Good books suitable for tween girl (babysitters, teens, baby, games)

[CGab]

Hi all! My 11 yr old daughter (she'll be 12 in March) loves to read and usually reads at least an hour before bed. She recently asked me if she could read the "Pretty little liars" series. After looking into what it's about I feel she's a little young for that type of book. Suggested age for that series is 14+. Even though she's disappointed she understands. I need some age appropriate book suggestions, preferably a series. She has already read the entire series of Dork Diaries and Diary of Wimpy. Thanks!

[jaynarie]

I've been out of the classroom too long- my brain is mush. I can't remember that many. I'm going to give you a wide range lexile-wise. There are a couple that are more of a 3rd/4th grade level, and a few at more of a 6th/7th. As long as a kid was reading and understood it, I never cared too much. I still read junior fiction. I was never going to tell them to stop reading books that were too easy. (We did have discussions if they ONLY read 'easy' books, but that is an entirely different thing.) I digress. Off the top of my head:

My absolute favorite book of all time:
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (turned into a series- Logan family)

High on my favorite books list:
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt (this also turned into a series- Tillerman family)

I read this to every single class I taught, from kindergarten to sixth grade:
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (DiCamillo has other good books, too. I used The Tiger Rising in my lit circles when I taught 5th.)


Savvy, Scumble, and Switch by Indrid Law (Savvy Series- so far just the three)

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Shadow Children Series, this is book #1, I believe it is still going)

Maniac Magee- Jerry Spinnelli (no series by this author, but his books tend to be well liked)

Of course, anything by Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, mind going blank.... Classic series like Ramona, Boxcar Children, Little House, etc...

I did have a lot of kids who read the Hunger Games when they first came out. They were not a part of my classroom library as I feel that is really up to a parent. There is violence and I wasn't going to be the one supplying the books.
******
I'm going to add this down here. A more recent junior fiction book that quickly shot itself into my top-5 favorite books. However, it is very deep and it can be sad. It is based on true events, but the characters and exact events are fictional. Set in WWII when Russia evacuated Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and sent them to work camps in Siberia. It is told through the eyes of a preteen girl. It is an absolutely beautiful book, and I would have no problem reading it to a class if I still taught 5th or 6th because we would be able to discuss the events. People die and they are all treated unfairly. Whether or not I would recommend a student to read this independently would depend on the student and their maturity level. Since I do not know your daughter, I wanted to throw that out there.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea (related characters, but not a series) is her second book. A great book, just not quite as good. (The bar is really, really high.)

[Hedgehog_Mom]

My 12 year old reads and rereads the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Her sister loves the Study series by Maria V. Snyder, and The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

[abcdefg567]

Nancy Drew series.
Caroline B. Cooney books.
Series of Unfortunate Events.
The Babysitters Club.
Harry Potter.
Jane Eyre.
The Secret Garden.
Esperanza Rising.
Chronicles of Narnia.
Daughters of the Moon series.
Little House on the Prairie series.
Sarah Plain and Tall.
Island of the Blue Dolphins.
The Giver.
City of Ember.
American Girl series.
Running Out of Time.
Coraline.

I found the, "Karen," books in my 5th grade classroom. It's written by the mom of a girl with cerebral palsy, but I really enjoyed it then. I believe they are from the 1950s.

[abcdefg567]

I also second PP on the Cynthia Voigt books. I still remember them today.

[Girl]

The Anne of Green Gables series is a great one!

[lkb0714]

Originally Posted by CGab

Hi all! My 11 yr old daughter (she'll be 12 in March) loves to read and usually reads at least an hour before bed. She recently asked me if she could read the "Pretty little liars" series. After looking into what it's about I feel she's a little young for that type of book. Suggested age for that series is 14+. Even though she's disappointed she understands. I need some age appropriate book suggestions, preferably a series. She has already read the entire series of Dork Diaries and Diary of Wimpy. Thanks!

The hunger games books, much better than the movies.
Dark Materials (start with the Golden compass)
Holes (not a series)
The Graveyard Book, actually Neil Gaiman has a few books for preteens to YA but make sure you ONLY get those, most of his books are decidedly adult.

[ADVentive]

My 11 year old girl enjoys the fantasy genre. She read the Savvy, Scumble, and Switch series by Indrid Law earlier this year and enjoyed those. After that, she read the Septimus Heap series (7 books) by Angie Sage.

[calgirlinnc]

This is an older thread that was recently revived...it might be helpful.



//www.city-data.com/forum/books...een-girls.html

[emm74]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

My 12 year old reads and rereads the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Her sister loves the Study series by Maria V. Snyder, and The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

I was going to recommend the Artemis Fowl series too - my son has been enjoying the series very much and he's not a very enthusiastic reader.

going back to my own childhood, I'd recommend the Anne of Green Gables series, and others by the same author L.M. Montgomery, and Little Women and the rest of Louisa May Alcott's books. It can take a little work to get used to the old fashioned language - and even more importantly, the old fashioned gender roles! - but so worth it.