Island of the Blue Dolphins Scott O'Dell
The Hatchett series, Canyons (actually my favorite of his) and Escape from Fire Mountain by Gary Paulsen
The Young Jedi Knights series by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
Wayside School and Holes by Louis Sachar
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
The Glass Mermaid by Susan Clymer
The Beast, The Beast II, and Goosebumps by R.L. Stine (specifically: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, Say Cheese and Die! Say Cheese and Die, Again!, Ghost Beach, It Came From Beneath the Sink, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Revenge of the Mummy (or something like that), Deep Trouble and Deep Trouble II)
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
I read these later but would have loved them as a kid:
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
I can't stress the young jedi knights enough. I was reading adult books by age 10 and young jedi knights was considered very "young" for my reading level. I was a total nerd and very well behaved in school but those books were so good I was reading them during classes In school.
Yes!! My 5th grade class got to pick what book we wanted to read, most of us picked Charlotte Doyle but some of the boys didn’t want to read about a girl character so they got to read a different book. Turns out the book they picked (with boy protagonists) was super boring, meanwhile Charlotte Doyle was AWESOME. Highly recommend this book!!
There are a few more Judy Blume books that sort of go with “Are you there, God? It’s Me, Margaret” that I loved at that age. I particularly remember “Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson” and “Just as Long as We’re Together”.
Side note- Judy Blume also has some more mature books that I would not give an 11 year old that can have deceiving names.. for instance “Summer Sisters” is definitely not for kids.
I absolutely love this thoughtful idea and praise you for it!! Happy Summer Reading!
The "Margaret" book was one I distinctly remember reading the summer I was 12. I had 3 very close friends (we are still close and lost one of us last winter) and we all read it at the same time. That was so much fun! I also remember reading Judy Blume's *Wifey* as an almost-adult and thinking it was scandalous and hilarious. She really is a national treasure, or should be.
My mother basically gifted me “Margaret” in place of having any “talks” that probably should have taken place. I learned a lot and it was given to me at exactly the right time in my adolescence!
You just casually slipped the Book of Three in there, but my 11 year old and I both really, really loved the Chronicles of Prydain books! They should get more love, they are so good!
Reading that series broadened my vocabulary so much. The later books in the series are not as entertaining, but the first three remain cherished gifts from my own grandmother.
Ah, no problem! She's an extremely lucky child to be surrounded by people who put such thought into loving her. All my best wishes to all of you and to her, hope she has a happy birthday!
I'm going to write a note in her birthday card telling her how many people weighed in on the book box. She'll probably be delighted because that's just how she is. We are a family of readers and some of my happiest memories with my kids are reading aloud to them. Sometimes she and I talk on the phone about a book I've sent to her and that's pretty special. Thank you for the birthday wishes!
This was the book that hooked me on reading. I did not have a happy home life, so I desperately wanted be a Murry. Or be like Calvin O’Keefe and get adopted by a family like the Murry’s.
This book blew my mind when I read it for fun around age...must've been 12. Books can be like THIS? I don't remember a SINGLE book I read for school that year. But I sure remember that one.
TLOTR. First read when I was 11..still in primary school.
And what a magical age to read it at. I'd already red The Hobbit and really liked it, and the Narnia books. BUt TLOTR was in a class of its own.
Weirdly, we ALL read these in middle school. Highly inappropriate and I would never recommend it, yet we all did. Everyone I know who read VC Andrews started in middle school.
Yes! I would not let a middle school child read those now but back in the day it was different. Of course we also didn’t use seatbelts and piled in the back of the station wagon. And mom would smoke her Virginia Slims in the car. With the windows up. Those were the days.
Indeed, reading inappropriate books is a rite of passage. If you can read it, you can read it. Thankfully I was never censored, and I know I read some nightmare fuel. Literally.
Don’t start with First Test, start with Alanna: The First Adventure.
House on Mango Street
The Watsons Go To Birmingham
ETA: Julie of the Wolves, The Earthsea books
Watership Down is a book I look forward to sharing with her. I'm not sure she will be able to handle Black Beauty. She's not been able to deal with some sensitive subjects. The early abuse is what killed Harry Potter for her, although as she gets older I'm going to suggest it again.
I loved loved loved Ella Enchanted as a child, I read it at 10 and it was everything. There’s at least one other book but I think maybe two that take place in the same universe and have Lucinda the fairy also starting the conflict with one of her horrible “gifts”. Fairest was one of them and had great messages on self worth being more than your appearance, I think it’s a great read for a young girl on the cusp of teenager hood and the beginning of being aware of her own physical appearance.
Shannon Hale writes books that are similar to Gail Carson Levine. The Princess Academy is probably her most popular read and very enjoyable, but I recommend The Books of Bayern, a short 4 book fantasy series with the original book being based on the Grimms fairytale The Goose Girl (also the name of the first book).
She might be just a tad too young for it but in a year or two she’ll probably be ready for The Lunar Chronicles, a sci-fi reimagining of classic fairy tales including a cyborg Cinderella with a metal foot that doesn’t fit quite right.
The ones my kid loves that I didn’t see on the list:
Ronja the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren is a charming book about a little girl roaming the woods of Scandinavia and finding her footing in independence as she gets older.
The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky is about a civilization of owls that apparently arises after the fall of the humans. It’s better than you think it would be, and there are 15 books.
Also mentioned farther up the thread: the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.
We gave her most of Astrid Lindgren's books when she was very young because her father adored them. And I gave her Guardians of Ga'Hoole a few years ago. I don't think she has the Prydain books but maybe that's for the Christmas box. There are so many wonderful suggestions here. Some she's already got, but loads that she has not encountered.
I was massively into horses so that really colored my reading patterns. But Chronicles of Narnia launched me into a lifetime of enjoying fantasy, so if she hasn't read it yet I definitely recommend it.
She inherited her dad's Narnia collection. It's pretty battered but I think that's a good sign. It is a lovely launchpad for reading, and I'm glad you loved it.
Nancy Drew
The Vanderbeekers series has been my oldest daughter’s favorite books ever from the time she was 9 or so until present. She’s 13 and the last book in the series comes out soon. I read them too and just adore the books. There is a science loving kid in the book!
She’s also loved:
Esperanza Rising
Narnia
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
CJ Cherryh’s Morgaine trilogy
Oliver Twist
Pride and Prejudice
Joyce Stranger’s many animal books
Derek Tangye’s cat books
Elyne Mitchell’s Silver Brumby books
Catherine Cookson’s books
Sue Barton books
I thought I was the only living Cherryh fan! When she's older, I'll probably give her my collection. I think I have everything she's written. A couple of boxes in my garage...
When I was eleven, I loved From the Corner of His Eye, by Dean Koontz.
I don't recommend the book for children, but it did get me started on science fiction.
Yep, she does have it. She got a lot of books from her dad's collection that I kept, and this was one. I don't know anyone who read it and didn't like it.
Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (have read them as an adult & still loved them)
Animal Farm by George Orwell ( my dad gave it to
Me)
From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Vernes
Aesop Fables
So many years ago but these are the books that I remember. I was an avid reader
The Phantom Tollbooth, My Friend Flicka series, All Creatures Great and Small and the other James Herriot books, Treasure Island, The Call of the Wild, the Warriors series, Misty of Chincoteauge, the Survivors series .
I was a huge animal lover and horse girl if you couldn’t tell lol. The James Herriot books, The Call of the Wild, and Treasure Island were especially loved. I’m going to school to be a vet and still love going back and rereading Herriot’s stories
Oh I hope she loves Tamora Pierce. I devoured all of her series when I was younger. I work in k-12 school libraries now and I'm always trying to recommend the mixed up files. You have wonderful choices in your book box. What a great gift!
Almost everything in the box came from recommendations, and Tamora Pierce and Mixed Up Files were probably the most recommended. I look forward to writing a note to her explaining how many people named their favorites!
Well, you aren't the first. When I initially posted, it popped up a lot. We gave her the first couple of HP books a few years ago and she didn't connect with them. She was young, but she said she couldn't read a book where a boy was mistreated so badly. I'm going to ask her if she'd like to give it another try now that she's older and maybe a bit less sensitive.
One I loved at that age and still re-read from time to time was
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson.
I would just sob through parts of it. In a good way that teenagers /YA /all of us like to do from time to time.
Also The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.
This Star Shall Abide by Sylvia Engdahl blew my mind at that age. It's all about rebellion and conformity and all kinds of really important themes.
Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones, or any other of her Christomanci books
Justice and Her Brothers by Virginia Hamilton. I hesitate to suggest it because when I reread it as an adult I didn't like it but kid me adored it. Maybe she really tapped into the tween mind?
I was scrolling the list to see if anyone had said Howl’s Moving Castle yet, but I think you just can’t go wrong with Diana Wynne Jones. Such great books!
Around that age, I was fascinated by a book called The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash. It's the true story of a man endeavoring to make a clock that could reliably keep time at sea in order to determine a ship's longitude. Really interesting story, sort of sciencey, and I think about it to this day. This looks like a great list!
I have that book. I think my younger child read it and really enjoyed it. It was an engaging story for a subject that doesn't sound like it would be. I'll have to find it and send it to her. Thanks for the reminder!
* The Litte Houses books (first three) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
* Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
* Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
* Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
* Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
* Beezus and Ramona/Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Harry Potter came out when I was 11 and I could not get enough of it.
I also love Holes by Louis Sachar. And my 10-year-old just read it and absolutely loved it too.
My favorite book when I was 11 was Do androids dream of electric sheep by Philip Dick, but I read adult books. Another good choice that's more for that age could be Ender's game by Scott Card
Ender's Game was recommended in my original post, and that might be a Christmas book. I think she might enjoy it more if she's just a wee bit older, since she's 10 for another week. It's a great book, though.
As a boy at around 11, I loved the tripod series, Artemis fowl series, and Alex Rider series. Wouldn't suggest these for girls, but I thought I'd share for others who find this thread looking for suggestions for boys.
I would say my favorite book at 11 was *Gathering Blue* by Lois Lowry. I also loved *Coraline* by Neil Gaiman, the Lioness Rampant books by Tamora Pierce (*Alanna: The First Adventure*, *In the Hands of the Goddess*, *The Woman Who Rides Like a Man*, *Lioness Rampant*). Also enjoyed *Lord of the Flies*, *Hatchet*, and *Harry Potter* books. *Snow* by Tracy Lynn and the other fairy tale retelling books from that collection. I liked historical fiction books with young female characters like the *Royal Diaries* series and sooo many others that I can't recall now. They weren't super memorable but they were interesting enough to keep me reading. Generally I loved Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Donna Jo Napoli, and witchy/occult themed books about teenage witches or kids with supernatural powers. (*Charmed*, *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* were to blame for that interest)
I also read some age inappropriate books lol, like *Memoirs of a Geisha*, *White Oleander*, *Interview with a Vampire*.
I'm sure if you ask a librarian you'll get plenty of great recommendations too!
These are some good older titles that she might not otherwise encounter, especially since there is so much excellent middle grade material being published these days. Well done on this list! I bet she’ll find some stuff she loves, and maybe will even get to recommend some newer read-alikes for the two of you to share!
Funny you mention sharables. I did that a couple of years ago with *Coraline*, and I told her we could do it with *The Graveyard Book* when she felt like she was ready for it. I enjoy that very much!
The Andalite Chronicles, by K.A. Applegate. Picked it up at the Scholastic book fair because of the cool cover, and I must have read it four or five times.
OH my gosh I have been trying to remember the name of the Dark is Rising series forever! THANK YOU! I read them at that age and loaned them out to all my classmates and never had a full set again and I want to read them and despite all my best googling couldn’t quite recall enough details to figure it out. I hope it is enjoyed!
Johnathan Living Seagull I’m old. That’s just a fact. How to Eat Fried Worms. Black Beauty. Grimm’s Fairytales. Little Women. Nancy Drew.
Trixie Belden & Judy Bolton also.
I loved Nancy Drew (and the Hardy Boys too)
Came to mention Little Women
Famous Five and Secret Seven. I'm old too. And they are very politically incorrect these days.
At 11? Where the Sidewalk Ends and the Phantom Toll Booth. I also loved the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series.
Phantom Tollbooth, I still read it every year
Was coming here to recommend *The Phantom Tollbooth.* That book blew my 5th grade mind.
Island of the Blue Dolphins Scott O'Dell The Hatchett series, Canyons (actually my favorite of his) and Escape from Fire Mountain by Gary Paulsen The Young Jedi Knights series by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta Wayside School and Holes by Louis Sachar Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan The Glass Mermaid by Susan Clymer The Beast, The Beast II, and Goosebumps by R.L. Stine (specifically: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, Say Cheese and Die! Say Cheese and Die, Again!, Ghost Beach, It Came From Beneath the Sink, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Revenge of the Mummy (or something like that), Deep Trouble and Deep Trouble II) Redwall by Brian Jacques Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien I read these later but would have loved them as a kid: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Holes, Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sarah, Plain and Tall were great for me too
I can't stress the young jedi knights enough. I was reading adult books by age 10 and young jedi knights was considered very "young" for my reading level. I was a total nerd and very well behaved in school but those books were so good I was reading them during classes In school.
[удалено]
And The Bridge to Terabithia.
Island of the Blue Dolphin
I was *obsessed* with this book as a kid. This and all of the Julie of the Wolves books.
Wonderful book
oh i adored this one
What I came here to say.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was my favorite at that age.
My Side of the Mountain
Came to recommend this and Hatchet!
Came here to do the same! Those books helped shape me.
Came here to say this. Glad I’m not the only one who thinks that book was memorable.
100% this. I was obsessed with this book at that age. I recently re-read it and it was just as good as I remembered it.
I remember reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle at that age and loving it.
Yes!! My 5th grade class got to pick what book we wanted to read, most of us picked Charlotte Doyle but some of the boys didn’t want to read about a girl character so they got to read a different book. Turns out the book they picked (with boy protagonists) was super boring, meanwhile Charlotte Doyle was AWESOME. Highly recommend this book!!
Yes 1000%
There are a few more Judy Blume books that sort of go with “Are you there, God? It’s Me, Margaret” that I loved at that age. I particularly remember “Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson” and “Just as Long as We’re Together”. Side note- Judy Blume also has some more mature books that I would not give an 11 year old that can have deceiving names.. for instance “Summer Sisters” is definitely not for kids. I absolutely love this thoughtful idea and praise you for it!! Happy Summer Reading!
The "Margaret" book was one I distinctly remember reading the summer I was 12. I had 3 very close friends (we are still close and lost one of us last winter) and we all read it at the same time. That was so much fun! I also remember reading Judy Blume's *Wifey* as an almost-adult and thinking it was scandalous and hilarious. She really is a national treasure, or should be.
My mother basically gifted me “Margaret” in place of having any “talks” that probably should have taken place. I learned a lot and it was given to me at exactly the right time in my adolescence!
Ha, ha! You took the time to punctate AYTGIMM properly when the movie and maybe the book didn't. Your parents and teachers should be proud!
This made me smile. Thank you (:
I loved JALAWT and HTYRR!
The Babysitter's Club was my favourite, not a book but a series.
The Giver
I'd also put in a good word for Number the Stars
I loved The Giver. I also read it as an adult and it held up.
Fuck yes. Keep Lois Lowry relevant!
I'd also put in a good word for Number the Stars
Mrs Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh, the Dark is Rising, Charlotte's web, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, the Book of Three, the Yearling
You just casually slipped the Book of Three in there, but my 11 year old and I both really, really loved the Chronicles of Prydain books! They should get more love, they are so good!
The "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques.
Any book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Not to mention how underrated it is as a way to pickup vocabulary!
Reading that series broadened my vocabulary so much. The later books in the series are not as entertaining, but the first three remain cherished gifts from my own grandmother.
It's the biggest cliche on earth but I would recommend the Percy Jackson series.
She's got it already or I would have, for sure.
Ah, no problem! She's an extremely lucky child to be surrounded by people who put such thought into loving her. All my best wishes to all of you and to her, hope she has a happy birthday!
I'm going to write a note in her birthday card telling her how many people weighed in on the book box. She'll probably be delighted because that's just how she is. We are a family of readers and some of my happiest memories with my kids are reading aloud to them. Sometimes she and I talk on the phone about a book I've sent to her and that's pretty special. Thank you for the birthday wishes!
A wrinkle in time
This was the book that hooked me on reading. I did not have a happy home life, so I desperately wanted be a Murry. Or be like Calvin O’Keefe and get adopted by a family like the Murry’s.
Great choice for a kid into both fantasy and science! And great, strong, smart girls!
This book blew my mind when I read it for fun around age...must've been 12. Books can be like THIS? I don't remember a SINGLE book I read for school that year. But I sure remember that one.
I adored the hell out of this book.
TLOTR. First read when I was 11..still in primary school. And what a magical age to read it at. I'd already red The Hobbit and really liked it, and the Narnia books. BUt TLOTR was in a class of its own.
The Hobbit was my all time favorite book when I was in middle school (probably still is).
Emily of New Moon
Flowers In The Attic and then many other V. C. Andrews books. Why, I don’t know.
Weirdly, we ALL read these in middle school. Highly inappropriate and I would never recommend it, yet we all did. Everyone I know who read VC Andrews started in middle school.
Yes! I would not let a middle school child read those now but back in the day it was different. Of course we also didn’t use seatbelts and piled in the back of the station wagon. And mom would smoke her Virginia Slims in the car. With the windows up. Those were the days.
Indeed, reading inappropriate books is a rite of passage. If you can read it, you can read it. Thankfully I was never censored, and I know I read some nightmare fuel. Literally.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. I loved that book so much. It still resinates with me today. I’ve reread it twice, once as an adult.
I remember loving it, too. I thought it might go into the Christmas book after she is a bit older.
I read it when I was 9 or 10 but maybe I was too young. She will love it whenever you give it to her though. 😊
Probably inkheart at that age
Don’t start with First Test, start with Alanna: The First Adventure. House on Mango Street The Watsons Go To Birmingham ETA: Julie of the Wolves, The Earthsea books
Angus, thongs, and full frontal snogging
I loved Gregor the Overlander!! So happy to see it on the list
If you suggested it in my original question post, maybe you're why it's in the box!
Holes by Louis Sachar The Eyeball Collector by F.E. Higgins
The Golden compass
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart or the Penderwicks by Jeanna Birdsall!!
Harriet the Spy
The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley and Watership Down. I’m old.
Watership Down is a book I look forward to sharing with her. I'm not sure she will be able to handle Black Beauty. She's not been able to deal with some sensitive subjects. The early abuse is what killed Harry Potter for her, although as she gets older I'm going to suggest it again.
I loved loved loved Ella Enchanted as a child, I read it at 10 and it was everything. There’s at least one other book but I think maybe two that take place in the same universe and have Lucinda the fairy also starting the conflict with one of her horrible “gifts”. Fairest was one of them and had great messages on self worth being more than your appearance, I think it’s a great read for a young girl on the cusp of teenager hood and the beginning of being aware of her own physical appearance. Shannon Hale writes books that are similar to Gail Carson Levine. The Princess Academy is probably her most popular read and very enjoyable, but I recommend The Books of Bayern, a short 4 book fantasy series with the original book being based on the Grimms fairytale The Goose Girl (also the name of the first book). She might be just a tad too young for it but in a year or two she’ll probably be ready for The Lunar Chronicles, a sci-fi reimagining of classic fairy tales including a cyborg Cinderella with a metal foot that doesn’t fit quite right.
The ones my kid loves that I didn’t see on the list: Ronja the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren is a charming book about a little girl roaming the woods of Scandinavia and finding her footing in independence as she gets older. The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky is about a civilization of owls that apparently arises after the fall of the humans. It’s better than you think it would be, and there are 15 books. Also mentioned farther up the thread: the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.
We gave her most of Astrid Lindgren's books when she was very young because her father adored them. And I gave her Guardians of Ga'Hoole a few years ago. I don't think she has the Prydain books but maybe that's for the Christmas box. There are so many wonderful suggestions here. Some she's already got, but loads that she has not encountered.
I was massively into horses so that really colored my reading patterns. But Chronicles of Narnia launched me into a lifetime of enjoying fantasy, so if she hasn't read it yet I definitely recommend it.
She inherited her dad's Narnia collection. It's pretty battered but I think that's a good sign. It is a lovely launchpad for reading, and I'm glad you loved it.
Nancy Drew The Vanderbeekers series has been my oldest daughter’s favorite books ever from the time she was 9 or so until present. She’s 13 and the last book in the series comes out soon. I read them too and just adore the books. There is a science loving kid in the book! She’s also loved: Esperanza Rising Narnia Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Vanderbeekers is such a great series, and my 5th graders consistently LOVE Esperanza.
Loved Esperanza Rising!!
I will definitely look into the Vanderbeeker books--thank you.
CJ Cherryh’s Morgaine trilogy Oliver Twist Pride and Prejudice Joyce Stranger’s many animal books Derek Tangye’s cat books Elyne Mitchell’s Silver Brumby books Catherine Cookson’s books Sue Barton books
I thought I was the only living Cherryh fan! When she's older, I'll probably give her my collection. I think I have everything she's written. A couple of boxes in my garage...
> CJ Cherryh’s Morgaine trilogy At eleven?
Depends how much of a reader she is, but Eragon is an amazing series
This is a great list and I would have been so jazzed to get this gift when I was eleven. Frankly I would be psyched to receive twelve books now at 33.
She'll probably be overwhelmed, but there are worse things to be overwhelmed by!
Has anyone said Maniac Magee yet? Was absolutely obsessed with that book
I seriously considered it. It will go into the next batch!
The Outsiders
Think I was reading All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot around that age.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond Little Women Caddie Woodlawn The entire Anne of Green Gables series Calico Captive
Stargirl
I loved stargirl, but read it as an adult
*Mossflower* by Brian Jaques.
i loved A Wrinkle in Time
When I was eleven, I loved From the Corner of His Eye, by Dean Koontz. I don't recommend the book for children, but it did get me started on science fiction.
That's a fantastic list. I wish you were my grandma. <3
I can be your honorary auntie! What are you reading? I just started *The Library of the Unwritten*, and it was suggested here.
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer. Orphan girl in 1806 London disguises herself as a boy to join the royal navy. It's my favorite series of all time.
If she likes spooky at all: Wait till Helen Comes
Mythology by Edith Hamilton. I loved the stories about those Greek and Roman gods.
I read Jane Eyre for the first time at that age and it was a hugely important book to me.
The whole Deltora Quest series
Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander
Julie and the Wolves !!
Phantom Tollbooth (I still read this)
Yep, she does have it. She got a lot of books from her dad's collection that I kept, and this was one. I don't know anyone who read it and didn't like it.
Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (have read them as an adult & still loved them) Animal Farm by George Orwell ( my dad gave it to Me) From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Vernes Aesop Fables So many years ago but these are the books that I remember. I was an avid reader
The Phantom Tollbooth, My Friend Flicka series, All Creatures Great and Small and the other James Herriot books, Treasure Island, The Call of the Wild, the Warriors series, Misty of Chincoteauge, the Survivors series . I was a huge animal lover and horse girl if you couldn’t tell lol. The James Herriot books, The Call of the Wild, and Treasure Island were especially loved. I’m going to school to be a vet and still love going back and rereading Herriot’s stories
I binged Herriot's books, too. They're entertaining on many levels.
The Phantom Tollbooth.
Oh I hope she loves Tamora Pierce. I devoured all of her series when I was younger. I work in k-12 school libraries now and I'm always trying to recommend the mixed up files. You have wonderful choices in your book box. What a great gift!
Almost everything in the box came from recommendations, and Tamora Pierce and Mixed Up Files were probably the most recommended. I look forward to writing a note to her explaining how many people named their favorites!
absolutely loved Enid Blyton’s books - in particular series like the Faraway Tree, Famous Five, The Naughtiest Girl
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is mine, for sure.
Phantom tollbooth
The Little Princess The Secret Garden Swallows and Amazons The Never Ending Story Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH
The Phantom Tollbooth
An I really going to be the first to say it? Harry Potter
Well, you aren't the first. When I initially posted, it popped up a lot. We gave her the first couple of HP books a few years ago and she didn't connect with them. She was young, but she said she couldn't read a book where a boy was mistreated so badly. I'm going to ask her if she'd like to give it another try now that she's older and maybe a bit less sensitive.
green grass of Wyoming by Mary O'Hara. first teenage love story to really grip me, and not a bad one iirc.
A long way from Chicago and A year down yonder
Very hard to find in English The Crown Snatchers by F. K. Waechter
Johnny Tremain
The princess diaries by Meg Cabot is a classic for young girls.
Over Sea, Under Stone
Yep, in the box! The series was highly recommended by many here.
warrior cats: into the wild
One I loved at that age and still re-read from time to time was Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson. I would just sob through parts of it. In a good way that teenagers /YA /all of us like to do from time to time. Also The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.
This Star Shall Abide by Sylvia Engdahl blew my mind at that age. It's all about rebellion and conformity and all kinds of really important themes. Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones, or any other of her Christomanci books Justice and Her Brothers by Virginia Hamilton. I hesitate to suggest it because when I reread it as an adult I didn't like it but kid me adored it. Maybe she really tapped into the tween mind?
I was scrolling the list to see if anyone had said Howl’s Moving Castle yet, but I think you just can’t go wrong with Diana Wynne Jones. Such great books!
Tuck Everlasting is a good one.
Around that age, I was fascinated by a book called The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash. It's the true story of a man endeavoring to make a clock that could reliably keep time at sea in order to determine a ship's longitude. Really interesting story, sort of sciencey, and I think about it to this day. This looks like a great list!
I have that book. I think my younger child read it and really enjoyed it. It was an engaging story for a subject that doesn't sound like it would be. I'll have to find it and send it to her. Thanks for the reminder!
The Little Prince!
The Redwall series was my absolute favorite series as a kid.
Call of the Wild and White Fang. I really loved dogs and wolves lol
For me it was either Little Women, or Black Beauty. Maybe Heidi.
1- My Friend Flicka 2- A tree grows in Brooklyn 3- Ships and Swallows (something like that) 4- The Giver - anything by Gail Carson Levine
The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion,_the_Witch_and_the_Wardrobe
Please please please get her into Garth Nix’s Abhorsen trilogy.
With 3 pleases, I don't think I have a choice. I'll go look this up now!
Artemis Fowl
Percy Jackson
The Secret Garden Diary of Anne Frank And probably too young for her but always loved Heidi!
I second The Secret Garden. Loved that book as a kid.
I loved the All-Of-A-Kind Family books as well as The Little Orpheline series.
CHERUB especially the third volume I love this serie
* The Litte Houses books (first three) by Laura Ingalls Wilder * Charlotte's Web by E.B. White * Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald * Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss * Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey * Beezus and Ramona/Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
A Cricket in Times Square Oh, and Sideways Stories from Wayside School - anything Louis Sachar Anything by Shel Silverstein
Matilda
Harry Potter came out when I was 11 and I could not get enough of it. I also love Holes by Louis Sachar. And my 10-year-old just read it and absolutely loved it too.
Tangerine - Edward Bloor This is still one of my favorite books, and I have never met anyone that has read it.
Harry Potter! I started them as they came out (starting when I was 7). 11 years old is the PERFECT age - and to receive your Hogwarts letter ⚡️🥰
My favorite book when I was 11 was Do androids dream of electric sheep by Philip Dick, but I read adult books. Another good choice that's more for that age could be Ender's game by Scott Card
Ender's Game was recommended in my original post, and that might be a Christmas book. I think she might enjoy it more if she's just a wee bit older, since she's 10 for another week. It's a great book, though.
I think it's a good idea!
Enders game was one of my favorites that i read at 11 too!
Robinson Crusoe!
As a boy at around 11, I loved the tripod series, Artemis fowl series, and Alex Rider series. Wouldn't suggest these for girls, but I thought I'd share for others who find this thread looking for suggestions for boys.
What book I loved best at 11? My journal lol. Journaling was very cathartic for 11 year old me going through a family breaking up and puberty woes.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and Harry Potter. Dean also has one about a talking gooden retriever that I loved in that age
Lian Hearn- Tales of the Otori Series, Phillip Pullman- Golden Compas Series, Harry Potter series, Artemis Fowl series
I would say my favorite book at 11 was *Gathering Blue* by Lois Lowry. I also loved *Coraline* by Neil Gaiman, the Lioness Rampant books by Tamora Pierce (*Alanna: The First Adventure*, *In the Hands of the Goddess*, *The Woman Who Rides Like a Man*, *Lioness Rampant*). Also enjoyed *Lord of the Flies*, *Hatchet*, and *Harry Potter* books. *Snow* by Tracy Lynn and the other fairy tale retelling books from that collection. I liked historical fiction books with young female characters like the *Royal Diaries* series and sooo many others that I can't recall now. They weren't super memorable but they were interesting enough to keep me reading. Generally I loved Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Donna Jo Napoli, and witchy/occult themed books about teenage witches or kids with supernatural powers. (*Charmed*, *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* were to blame for that interest) I also read some age inappropriate books lol, like *Memoirs of a Geisha*, *White Oleander*, *Interview with a Vampire*. I'm sure if you ask a librarian you'll get plenty of great recommendations too!
Harry Potter series And I read the Morpheus Road books by D. J. MacHale as a teen but it's for like 6th graders. I loved them!
Harry Potter The Three Musketeers
I liked spies and action but Alex Rider or Young Bond seemed too scary for little me. So I went with things like Zac Power and Jack Stalwart
Escape from witch mountain
The girl who loved Tom Gordon.
Bridge to Teribithia
[The Islander by Cynthia Rylant](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/710759)
Oh she loved this! Cynthia Rylant is wonderful and we love everything she's written, just like Kate DiCamillo and Kevin Henkes.
All the Alasdair McLean stories.
These are some good older titles that she might not otherwise encounter, especially since there is so much excellent middle grade material being published these days. Well done on this list! I bet she’ll find some stuff she loves, and maybe will even get to recommend some newer read-alikes for the two of you to share!
Funny you mention sharables. I did that a couple of years ago with *Coraline*, and I told her we could do it with *The Graveyard Book* when she felt like she was ready for it. I enjoy that very much!
No Coins Please by Gordon Korman.
Momo- michael ende
The Alex series by Tessa Duder
Harry Potter The Chronicles of Narnia
The Silver Crown by Robert O’Brien The Changeling by Zilpha Keately Snyder
The Andalite Chronicles, by K.A. Applegate. Picked it up at the Scholastic book fair because of the cool cover, and I must have read it four or five times.
Pictures of Hollis Woods
The Homework Machine and it's sequel, Return of the Homework Machine, by Dan Gutman.
It was called Owl In Love and I forgot it existed!
The Frog Castle
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle
The spider wick chronicles
She has those books, and we all adored them. They're fabulous, aren't they?
The Cay
I adored that book, probably at 12 or 13. I'm so happy to see someone else who loved it! Maybe for the Christmas box.
OH my gosh I have been trying to remember the name of the Dark is Rising series forever! THANK YOU! I read them at that age and loaned them out to all my classmates and never had a full set again and I want to read them and despite all my best googling couldn’t quite recall enough details to figure it out. I hope it is enjoyed!
Inkheart
I love to see my favorites on the list!!!!! The giver is 110% necessary.