Anonymous wrote:My DD has been reading the Keeper of the Lost Cities series since around that age. They are very thick but should be ok if your kid is a strong reader. My DD also really enjoyed The War That Saved My Life at that age.

My kid who also loves the Keeper of the Lost Cities also loves the City Spies books. Both fine for a strong reader.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anything but those dang Warrior cats. A plague of green cough upon their clan.

Lol. They are good for building reading speed and the hope for literary sequels. Eventually the kids learn what "formulaic" means through direct experience. All good things in my book.

Did you have to read 40 of them out loud?

I've always counted it as an important developmental moment when I realized all the Redwall books had the same structure.

Anonymous wrote:Anything but those dang Warrior cats. A plague of green cough upon their clan.

Lol. They are good for building reading speed and the hope for literary sequels. Eventually the kids learn what "formulaic" means through direct experience. All good things in my book.

Did you have to read 40 of them out loud?

My 9 year-old daughter has been enjoying the Front Desk series by Kelly Yang.

My kids are grown, so these aren’t really new anymore, but they’re still newer than some of the other suggestions:
Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
Hidden Talents by David Lubar
Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
E. D. Baker

Percy Jackson books are excellent.

If she hasn't read Harry Potter yet, this could be a good chance to start.

My DD has been reading the Keeper of the Lost Cities series since around that age. They are very thick but should be ok if your kid is a strong reader. My DD also really enjoyed The War That Saved My Life at that age.

Graphic novel series
- Hilo
- Raina Telgemaier (really a collection more than a series)
- Baby Sitter's Little Sister

Other series
- Upside-Down Magic
- A Boy Called Bat (a trilogy, I think)
- The Doll People
- PAWS
- Must Love Pets

Anything but those dang Warrior cats. A plague of green cough upon their clan.

Penderwicks
Raina Telgemeier books

When my avid reader DDs were in 4th grade, they loved Blackbird Girls (this may have been 5th grade), City of Ember, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, and the War That Saved My Life. They are not series but would qualify as "new classics" IMO. City of Ember has a few sequels and there is also a sequel to the War That Saved My Life.

My 9 yo is obsessed with Fablehaven.

I liked the Lloyd Alexander Prydain Chronicles and The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. They were popular in the 1970s but are not talked about much anymore.

I haven't read the American Girl Doll books but I think historical fiction is very informative for young readers. I'm familiar with the doll products so I think these might be a fit...a less challenging writing style with a modern historical lens. But still educational.

I have boys. Boys like Warrior Cats, Wings of Fire, and Rick Riordan mythology-based books for this purpose. They are entertaining but not "classic".

I'm looking for a good book to wrap up for my 9-year old DD for Christmas. We have a lot of well known books/ classics because she's not the first child (Roald Dahl, Narnia, Kate DiCamillo, Anne of Green Gables, so on), but I'd like to find something newer that's really well written, kind of a new classic to give her an exciting new read for Christmas.
Appreciate any ideas!