The Ultimate Summer Reading List for Kids Ages 9 – 12
by Janssen Bradshaw
I can’t believe summer is almost upon us! Slow summer mornings with tons of time stretched ahead of us mean my middle grade readers will devour book after book. This summer reading list for 5th, 6th, and 7th graders will help fill that need to read.
These books for tweens feature fantasy, mystery, hardships, history, adventure, and lots of fun! This list has something for every kind of reader.
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The Misfits #1: A Royal Conundrum
Available from:If you have kids that love spy stories, you don’t want to miss this one! It follows Olive, a girl who feels invisible at home and school and assumes it will be the same at her new boarding school. Come to find out, this boarding school is an undercover academy for special crime-fighting kids!
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Daughters of the Lamp
Available from:Sahara has her summer plans all mapped out and she can’t wait to get started. But her plans get upended when she has to go with her dad to a family wedding in Cairo. To make matters worse, the necklace her mother gave her before passing on starts to glow, then quickly vanishes. As she goes on the hunt to retrieve the necklace, things get stranger and stranger.
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Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind
Available from:Momo’s mother tells her magical stories of goddesses and evil spirits, which she doesn’t believe until a monster attacks her publicly, and a talking fox comes to her rescue. After that, everything goes from completely ordinary to surreal as she learns her mother’s stories are true and that she is half human, half goddess.
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Max in the House of Spies
Available from:Set during WWII, this story follows Max, a boy who must leave his family in Germany and move to London. He is determined to find a way back to his family in Berlin and discovers that becoming a British spy is the only way to make this happen.
RELATED: Exceptional World War II Books for Kids Ages 10-12
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The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues
Available from:The much-anticipated sequel to the beloved The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels has arrived. Now that Shenanigan Swift’s family is safe from the murderer, she anticipates spending time outdoors and working on projects. This is short-lived when she and a few family members are called to Paris to solve a string of art museum crimes.
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Ready or Not! #1
Available from:Too much is changing in nine-year-old Abby’s world. Her best friend moved away, her mom started working full time, she has to do the dreaded after-school running program, and don’t get her started on the changes happening in her body without her permission. Being stuck between being a little kid and a full-blown teenager is hard.
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The Human Kaboom
Available from:If you have a child who loves a good book series and all things wacky, check out The Human Kaboom! All six books have the same title, each with new illustrators and different stories that will keep your kid hooked!
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Would You Rather? Summer Edition
Available from:School is out, everyone is relaxed, and the fun is just starting! Get some funny discussions going with this Would You Rather? book on a family road trip, sitting around the campfire, or hanging out at the beach. Your entire family will laugh at the goofy responses you come up with. It’s a surefire way to keep everyone entertained!
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Map of Flames (The Forgotten Five, Book 1)
Available from:Eight supernatural criminals fled to an isolated island to wait until it was safe to rejoin society. But after their unexplained disappearances, all that’s left on the island is their five superhero children. In one of their father’s belongings, the kids find a map and a note explaining to find her mother and give her the map. Will the children be able to leave all they’ve ever known and trust this simple note?
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Tidemagic: The Many Faces of Ista Flit
Available from:Ista Flit can change her face to look like anyone she has ever seen. When her father disappears, and she goes searching for him, she comes across other gifted kids looking for their lost loved ones. Can they be trusted? Can she use her magical gift for good, or will it become a burden?
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Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate
Available from:If you have a mythology or fantasy lover, this book will be a hit. When 12-year-old Farrah makes a birthday wish for her dad to be around more, it backfires and traps him in a magical ring. Follow Farrah through this story as she tries to free her father from this mysterious ring magic.
RELATED: Books Like Percy Jackson: 18 Super Series To Read Next
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Saving Fable
Available from:All Indira has ever wanted is to become a character in a story, so when she is asked to travel to Fable and attend Protagonist Preparatory, she cannot believe her luck. Her excitement fades when her audition goes poorly, and she ends up on the side-character track. Will she ever get the chance to be a hero?
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The Last Mapmaker
Available from:We read this story aloud as a family and were blown away by how good it is. Sai works for the most famous mapmaker in the world but is constantly on edge because she fears they will find out she doesn’t have the proper rank. This tale is full of fast-paced adventure and unexpected twists and turns.
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When You Trap a Tiger
Available from:This Newbery Medal winner is a sure bet for any child who loves fantasy and folklore. Lily and her family move into her grandmother’s house to care for her. Then, a magical tiger approaches Lily, offering to make her grandmother healthy again in exchange for something valuable.
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Ella Enchanted
This is one of my favorite audiobooks of all time! It’s a funny and clever retelling of Cinderella. Ella was cursed as a baby to obey any order given to her. She’s tried to break the curse on her own but found no success. This leads her to track down the fairy that placed the curse on her and demand she remove it.
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Wink
Available from:Ross only wants one thing: to be a normal kid. But being a wallflower is impossible when his cancer makes his hair fall out, and he has to wear a weird hat. His rare form of eye cancer even makes things uncomfortable between him and his friends. This book is based on the author’s real-life experience and pulls at the heartstrings.
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A Place to Hang the Moon
Available from:Three siblings have no idea where they will end up after their last living guardian, their grandmother, dies in London during WWII. Their grandmother’s solicitor suggests they go with the other fleeing children to the country to stay safe and find a permanent family there. With no other options, the children leave the city and stick together through thick and thin until they find a loving home with a kind librarian.
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Superworld: Save Noah
Available from:There are typically only one or two superheroes in most stories. However, in Superworld, Noah is the ONLY person who didn’t get a superpower after a meteor hit the earth five years ago. Talk about being unlucky. Can he stop the city’s villains as a regular kid?
RELATED: 15 Books That 9- to 12-Year-Old Boys Say Are Awesome
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Sparkle
Available from:Sparkle Moore is a natural-born superstar, but her life takes a turn when she starts losing her hair and is diagnosed with alopecia. As she navigates middle school, her family's financial troubles, and her mom's ambitions, Sparkle learns to accept herself and embrace her talents, with or without hair, in this relatable and heartwarming story.
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Savvy
Available from:I read this more than a decade ago and continue to recommend it! The Beaumont family has something special that happens on everyone’s 13th birthday. On that particular day, the birthday boy or girl receives their savvy (a supernatural power). However, right before Mibs’s big day, her father gets into a horrible accident, and all Mibs can hope for is the power to bring him back.
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Penny Draws a Best Friend
Available from:Things are changing for fifth-grader Penny. She hasn’t seen her best friend, Violet, all summer and can’t wait to rejoin friendship forces in Art Club. Art Club becomes a disappointment when Violet announces it’s for babies and ditches Penny to hang out with the mean girls at school. Can Penny recover from this friendship loss and find new friends?
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Warrior Girl
Available from:When Celina Guerrera starts school, she faces pressure to suppress her Chicana heritage. Fortunately, Celina finds strength in her supportive family, particularly her inspiring Gramma who encourages her to celebrate life through art, music, and writing. Despite challenges like her father's deportation and a pandemic, Celina remains determined to use her voice and talents to make the world a more inclusive place where all cultures are celebrated.
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Looking for summer reading ideas for younger or older kids? Check out our 2024 lists for Kids Ages 3 – 5, Ages 6 – 8, and Teens.