Books for a 9 Year Old
I was talking to a friend recently and she said her 9 year old hadn’t really fallen in love with reading yet. She asked if I had any book recommendations. Well, book lists are one of my superpowers! So I created this list with Anne in mind, but I bet there’s something your kiddo might like too!
Kids come to reading in a variety of ways. Just because it looks different than you expected or different from a sibling or friend doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong. In our house we had one who didn’t read till age 11, one who learned at age 3, and one more typical 6 year old reader. These were all kids in the same family who are strong, dedicated high school and middle school readers today.
Encourage kids to return to favorite books. They’ve already done the work of decoding once; so, they have the bones of the story. Now they can dig in and enjoy it.
Don’t worry about kids reading “below grade level.” Remember, we’re homeschoolers. Grades are a construct! Reading easier books builds confidence. Everyone like doing things they excel at. Save the harder books for read-alouds. You do the heavy lifting and everyone gets to enjoy the story together.
Make sure there is time in your day for reading. If it’s something that matters to you, then make sure there’s space in the schedule. Structure the time, not the content. Ten minutes after lunch is a great place to start.
Books for a 9 Year Old
–Titles marked with ** are especially good on audio.
- **Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary
- **Henry Huggins series by Beverly Cleary
- **D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
- Mac B, Kid Spy series by Mac Barnett
- **Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- **Redwall series by Brian Jacques
- American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
- Medieval Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
- Magic Tree House + nonfiction companion books by Mary Pope Osborne (find topics that are of interest to your reader!)
- Ranger in Time series by Kate Messner
- Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
- **Hank the Cowdog series by John Erickson
- Ben and Me by Robert Lawson (we are reading this aloud right now! It’s a hoot and will be part of my update of American History books coming soon…ish!)
- DK nonfiction titles (again, follow their interests)
- advanced early readers like Who Would Win?
And the always amazing Melissa Wiley shared this wonderful collection of books for her 9 year old!
What books would you add to this list?
You are so wonderful, thank you!! I feel much more encouraged!
I can’t believe I misspelled your name. Of course you’re Anne-with-an-e! Fixed now! And do let me know if you still have lingering questions or hit a snag.
Some of our favorites are on this list!
We realized this week that the youngest had never listened to Hank the Cowdog!