I wrote about this topically, as well as the beauty and the brains that went into creating this list: here. Do contact me if you have questions, or a recommended title or two.
I made a pinterest board (w/ sub-category boards): here
PICTURE BOOKS
(some longer in length for the younger set, +=inclusivity; *=award; ^=animal)
+Isabel and Her Colores Go to School by Alexandra Alessandri & Courtney Dawson
+Laxmi’s Mooch by Shelly Anand & Deepti Gupta
+The Dress and the Girl by Camille Andros & Julie Morstad
+Phoebe Dupree is Coming to Tea! by Linda Ashman & Alea Marley
Sloth & Squirrel in a Pickle by Cathy Ballou-Mealey & Kelly Collier
+Looking for a Jumbie by Tracey Baptiste & Amber Rea
+Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut and I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes & Gordon C. James
Both *Extra Yarn & ^The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse & the Shapes Trilogy by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen (anything Klassen &/or Barnett, really)
Just Because by Mac Barnett & Isabelle Arsenault
+Time For Bed, Old House by Janet Costa Bates & AG Ford
The Questioneers series: Iggy Peck, Rosie Revere, + Ada Twist, + Sofia Valdez, & +Aaron Slater books by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts.
+My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best & Vanessa Brantley-Newton.
^Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph
^Paddington by Michael Bond
+The Truly Brave Princesses by Dolores Brown & Sonja Wimmer.
Peter Brown books: Fred Gets Dressed; Mr. Tiger Goes Wild; My Teacher is a Monster
*The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
^Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, and/or Verdi
What Happened to You? by James Catchpole & Karen George
^Shelter by Céline Claire & Qin Leng
*Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas & Erin E. Stead
Mr. Watson’s Chickens by Jarrett Dapier & Andrea Tsurumi
The Day the Crayons Quit, and …Came Home by Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers
+Islandborn by Junot Diaz & Leo Espinosa
+Paletero Man by Lucky Diaz & Micah Player
Both *+Last Stop on Market Street & +Milo Imagines the World by Matt de Pena, Christian Robinson
Have You Seen Gordon? by Adam J. Epstein & Ruth Chan
The Fan Brothers: The Barnabus Project and The Night Gardener and ^The Antlered Ship written by Dashka Slater
+Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry and Juana Martinez-Neal
Don’t Hug Doug by Carrie Finison & Daniel Wiseman
+Time for Bed, Miyuki by Roxane Marie Galliez & Seng Soun Ratanavanh
^Hermelin the Detective Mouse by Mini Grey
*All books Kevin Henkes: A House, *^Penny and Her Marble, ^Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, or ^Chrysanthemum (a personal favorite).
*^Mother Bruce series and Penelope series: e.g. +We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins (pretty much anything he does)
+Eyes that Kiss in the Corners and Eyes that Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho & Dung Ho
^Toot & Puddle books by Holly Hobbie
Leigh Hodgkinson books: Troll Swap; Limelight Larry; or Goldilocks and Just One Bear
^Little Owl Lost; Oh No, George!; *Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton
Rissy No Kissies by Katey Howes & Stephanie Engle
Tea Rex (and others) by Molly Idle
Stuck; The Great Paper Caper; The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers–anything, really.
When You Need Wings; Hoot and Peep; Flight School by Lita Judge
Jon Klassen’s *Hat series
If I Had a Little Dream; Yellow Kayak; and Dear Little One by Nina Laden & Melissa Castrillo
+Lift by Minh Lê & Dan Santat
^The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf & Robert Lawson
*^The Rough Patch and Bats at the Library (and Bat series) by Brian Lies
*+We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom & Michaela Goade
^Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell & David Catrow
+Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard & Juana Martinez-Neal
In a Jar; Out of a Jar; My Heart is a Compass by Deborah Marcero
*+Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
^*Robert McCloskey books.
+Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty & David Roberts
+Don’t Touch My Hair! and Princess Hair by Sharee Miller
+*Thank You, Omu! and +Saturday by Oge Mora
+*Bright Star and *+Dreamers and Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales (anything Yuyi)
Robert Munsch (e.g. The Paper Bag Princess)
Tom Percival books: Perfectly Norman; +Ruby Finds a Worry; +Ravi’s Roar; +Meesha Makes Friends
+Home is In Between by Mitali Perkins & Lavanya Naidu
Gitty and Kvetch by Caroline Kusin Pritchard & Ariel Landy
+The Old Truck by Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey (anything by them)
*+My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero & Zeke Peña
¡Vamos! series by Raúl the Third
+Peter H. Reynolds books like Ish, or Dot, or Going Places
*+On the Trapline and *+When We Were Alone by David Alexander Robertson & Julie Flett (anything Flett)
The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant, Kathryn Brown. and Henry & Mudge and Poppleton by Rylant
+Mi Casa is My Home by Laurenne Sala & Zara González Hoang
+Dan Santat books like: *Adventures of Beekle and After the Fall
Both: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and *The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith
Me and My Fear by Francesca Sanna
Bad Case of Stripes and No, David! (series) by David Shannon
^Not Quite Narwhal; +Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima
+A Plan for Pops by Heather Smith & Brooke Kerrigan
Lane Smith books like: Grandpa Green and Princess Hyacinth
The Dark by Lemony Snicket & Jon Klassen
Ladybug Girl (and series) by David Soman & Jacky Davis
*Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead & Erin E. Stead
*Interrupting Chicken by Ezra Stein
+Jenny Mei is Sad by Tracy Subisak
+It Feels Good to Be Yourself by Theresa Thorn & Noah Grigni
Chris Van Dusen’s If I Built series; Mr. Magee series…and The Circus Ship.
+The Girl and the Wolf by Katherine Vermette & Julie Flett
+Nasreddine by Odile Weulersse, Rebecca Dautremer
^Mo Willems: Elephant and Piggie are awesome!! Their “Presents” series are good, too.
^The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco
+Watercress by Andrea Wang & Jason Chin
^Bear Snores On (and series) by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman
+ Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Winter & Oge Mora
+Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate
+This is the Rope by Jacqueline Woodson.
+The Day You Begin and +The Year We Learned to Fly Jacqueline Woodson & Rafael López
+What Do You Do series by Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom
+The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang & Koa Le
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Wordless can be fun:
*Journey/Quest/Return by Aaron Becker
^Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin
Molly Idle’s Flora and Friends series, e.g. *Flora and the Flamingo
Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson & Sydney Smith
^The Lion and the Mouse; ^The Tortoise and the Hare; ^The Grasshopper and the Ant by Jerry Pinkney
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
Non-Fiction: I do not read a lot of non-fiction ala memoirs or biographies, but there are some gorgeous picture books to choose from like +Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange, Kadir Nelson (whom I love) or +A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, Catia Chien.
CHAPTER BOOKS
I’d pick these based on everyone’s interest, but these tend to be successful read-alouds. These are all series, exceptions will be italics; +=inclusivity; ^=animal:
Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (sometimes in picture books)
+Anna Hibiscus, No. 1 Car Spotter, and Too Small Tola by Atinuke
Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows
The Masterpiece Adventures by Elise Broach, Kelly Murphy
+Lola Levine by Monica Brown
+Zoey and Sassafras series by Asia Citro & Marion Lindsay
^ Narwhal and Jelly by Ben Clanton
^Chicken Squad Misadventure by Doreen Cronin & Kevin Cornell
^Mercy Watson and Tales from Deckawoo Drive by Kate DiCamillo & Chris Van Dusen
+Yasmin series by Saadia Faruqi & Hatem Aly
^Heartwood Hotel by Kallie George & Stephanie Graegin
^Adventures of Sophie Mouse by Poppy Green
+Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes
Princess in Black by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale & LeUyen Pham
Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
The Moomins by Tove Jansson [t] Elizabeth Portch
+Freddie Ramos by Jacqueline Jules & Miguel Benitez
+Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami & Julianna Swaney
^Princess Pulverizer; and Magic Bone by Nancy Krulik.
^Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
+Mindy Kim by Lyla Lee & Dung Ho
+Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith & Jim Madsen
+Ling & Ting by Grace Lin
+Ruby Lu by Lenore Look
Velda the Awesomest Viking and the Voyage of Deadly Doom; and Thorfinn the Nicest Viking series by David MacPhail & Richard Morgan
^Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat series by Johnny Marciano
The Dragon Slayer’s Academy by Kate McMullan & Bill Basso
+Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina
^Detective Gordon by Ulf Nilsson
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
+Jo Jo Makoons series by Dawn Quigley & Tara Adibert
+Ellray Jakes by Sally Warner & Jamie Harper
Dragon Masters by Tracey West & Graham Howells
NOVELS
(of varying length; grouped by earlier/later, and genre; +=inclusivity; *=award-winner; ^=animals). It’s heavily weighted toward Fantasy-Adventure b/c those are my most frequent requests. There is overlap when you consider humor and mystery
>>>Adventure
*My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George and her +*Julie of the Wolves
+Moving Target series by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Treasure Hunters series by Chris Grabenstein & James Patterson (humor)
Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
Northwind by Gary Paulsen
>>>Spooky (a bit, and some more than others)
<sooner>
^Bunnicula by James Howe
<up to you>
*+The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
May Bird Trilogy by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden
The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
+The Jumbies (series) by Tracey Baptiste
*Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins
Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Grimm series by Adam Gidwitz
*^Scary Stories for Young Foxes (series) by Christian McKay Heidicker
+Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
Uncle Montagues Tales of Terror series by Chris Priestly
City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake series) by Victoria Schwab
Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud
<older>
*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
*A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Mister Creecher by Chris Priestly
>>>Contemporary
<sooner>
+Tia Lola series by Julia Alvarez (think Mary Poppins)
*^One and Only Ivan and +The Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
*The Penderwicks series by Birdsall [highly recommend; classic feeling]
*Because of Winn Dixie and *^Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
+The Vanderbeekers series by Karina Yan Glaser
+Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han
*The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
+Pacy Lin series by Grace Lin.
A Snicker of Magic and The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd
+Black Boy Joy edited by Kwame Mbalia
The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner
+Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
+Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Cynthia L. Smith
+Ways to Make Sunshine (Ryan Hart series) by René Watson
*+Front Desk (Three Keys series) by Kelly Yang
<per usual>
+Once Upon an Eid ed by S.K. Ali & Aisha Saeed
*+Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender
+I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day
+Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre (short stories Latinx holidays)
*Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
*+Hello, Universe; Blackbird Fly and other books by Erin Entrada Kelly
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
+The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami
+Merci Suarez Changes Gears (series may go into older) by Meg Medina
Wish by Barbara O’Connor
Wonder by RJ. Polaccio
+The Hero Next Door ed. by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
+Clean Getaway and Fast Pitch by Nic Stone
<later>
Skellig by David Almond
*+The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
*+The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
*+Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
*The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
*Raymie Nightingale and others in Three Rancheros series by Kate DiCamillo
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
+George by Alex Gino
*+Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes
*+When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
+In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III & Jim Yellowhawk
*+As Brave As You and the Track series by Jason Reynolds
The Bridge Home (and other books) by Padma Venkatraman
<later still>
+The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
+Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
>>>“Contemporary Classics”
(as in, not shelved with “classics” just yet)
^Mr. Poppers Penguins by Richard Atwater
*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling
Fudge series by Judy Blume
^Ralph S. Mouse series by Beverly Cleary
Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
The Moffats by Eleanor Estes
*The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer
The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
*The Borrowers by Mary Norton
*^Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild and others.
^* Charlotte’s Webb and Stuart Little by E.B. White
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
>>>Fantasy-Adventure:
(see also in “humor”)
<sooner>
^Tumtum and Nutmeg by Emily Bearn, Nick Price
^Kenny & the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi
Half Magic series by Edward Eager
+Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott
Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
*My Father’s Dragon by Rules Stiles Gannett
+Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell/Skottie Young; and Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants with illus. Brett Helquist
^Word of Mouse by Chris Grabenstein, James Patterson (think Stuart Little & Ralph)
^+Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa & Jun Takabatake
^Gooseberry Park series by Cynthia Rylant.
^Teddy & Co. by Cynthia Voigt, Paola Zakimi (think Winnie-the-Pooh)
<per usual>
+Amira & Hamza series by Samira Ahmed
+Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations) by B.B. Alston
My Diary from the Edge of the World and Thirteen Witches series by Jodi Lynn Anderson
The House With Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson (all her books, really)
^Endling series by Katherine Applegate
Peter Nimble and +Sophie Quire and all things Jonathan Auxier
^*Dimwood Forest series by Avi (most begin at Poppy)
^The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-el
*The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry
^The Wonderling series by Mira Bartok
+The Train to Impossible Places series by PG Bell
+The Storm Runner series by J.C. Cervantes (Riordan Presents)
+City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda (Riordan Presents)
+Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani
+The Goblin’s Puzzle: The Adventures of a Boy With No Name and Two Girls Called Alice by Andrew S. Chilton
+Pandava Quartet by Roshani Chokshi (Rick Riordan Presents)
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins
How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell
Roald Dahl…start with Charlie, Danny Champion, Twits, or the BFG; James and Witches, then Matilda.
+Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series by Sayantani DasGupta (think Riordan)
*Kate DiCamillo ^Tale of Despereaux, Magician’s Elephant
The Stone Girl’s Story or The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland by Heather Fawcett
The Accidental Apprentice (Wilderlore series) by Amanda Foody
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke (later Inkheart)
+The Last Last-Day-of-Summer (and series) by Lamar Giles
The League of Beastly Dreadfuls series by Holly Grant (think Dahl)
The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman
+Lost Conspiracy and A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge; also her Fly By Night series (love her)
The Hero’s Guide series by Christopher Healy
Thieves of Weirdwood by Christian McKay Heidicker
+Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (and series) by Carlos Hernandez (Riordan Presents)
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Door to the Lost or Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
Howl’s Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
+Elementals series by Amie Kaufman
+Lalani and the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly
+Gifted Clans series by Graci Kim (Riordan Presents)
Alex and The Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (hilarious)
Strangeworlds Travel Agency (and series) by L.D. Lapinski
^The Five Realms series by Kieran Larwood (think Jacques and Tolkien)
^Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky and her newer Bears of the Ice series.
+Dragon Pearl (series) by Yoon Ha Lee (Riordan Presents)
^Mice of the Round Table by Julie Leung
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (and really, anything she writes) like The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre!
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
+Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna
*+Tristan Strong series by Kwame Mbalia (Riordan Presents)
+Paola Santiago series by Tehlor Mejia (Riordan Presents)
Love Sugar Magic series by Anna Meriano
+Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
+Kings & Empires series by Jaclyn Moriarty
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
Impyrium series by Henry H. Neff
Anya and the Dragon (series) by Sofia Pasternack
+Bayou Magic by Jewel Parker Rhodes
Story Thieves series & The Revenge of Magic series by James Riley
+Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan (Riordan Presents)
+Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan and any title under his Disney-Hyperion Imprint: Rick Riordan Presents.
+Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
+Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Riordan Presents)
+The Barren Grounds (Misewa Saga) by David A. Robertson (has a Narnia feel)
Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud
^Wings of Fire by Tui Sutherland
The Keepers Trilogy by Lian Tanner
Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend (think HP & Dahl)
+The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
Fairyland series by Catherynne Valente
100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson
+Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede.
+Healer of the Water Monster (series) by Brian Young
<later>
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (serious old school high fantasy)
+Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
+The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
+Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
+The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson
Time Quintet by Madeleine L’Engle
The Giver series by Lois Lowry
+Warcross series by Marie Lu
+Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
<found in the grown-up sections>
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (hysterical)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (also The Hobbit)
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (if not in YA)
Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis
>>>Historical Fiction:
*+I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin
The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
*The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
+Lizard’s Tale by Weng Wai Chen
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
+Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas
+*The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis (really, anything by this author)
*+Finding Langston (series) by Lesa Cline-Ransome
*The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo & Sophie Blackall
Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant
A Slip of a Girl by Patricia Riley Giff [verse novel]
Refugee or any Alan Gratz title really.
+Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland
+ A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
+Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki, translated Emily Balistrieri
*We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
*+Inside Out and Back Again (and other novels) by Thanhhà Lai [verse novel]
Theodosia series by R.L. LaFevers
*+Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
When Mischief Came to Town by Katrina Nannestad
+Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
+Root Magic by Eden Royce
*+Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
+*One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
The Haunting of Falcon House by Eugene Yelchin
>>>Humor:
<sooner>
How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell (fantasy)
Half Magic by Edward Eager (fantasy)
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire by Mrs. Bunny by Polly Horvath & Sophie Blackall
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (any of his Flush is super popular)
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones
+The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
+Alvin Ho series by Lenore Look
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series by Betty MacDonald & Alexandra Boiger.
Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker (like Ramona)
Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
Wayside School books by Louis Sachar
The Adventures of Nanny Piggins by R.A. Spratt & Dan Santat
^Hamster Princess series by Ursula Vernon and her Castle Hangnail
<about the middle>
*Pals in Peril Tales by M.T. Anderson (adventure)
Horton Halfpott … by Tom Angleberger (fantasy)
Peter Nimble and +Sophie Quire and all things Jonathan Auxier (fantasy, macabre)
+Funny Girl ed. by Betsy Bird
An Occasionally Happy Family by Cliff Burke
Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce (fantasy)
Clarice Bean series by Lauren Child
One-Third Nerd by Jennifer Choldenko
+It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
The Smartest Kid in the Universe (series)by Chris Grabenstein
The League of Beastly Dreadfuls series by Holly Grant (fantasy; think Dahl)
The Hero’s Guide series by Christopher Healy (fantasy)
Howl’s Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. (fantasy)
Ungifted and The Unteachables by Gordon Korman (who has a lot of funny books)
Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy (fantasy)
The Doublecross by Jackson Pearce
The Best Man by Richard Peck
The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter (fantasy, macabre)
+The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex (fantasy)
Holes by Louis Sachar
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (macabre)
The Supervillain’s Guide to Being a Fat Kid by Matt Wallace
+The Adventurer’s Guide series by Wade Albert White
>>>Mystery:
<sooner>
Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
+Clubhouse Mysteries by Sharon Draper
Remarkable by Lizzie Foley (perfect for sensitive listeners)
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire by Mrs. Bunny by Polly Horvath & Sophie Blackall
<about the middle>
The Swallowtail Legacy (series 1) by Michael D. Beil
Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries by Elizabeth Bunce
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (save series books for older)
+Mighty Muskrats Mysteries by Michael Hutchinson
+The Great Greene Heist and The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson (humorous)
*From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Greenglass House (series) by Kate Milford
*+The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Enola Holmes mysteries by Nancy Springer (historical, and fem-friendly)
Mo & Dale Mysteries by Sheila Turnage
Six by MM Vaughan
found in the grown-up mystery section: Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley
leslie d. 