My daughter (age 10) is an avid reader and always has a book in her hands. She reads a few books for school, but also reads more for enjoyment in her free time or before bed at night. Once she finds a book she loves, she has to read every book in the series or collection! With all that to say, she has read a ton of books so far this year! Today I want to share some of her current favorite book series, plus what is next on her to-read list!
If you have a younger reader, check out some of her favorite beginner chapter books HERE!
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Favorite Book Series
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
Book 2- Ways to Grow Love, Book 3- Ways to Share Joy, Book 4- Ways to Build Dreams
These books follow Ryan Hart as she goes through life as a 10 year old girl, dealing with new changes in her family, friendships, and growing up. The books are really sweet stories that teach great lessons to see the best in people, to be a good daughter, a good sister, and a good friend.
One of these books was part of my daughter’s Brave Writer Language Arts program last year, and she loved it so much she read all 4! She even read them all again this summer! They can be read on their own, but she says it is best to read them in order. I read the first one with her and really liked it too!
The Time Machine Girls by Ernestine Jones
Hazel and her little sister Bess visit their grandparents for the summer and go into the attic to discover a hidden time machine and a trunk full of stolen items from history. In each book the girls travel through history to return the stolen items while also trying not to ruin/change history. Within their adventures, each book teaches about a different time period and important person in history.
My daughter is a big history buff so she LOVED these books! There are 7 books in the series and they can be read in any order. To give you an idea on what each book covers:
- Book 1- Secrets: 1738 to meet young George Washington
- Book 2- Never Give Up: 1879 to meet Thomas Edison
- Book 3- Courage: 1849 to meet Harriet Tubman
- Book 4- Teamwork: 1916 to meet Marie Curie
- Book 5- Flying High: 1937 to meet Amelia Earhart
- Book 6- Standing Tall: 1965 to meet Martin Luther King Jr.
- Book 7-The Sky’s the Limit: 1983 to meet Sally Ride
Whatever After Series by Sarah Mlynowski
The Whatever After series is a modern spin on classic fairy tales! Siblings Abby and Johan find a magic mirror in their basement that transports them into classic fairy tales, but they accidentally mess up the stories and have to find a way to set things right!
There are 15 books in the series and a few more “special edition” books. My daughter loves these and has read almost all of them, currently finishing the last few. They can be read on their own or in any order.
The Cupcake Club by Sheryl Berk
The Cupcake Club is a really cute series that follows a group of friends that create a baking club together. They bake for fundraisers, competitions, parties, and more. My daughter has loved this series (12 books in all) and there are even recipes and baking tips in the back of each book to try yourself!
Malory Towers Collection by Enid Blyton
Malory Towers is a British boarding school, set in post WWII England, and full of friendships and endless adventures! These books teach great life lessons and help girls explore some of their own fears and dreams. My daughter is currently reading the 3rd book and says they do read best in order. She is excited to finish, so she can watch the television series based on the books. You can stream them in the U.S. for free on BYUtv.
My America or Dear America Book Series
If you have a history buff, these books are amazing! My daughter loves to read these and has learned so much. My America and Dear America covers many different time periods and are each written in the form of diary entries. Learn all about the events, hardships, and challenges of growing up in each time period from the girls living through them. My daughter’s favorite so far has been “My America: Our Strange New Land, Elizabeth’s Jamestown Colony Diary.” (Book 1 of 3) For younger ages I suggest starting with the My America series before the Dear America books. Some of the Dear America books during the wars (like Dear America: The Winter of Red Snow) do have some graphic parts of injured soldiers.
The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin
The Babysitters Club was one of my favorite book series growing up! This is what originally got my daughter interested in reading them, but she too fell in love and has read so many of them! *The original books, not the graphic novels. (There are updated covers of the original books, but the stories are the same.) The first 6 books are great for young girls, all about friendship, leadership, working together, and other life lessons. After book 6 is when they start to add in more about “crushes” on boys so we just skip a few of those for now. They are pretty obvious in the title which ones to avoid (e.g. “Stacey’s Boy Crazy”)
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street, but their landlord is now not renewing their lease. The five siblings have eleven days to convince their landlord to let them stay. Lots of funny scenes, cliffhangers, and overall heartwarming.
My daughter hopes to read the others in the series!
- The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden
- The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue
- The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found
- The Vanderbeekers Make a Wish
- The Vanderbeekers on the Road
- The Vanderbeekers Ever After
Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
Another favorite of my childhood and a favorite of hers! Nancy Drew mysteries are exciting, fun, and keep you on the edge of your seat. 26 books to choose from that can be read in any order. For younger readers, check out Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew.
**Other favorites: Anything by Kate DiCamillo (She just finished The Puppets of Spelhorst and loved it!) and Roald Dahl (her all time favorites are The BFG and Matilda.) And of course all the historical American Girl books! (Find unit studies to go with them HERE!)
Currently Reading
Best Wishes by Sarah Mlynowski
After she finished the Whatever After series, I learned that the same author had another small series called Best Wishes. I checked out the first 3 books from the library and she has devoured the first 2 in just a few days! She is currently reading the 3rd and the 4th will be released in November! They are almost like a sisterhood of the traveling pants, but with a magical bracelet instead.
Next on her TBR
Best Family Ever by Karen Kingsbury
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
The Mandie Collection by Lois Gladys Leppard
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
Kindle Paperwhite Review
Since my daughter is an avid reader, we bought her a Kindle PaperWhite for her 10th birthday. She was so excited and it was a great purchase! We bought her the regular Kindle, not the kid version, so she can continue to use it as she grows. It has amazing parental settings! You can set it up so they have their own profile and have access to all their books. They can view what children’s books are available for Kindle, but they can’t purchase or download anything within their profile. They can’t leave their profile unless they have the parent access code. So she can view and check out other books she would be interested in reading, but has to ask me to purchase them outside of her profile. She can even press a button that sends me an email letting me know she is interested in a certain book.
Kindle also offers tons of great books for free or at a discounted price! I was able to get her many of the books above for free or only $2-3 each. Since she goes through books so quickly, this has been the best to save money in the end! She also reads multiple books at once, so having them all on one device to easily take on the go has been her favorite.
THIS is the case she has. It can stand on its own & has a handle to easily hold it while reading.
Overall, we both love her Kindle and think it is a great investment (and gift idea!) for any book lover.
I hope you found some new book ideas your kids might enjoy! Please share more of your own favorites in the comments below! She reads so quickly I’m always looking and adding new book ideas to her list. 
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