Holiday Gift Idea: Series of Books for Elementary School Students
Posted in Tips on December 7, 2011
*Stay tuned! We will continue this series with middle school and high school book choices soon!
Books make fantastic gifts for travelers. Even if your child hates reading, they could probably be grudgingly convinced to listen to you read a story! Yesterday, I posted about favorite books for PreK children, toddlers, and babies. Today I am sharing favorite series of books for elementary school-aged children. I volunteer in my son’s library every week and these are the books that we cannot shelve fast enough. Kids come into the library and grab these books off the cart before they even make it to the bookshelves!
I have not read all the books I have listed, though I am working my way through the pile. I recommend that you read along (or read the book before) with your children. Only you as the parent can decide what is and isn’t appropriate for your children.
Elementary
Junie B Jones by Barbara Park – Junie B. is a spunky little girl who finds herself in many predicaments. The series begins with Junie in Kindergarten. In book 18, she becomes a first grader and continues with her hijinks. The first book in the series is Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. The third book is called Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth. When my son began reading the books, I read a few of them and made sure that he knew that language like that was not acceptable in our house and just because Junie uses it doesn’t mean he can! It doesn’t seem to be an issue. Other books: There are over 30 Junie B. Jones books so there should be plenty to keep your little reader reading!
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osbourne – In the Magic Tree House books, a brother and sister pair named Jack and Annie discover a magic tree house full of books that takes them on journeys all over the world. Together, they have adventures and solve mysteries. Other books: There are 46 books in the series with number 47 to be released at the end of the month and number 48 to be released in July of 2012. There is also a nonfiction series of books called the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers that cover topics discussed in the fiction books like twisters, dolphins, mummies, pilgrims, polar bears and more.
39 Clues is a series written by a number of popular authors, many whose names you will recognize like Rick Riordan (author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series), Linda Sue Park (author of A Single Shard), Margaret Peterson Haddix (author of the Among the Hidden series which I recommend for middle school students) and more. In the first book, Amy and Dan’s grandmother dies and they discover that they are part of the most powerful family in history. The source is hidden in 39 clues around the world,, which they set out to find. We literally cannot keep these books on the shelves. The students are waiting for them before I have even checked them back in. I had a few minutes of down time and read the first few chapters of Book One. It was definitely captivating and I plan on reading through the series with my son. These books are commonly checked out by 4th and 5th graders. Other Books: There are eleven books in the series.
Nate the Great by Marjorie Sharmat is another current favorite of my second grader. Nate is child detective who solves all sorts of mysteries (I am finding a recurring theme of solving mysteries while having adventures!). Other books: There are twenty six books in the Nate the Great series that have been published over the past thirty years. There is another series of books about Nate the Great’s cousin, Olivia Sharp.
The Amber Brown collection by Paula Danziger (Parents: You might remember reading her book The Cat that Ate My Gymsuit when you were younger!) is realistic fiction about a little girl named Amber and her friends and family. Our favorite book from the series is Amber Brown is Not a Crayon which is the first in the collection.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney might sound familiar because of the recently released movie based on the book. With the November 2011 release of the sixth book, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is in constant rotation. The book is based on a middle school student so I recommend it for older elementary or middle school students. Other Books: There are six books in the series.
Carole Marsh’s Real Kids, Real Places mystery series books are not only fun to read but are also educational. The books take place in real places and there is a mystery to be solved in each one. There are forty eight mysteries that are set in places like Mount Rushmore, Hollywood, DisneyWorld, the Twin Cities, Yellowstone, Hawaii, Mount Vernon and more. Other Books: Carole Marsh has written lots of books but another travel series that caught my eye is Around the World in Eighty Mysteries where there are mysteries to be solved at Big Ben, Dracula’s Castle, Mt. Fugi, the Great Barrier Reef and more.
Share your favorites in the comments!
The Magic Treehouse series is not a favorite at our house, but I imagine that’s because it’s the assigned reading at our kids school. That’s the kiss of death for almost any book.
I’ve been known to read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books over my daughter’s shoulder on occasion. Those books are funny.