Narnia, I Survived, Magic School Bus Chapter Books, Amelia Bedelia, Rainbow Magic, Princess Posey, Sophie books, Just Grace, Ivy & Bean, Benjamin Pratt & Keepers of the School, and Critter Club.

Coming soon will be a gift guide for more chapter books (not a part of a series), non-fiction books, early readers and picture books, Christmas books, and books on our to-read list! I already share the books I have enjoyed reading each month (although I still need to give an update for this month), so check out the complete book list HERE and some of the monthly updates HERE.

What series chapter books do your children enjoy reading? What did you enjoy when you were in elementary school?