It’s that time of year, when we ask the Your Kid’s Next Read community to share their young readers’ favourite reads of the previous 12 months.
This year, to make it easier to find what you’re looking for, we’ve broken our list up into categories share multiple lists of ‘favourite reads’ in different categories: picture books, early chapter books (5-7), junior fiction (6-9), middle grade (10-13) and young adult (14+).
This time, it’s junior fiction, for readers aged 6-9 years old. (Yes, there’s a bit of crossover age-wise with chapter books, because kids come to reading at their own pace and stage.)
Some of these books were published in 2023, some were not. One of the joys of a community like Your Kid’s Next Read is the ability for members to curate and create book lists that stretch way back through reading experiences, meaning any request or query results in a deep and thoughtful TBR pile on just about any subject.
Stand by also for Team YKNR’s favourite reads in 2023, coming soon.
These lists are great starting points when you’re looking for the next great read for your kid/s. Click the title to find out more about each book*.
YOUR KID’S FAVOURITE READ 2023: JUNIOR FICTION
AS NOMINATED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE YOUR KID’S NEXT READ COMMUNITY. FOR READERS AGED 6-9.
MOST NOMINATED
The Travelling Bookshop (series) by Katrina Nannestad (ill. by Cheryl Orsini)
(“Our whole family loved this series.” – Jenn)
Weirdo (series) by Anh Do (ill. by Jules Faber)
Dragon Girls (series) by Maddy Mara
The Wild Robot (series) by Peter Brown
Runt by Craig Silvey (ill. by Sara Acton)
Anna Hibiscus (series) by Atinuke
Goosebumps (series) by R. L. Stine
(“My nine year old’s favourite series at the moment.” – Kylie)
Olga (series) by Elise Gravel
Friday Barnes (series) by R. A. Spratt
(“My nine year old’s favourite.” – Danielle)
Wolf Girl (series) by Anh Do (ill. by Jeremy Ley)
Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams
Deadly D & Justice Jones (series) by Scott Prince and David Hartley
(“My son discovered this series this year and loved it.” – Christina)
Tom Appleby Convict Boy by Jackie French
You Choose (series) by George Ivanoff
Miss Penny Dreadful (series) by Allison Rushby (ill. by Bronte Rose Marando)
The 13-Storey Treehouse (series) by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
(“My six year old is enjoying these books.” – May)
The Ella Diaries (series) by Meredith Costain and Danielle McDonald
The Adventures of a Girl called Bicycle by Cristina Uss
Boy vs Beast (ebook series) by Mac Park
Usborne Money for Beginners by Eddie Reynolds, Marco Bonatti, Matthew Oldham
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
Crookhaven (series) by J. J. Arcanjo
(“…were a huge hit with my nine year old.” – Larissa)
Ham Helsing (series) by Rich Moyer
Netball Gems (series) by Bernadette Hellard and Lisa Gibbs
The Worst Week Ever (series) by Eva Amores and Matt Cosgrove
(“Has been a huge hit in my house.” – Jackie)
Guinea Dog (series) by Patrick Jennings
The Baby-Sitters Club (graphic novels series) by Ann Martin and Raina Telgemeir
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (Kingdoms and Empires series) by Jaclyn Moriarty (ill. by Kelly Canby)
(“My almost-eight-year old daughter LOVED this series and has shared it with all her friends and her teacher! We read together initially and now she is re-reading the whole series herself.” – Han)
Emmie & Friends (graphic novels series) by Terri Libenson
Enola Holmes (graphic novels series) by Serena Blasco and Tanya Gold
Pigs Might Fly by Emily Rodda
(“My 8 year old has read it over and over again this year.” – Naomi)
5 Worlds (series) by Mark Seigel and Alexis Seigel
Landing With Wings by Trace Balla
Mr Bambuckles Remarkables (series) by Tim Harris (ill. by James Hart)
(“Mr8’s standout reads.” – Sarah)
Ramona (series) by Beverly Cleary
The Enchanted Wood (series) by Enid Blyton (ill. by Mark Beech)
Ninja Kid (series) by Anh Do (ill. by Jeremy Ley)
(“Our reluctant reader has been converted to reading by himself by [this] series.” – Dot)
The Worst Witch (series) by Jill Murphy
Pages & Co (series) by Anna James
Wilderlore (series) by Amanda Foody
The Notebook of Doom (series) by Troy Cummings
Ella and Owen (series) by Jaden Kent (ill. by Iryna Bodnaruk)
The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer
Wayside School (series) by Louis Sachar
Flat Stanley (series) by Jeff Brown
Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures (series) by Sara Pennpacker, Jeff Brown, Mickey Pamintuan
Megabat (series) by Anna Humphrey
The Wizard of Oz (Oz Collection series) by L. Frank Baum, Ruth Plumly Thompson
(“All 14 of them! Totally whimsical and at this age they don’t question all the contradictions he writes, haha.” – Louise)
The Naughtiest Unicorn (series) by Pip Bird (ill. by David O’Connell)
Polly Pecorino – The Girl Who Rescues Animals (series) by Emma Chichester Clark
The Song of Lewis Carmichael by Sofie Laguna (ill. by Marc McBride)
Big Tree by Brian Selznick
Odder by Katherine Applegate (ill. by Charles Santoso)
Dragon Masters (series) by Tracey West
The Christmasaurus (series) by Tom Fletcher
Star Wars (graphic novel series)
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Your Kid’s Favourite Read 2023: Chapter Books (5-7)
Your Kid’s Favourite Read 2023: Picture Books
*This post contains affiliate links. See contact page for details
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of middle-grade series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. My latest novel THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE is out now. You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
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