Juvenile and Middle Grade Chapter Books

There are many great books for the transitional reader, the child who has progressed from picture books and moving on to chapter books. I have listed them in no particular order.  Maybe someday I may try to use the alphabet to put them in order.

Dragon Slayers Academy series by Kate McMullan
I loved reading this series to my kids, there are 18 or 19 of them.  Wiglaf goes to Dragon Slayers Academy to earn riches for his grasping family.  Instead, he learns to befriend a dragon, does accidentaly kill a couple, doesn't gain riches, the founder of the school tries to get it all instead.  One of his best friends is a princess disguised as a boy because she doesn't want to go to Princess Prep and the loveable pig who speaks pig Latin.


How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell
First thing, if you saw the movie, expect something very different.  Hiccup is a viking, part of the Hairy Hooligan's tribe. His dragon is Toothless, a very small garden type variety of dragon.  Toothless is hilarious, rebellious and lazy.  Hiccup is the unexpected hero, he is small and picked on.


The Girl, the Dragon, and the Wild Magic by Dave Luckett
Rhianna is struggling in Magic School, everything goes wrong.  She is looked at by a Wizard who says she has powerful magic, wild magic.   The second book is The Girl, the Apprentice, and the Dogs of Iron followed by the third The Girl, the Queen, and the Castle.


Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
Igrane saves the day by keeping the magic books her family guards from Greedy Osmund's grasp.


The Unicorn's Secret by Kathleen Duey
The series begins with Moonsilver.  Heart is an orphan who is raised by Simon.  She finds a mare who has a disfigured foal.  Thus begins the adventure.


Moongobble and Me by Bruce Coville
Edward lives in a small village, one day a wizard in training named Moongobble comes to live in the abandoned house on the hill.  He decided to become a wizard after some elves helped him become wealthy by helping him make shoes. (sound familiar?)
Five books in the series.


My Teacher is an Alien  by Bruce Coville
A substitute teacher is an alien. Susan is out to prove it and save the day.  I have only read the first book in the series and found it entertaining.


Unicorns of Balinor by Mary Stanton
Eight books in the series.


Sariah McDuff by Lee Ann Setzer
Kind of like Junie B. Jones, but written with an LDS influence.  The first book is Sariah McDuff: Primary Program Diva.  Four books in the series.


Twice Upon A Time books by Wendy Mass
We have Rapunzel: the One with All the Hair and Sleeping Beauty: The One Who took the Really Long Nap.  Written as a "he said", "she said" books.


Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
Rowan goes on an adventure to save his village from the dragon.   This is a series of  5 books.


The Magician Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo
Gwynn's quest to find out if he is a magician.  Books listed in order:  The Snow Spider, Emlyn's Moon and The Chestnut Soldier.


Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine
Prilla is trying to find her talent to save Neverland.  She has more books  set  in Neverland.


The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
Sabrina and Daphne are descendants of the Brother's Grimm and they must help save their hometown from the evil of some of the fairy tale characters.  At the time of this posting there are 8 books with more to come.


The Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott
My kids loved this series.  They are short, magical and perfect for the kids who don't want to read a long book.


Geronimo Stilton by G. Stilton
Geronimo is a mouse detective.  Well, a detective by default, he is really a writer for the newspaper. Once again, my kids love this series.  Colorful pictures thoughout the book and fun story line for young readers.


The Dragon's Child by Jenny Nimmo
Dando is left behind when the dragons flee the island, man has arrived.


Outcast by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski
Timothy is living in a magical society, without magical powers, he is  a freak.  He is also a threat.  Four books in the series.


A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I laughed through all thirteen of them.  Count Olaf's many attempts to gain control of the Baudelaire fortune.


Dinosaur Cove by Rex Stone
Tom and Jamie discover the secret enterance into a prehistoric world.  Several books in the series


The Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine
Two volumes of short stories based on fairy tales.

Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale
Graphic Novels of Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstock characters.

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
A Newberry Honor book.  On the island of Assateague a young boy and girl learn to care for and love a wild pony and her foal.

Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis
Imagine finding out that your father is a dragon.  That is the dilemma of Billy after he develops "dragon" breath.  He must then save the future of the dragons from an evil knight.


Skipping Stones at the Center of the Earth by Andy Hueller

Cal is an orphan at a unique orphanage located in the center of the Earth.  He is bullied and teased about his unruly red hair.  He is given vague references about a father that he has never met.  Things take a turn when he learns to skip stones.


The Misadventures of Phillip Isaac Penn by Donna L Peterson
Finally a little boy version of Junie B.  Pip is a good boy who gets himself into a lot of trouble.


Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L Cole
Adventure as a group of young teens are pulled into an archaeological mystery.


Michael Vay: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
Michael uses electricity generated from his body.  He is the product of a medical experiment.  Evil men search for him and try to use his power for their own gain. (More Middle Grade, recommended for an advanced reader)


Alexander  Drake's Extraordinary Pursuit by 
Alexander is 11 and is on an adventure seeking information about his mother who died when he was a baby.  His quest takes him into a fantasy realm.  He makes unique friends and faces danger.  The illustrations are not great, but the story is fun.


Hot Ticket by Tracy Marchini
Juliet is trying to solve the mystery of who is passing out "hot tickets" at her middle school. She is probably the only one who hasn't gotten one and it is totally unfair!  


The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale  by Carmen Agra Deedy, Randall Wright and Barry Moser   Skilley is a street cat who finds his way into a tavern that sells the best Cheshire cheese in London.  He befriends the mice instead of chasing them.  He must overcome the obstacle of the evil cat who also comes to stay and how to return an injured raven to the Tower of London.


The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards (Middle Grade)
Wonderful story written from Persian folk lore.  Zardi (Scheherazade) goes on an adventure to save her sister and father from the evil Sultan.  She meets Sinbad and voyages with him and his crew.  Her best friend who was raised as her brother is part of the adventure.  Full of imagination, magic and creativity.


Secret Agent Jack Stalwart books by Elizabeth Singer Hunt
Action and adventure for easy chapter books for kids.

Hocus Pocus Hotel by Michael Dahl
Two boys who are opposites solve mysteries in a hotel full of magicians.

Power Play by M.E. Sutton
Jaycee enters her video game through a magical controller.  She becomes the hero and saves the day.  How can she transfer the confidence in the game to surviving middle school?

The Trouble With Toads by Danyelle Leafty
An ugly stepsisters wants to be pretty, so she visits her witch grandmother and gets a spell.  Things go wrong when her sister drinks tea with the spell and becomes a toad. This is a cute story where the ugly stepsisters team up with the pretty stepsister to undo the spell.  This uses many fairy tales and is a fun book to read.

Isabella Rockwell's War by Hannah Parry
Isabella lives in India with her father who is in the British military.  Her world is turned upside down when her father disappears on a mission and is presumed dead.  She is shipped to England to learn a trade, but runs away and lives on the streets with a group of children.  She saves the life of the princess and once again her life changes. This is Historical Fiction.

Dragon Defender by J.A. Blackburn
A boy finds his heritage is to defend dragons.  At 12 he goes on a mission to save a dragon egg from men intent on selling dragon parts.