What should my 10 year old read next?
Something that happens to me ALL the time is people asking “what should I get for my child age _____ to read?” Often it starts around the age when they have finished Harry Potter once (or a dozen times) and they need to branch out a little but don’t want to look too far. I know this feeling, as a mom. I have my 3rd daughter in this stage right now, actually. My oldset was a serial HP reader as well; for over a year she read that series once a month. Here are some of the fun books we have found to break out of this rut. It is not an exhaustive list, but some that we have grown to love over the last few years. *Note, this is not going to be a great list for every kid on their 10th birthday; but between the ages of around 9-12 most kids will get to these. The list I’d give your 8 or 12yo would both look different from this list and I’ll get there sometime.
Our world/hidden world/alternate history:
Percy Jackson (and related series) by Rick Riordan. 5 books, shorter than the behemoths of the later Harry Potter books but still a good length for the age. Based on Greek mythology (and later series explore Roman, Norse, and Egyptian myths as well). These books are fast and fun. My second daughter loves them so much she was Annabeth for Halloween twice. Set in the US, a lot of which is in NYC.
Fablehaven (and Dragon Watch) by Brandon Mull. Again, 5 books. All magical creatures are confined for their (and our) safety to magical preserves, of which Fablehaven is one. But when the evil creatures try to overthrow the preserves they need some heroes to help save the day. Kendra and Seth Sorenson, grandkids of the Fablehaven preserve’s caretakers are young tween/teen age at the start of the series and grow in age and magical abilities as they help save the world. Set mainly in the US, they travel all over throughout the series. (Honorable mention to his Candy Shop Wars series too.)
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. 5 books with one more expected in the next year. It’s the Free Kingdoms vs the Hushlands (like the USA, Europe, and other continents we know about that are actually controlled by evil librarians). Super silly stories that also teach a little about writing and philosophy while you follow Alcatraz, his Grandpa Smedry, and other various family members as they try to keep the Free Kingdoms free of librarians. Takes place in the US and various Free Kingdoms. Warning: contains exploding teddy bears, girls who are knights, and some very strange Talents. Also, the 5th book ends on a giant cliffhanger and we are all desperately waiting for the last book. We listened to this series during our quarantine this year and all the kids loved it.
Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. Originally written in German, the Scholastic translations are great and the story is fabulous (just don’t watch the movie!!). Set in Europe, Meggie and her dad who is a book binder/refinisher travel around as he fixes up books with beautiful new bindings. Until they run into some bad guys, who match the descriptions from one of the books everything is great. But then there are kidnappings, magics, and fire eaters to spice it all up. The books look large, but they are a great fun to read and go pretty quickly.
Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Set in an alternate history, where magicians summon djinn and others to do their bidding (including building projects). Nathaniel uses knowledge and magic to gain power and stop some bad guys… but is he becoming one of them? See also Kitty, his sometime rival sometime friend who makes different choices in similar circumstances… some of the time. And all of it is narrated by Bartimaeus, a funloving but slightly wicked Djinn.
Serafina and the Black Cloak trilogy by Robert Beatty. Oops, there’s a fourth book now! The kids just put it on the list. I haven’t actually read these, but my kids have all loved them and read them to the point that the first book is literally falling apart. Takes place in North Carolina on (and off…) the Biltmore estate in the Appalachians.
Second world (not our world):
Land of Stories by Chris Colfer, 6 books. Kids from our world go into fairy tale lands to fracture (and repair, mostly…) fairy tales. Each book features different tales, from classic ‘Disney princess’ stories, to Grimm, Homer, Mother Goose, and more. My third daughter gobbled these up so fast I couldn't keep up with her book habit. Then she got her older sister to read them. Then a cousin… and it continues. These are fun and fast with just the right amount of suspense.
Beyonders trilogy by Brandon Mull. Jason (a young teen) works at a small zoo feeding animals after school. One day he hears something coming from the hippo who opens his mouth… and swallows Jason whole! But he comes out of it not in the stomach of the hippo, but in a magic world in need of a hero. I actually enjoy this series more than Fablehaven, but that might be because I prefer second world fantasy more in general. The books are fun, suspenseful, appropriately epic and full of magic creatures, exotic foods, and a few zombies.
Princess Academy trilogy by Shannon Hale. When the prince learns he has to marry someone from the rural mountain district as far from the capitol as possible, the court functionaries create a school for the girls of the mountain to learn courtly ways, including reading, writing, dancing, and etiquette. The girls learn a lot even though they don’t enjoy it and of course there are a few twists and turns on the way to the ending. And that’s just the first book! It’s a fabulous series about the power of women in many different areas that my girls and I all love.
Redwall series by Brian Jacques. These are older… from the 90’s mostly. If your kids love small animals acting like people, this is the series for you. I didn’t love them myself, but some of my kids have enjoyed several of them.
Belgariad (and Mallorean) series by David Eddings, 5 books each. These are even a little older, from the 80’s. And as such they’re not really labeled as middle grade or YA, but they definitely would be if they came out today. They’re great for following Garion as he goes with his aunt and others on a mysterious quest. While quite formulaic by today’s standards they are fabulous for teaching about tropes in the fantasy genre and how they work (or sometimes don’t). I recommend them at this age because they’re short and not super involved emotionally, though some might want to wait a little bit because of the amount of fantasy violence (lots of sword fights, etc) that’s described differently than the usual for today’s middle grade books.
I could really go on longer, but these are the favorites around our parts. Lots of fun adventures to be had in a variety of places. If you’re still struggling with what to get for a Christmas book, these are all great places to start in the same general interest and reading level as Harry Potter.
A few of my books from the list. Some have been very well loved, and some are new.
