Yes, I absolutely had to combine the three into one post. It was just too hard to find lists that accurately distinguished between children’s, middle grades, and young adult reads. In fact, there may be no accurately distinguishing between them. See post HERE to get an idea of what I mean. And on top of whatever I said in that post about having lots of gray area, people just read differently, and no less so when they are developing. So there will always be arguments about which category a book falls in to–YA, MG or Children’s–but the truth is, many authors don’t write for the category (or even predate the categories), so the book is what it is. Also, there is great variation in human development and maturity in any of these categories because, well, think of the difference between a first grader and fifth grader, or a thirteen-year-old and an eighteen-year-old.

I did, however, attempt to split them into the three categories, myself, anyways. I am sure there are some utter fails. And there are most definitely repeats between the lists, for (I think) obvious reasons. I did my best. Also, this seems to be the Best Books area where there are more arguments about what makes all these root lists. Ah well! I embraced all the major lists I found, so there are sure to be a dozen or so stinkers mixed in with the real gems.

This list, as well as all my Best Books lists, is a mish-mash of several best books lists from around and about. They are in no particular order. Please excuse spelling, style, and repeating mistakes. It takes a lot of time to pull these things together, and the object is to create just a starting point for our own adventures in reading (and reviewing). Middle Grades is the shortest list because most of the time readers here can go up or down based on their abilities and maturity (despite subject and tone differences. Oi). I also stuck to chapter books, only, meant for at least upper elementary; no picture books here.

We can all enjoy a great book, right? Even if it’s meant for a fourth grader or a sixteen-year-old.

NOTE: I am NOT recommending any of these books for your child of whatever particular age! I have read only a small fraction of them and I can not speak to their content unless I have already reviewed them HERE. *Please educate yourself on the books that your child will be reading (just like TV shows or movies), or read with them.* Books make great parent-child discussion starters.

For reviews of all books already read and reviewed for this blog, see HERE. For reading recommendations, including Children’s/MG/YA and many books that are not on the following list, see HERE.

CHILDREN’S:

• The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
• Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein
• The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin
• The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Zen Shorts, Jon J. Muth
• Matilda, Roald Dahl
• Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia Maclachlan
• Maze of Bones (39 Clues series), Rick Riordan
• Ivy + Bean (series), Annie Barrows
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume
• The Adventures of Captain Underpants (series), Dav Pilkey
• All-of-a-Kind Family, Sydney Taylor

• The Arrival, Shaun Tan
• Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo *
• The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich
• The Book of Three, Lloyd Alexander
• The Borrowers, Mary Norton *
• Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson *
• Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson
• D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, the D’Aulaires
• Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan
• Frog and Toad Are Friends, Arnold Lobel ***
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
• Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh
• Locomotion, Jacqueline Woodson
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Robert C. O’Brien
• One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia *
• The People Could Fly, Virginia Hamilton
• Pierre, Maurice Sendak
• Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren
• Ramona the Pest, Beverly Cleary *
• Starry River of the Sky, Grace Lin
• The Stories Julian Tells, Ann Cameron
• Tales of Uncle Remus, Julius Lester
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963, Christopher Paul Curtis
• When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead ***
• A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle *
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh ***)
• Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parrish
• Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl *
• Shiloh, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor *
• The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner
• The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks *
• Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell
• Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli
• The BFG, Roald Dahl ***
• James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl *
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor *
• Stone Fox, John Reynolds Gardiner
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
• Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Beverly Cleary ***
• The Trumpet of the Swan, E. B. White
• The Chronicles of Narnia (series), C. S. Lewis
• The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
• Little House (series), Laura Ingalls Wilder *
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar
• Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh
• A Light in the Attic, Shel Silverstein
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
• My Father’s Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett
• Stuart Little, E. B. White
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963,  Christopher Paul Curtis
• Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary ***
• The Wheel on the School, Meindert DeJong *
• Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink *

MIDDLE GRADES:

• A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L’Engle *
• Harry Potter (series; first half), J.K. Rowling ***
• The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
• Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery ***
• Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt ***
• Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis
• The Giver, Lois Lowry ***
  
• Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney
• Chronicles of Narnia (series), C.S. Lewis
• Hatchet, Gary Paulsen
• The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
• Through My Eyes, Ruby Bridges
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (series), Lemony Snickett
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
• Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan
• Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson *
• Holes, Louis Sachar *
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Robert O’Brien
• Rules, Cynthia Lord
• A Single Shard, Linda Sue Park
• A Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, Paul Fleischman
• Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate De Camillo
• Harriet the Spy, Lewis Fitzhugh
• The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
• Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers
• Percy Jackson (series), Rick Riordan
• Frindle, Andrew Clements *
• Secret (series), Psuedonymous Bosch *
• The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
• The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
• Hatchet, Gary Paulsen
• The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkein ***
• The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
• Number the Stars, Lois Lowry *
• Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare
• Anastasia Krupnik, Lois Lowry
• Danny the Champion of the World, Roald Dahl *
• The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate

YOUNG ADULT:

• I Am the Messenger, Markus Zusak
• Miracle’s Boys, Jacqueline Woodson
• Uglies, Scott Westerfield
• Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
• (You) Set Me On Fire, Mariko Tamaki
• The Raven Boys, Maggie Steifvater (*)
• Grasshopper Jungle, Drew Smith
• The Catcher In the Rye, J. D. Salinger (*)
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz
• How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff
• Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls (MG?) *
• The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein ***
• Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawls
• The Cat, Theodore Taylor
• The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare (MG?) *
• Harry Potter (series), J. K. Rowling ***