I'll never stop loving great older books, but I have to say that I am amazed by the creative, well written, and inventive newer books I'm enjoying now with my kids.
Many of these recommendations come from Read Aloud Revival, one of my favorite podcasts/blogs - if you don't already follow Sarah Mackenzie and listen to her podcast, you're missing out! She also has a brand new book out that I cannot wait to get my hands on - The Read Aloud Family - and I definitely recommend her book Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace as well. I read it last summer and it really was a recharging and refocusing read for me.
1. Edge of Extinction (2 book series)
This is a great first dystopia for kids. I read these and loved them and was so excited to hand them to my 9 year old - and I was not disappointed! He devoured them and we had great discussions about the story and characters. Dinosaurs roam the earth again, and you have to move quickly and think fast to survive!
2. Gregor the Overlander ( 5 book series)
I haven't read or watched any of the Hunger Games books/movies, but this is a YA series by the same author, and you can definitely tell by the expertly planned plots and skillfully woven characters that she is no novice to creating a gripping and intriguing fantasy world.
My 9 year old read the second and fourth books in the series before I did and I kept having to plug my ears and say "no! no spoilers! I don't want to know anything until I read it!"
Gripping story, excellent character development building on the first book, and great themes of sacrifice and doing the right thing even when it's hard. This whole series was a home run for me and I know my 9yo feels the same way!
3. Inkheart Trilogy
This is a story based on the very clever idea that some people can, by reading aloud, bring people out of their own stories and worlds into our own - and sometimes, vice versa. Meggie is a brave and believable heroine, and while I've kept this series to myself so far (I'm almost through it!) I will definitely be sharing it with my 9 year old in the next few years. These books are much longer and a higher reading level than some of the others, and there is a bit more language than in my others on this list.
4. Anything by N.D. Wilson has been a huge hit in our house!
When I polled my 9yo he couldn't choose between the Ashtown Burials series and the Outlaws of Time series.
My 8yo has been listening to The Door Before with our Amazon Echo Dot - she's been annoyed a couple of times when it mishears and says "shuffling songs by The Doors" - but it's still a fast and easy way for her to access our audiobooks on Audible. The Door Before is a prequel to 100 Cupboards.
5. Ben Hatke's work!
Graphic novels are a wonderful transition for kids between picture books and chapter books.
Plus, there's really an amazing element of storytelling in the artwork and the words together.
Don't underestimate this genre and how powerful the word and the art together can be!
And don't underestimate good "children's" picture books either - they can be some of the best reading no matter how old you are. ;)
One of our favorite graphic novel authors is Ben Hatke. While he also has done some wonderful picture books - I bought Julia's House for Lost Creatures for one of our kids this Christmas, and we've enjoyed Nobody Likes a Goblin from the library - he has also written Mighty Jack, Mighty Jack and the Goblin King, and Zita the Space Girl, which is the first part of the Zita the Space Girl trilogy.
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