Helpful Resources
This page contains two helpful sections:
A constantly updated list of book series by level and interest to assist you in selecting the best just-right books for your child.
Suggestions for how you might engage in meaningful discussion with your child about what they read. Think of this more as a book club talk rather than an interview!
Book Series “ladders” by level
*Series names in bold represent texts with diverse characters and/or written by diverse authors. This list is being routinely updated!
Friendship/Family/School
Horrible Harry (L) - Pinky and Rex (L) - Ricky Ricotta (L) - Marvin Redpost (L) – Flat Stanley (M) - Bailey School Kids (M) – Polk Street School (M) – The Littles (M) – Ivy and Bean (M) – Freckle Juice (M) – Lola Levine (M) - Mary Marony (M) – Judy Moody and Stink (M) – Keena Ford (N) - Amber Brown (N) - Nikki and Deja (N) – Jada Jones (N) - Jake Drake (O) – Ramona (O)- Class President (O) –Squishy Taylor (O) - Mae and June (O) - Jasmine Toguchi (O) - Ruby Lu (O) - Sam Wu is NOT Afraid (O) - Shai and Emmie (O) - Zoey and Sassafras (O) - Best Enemies (P) – Gooseberry Park (P) – Joshua T Bates (P) - Juana and Lucas (P) – Pony Tails (P) - Dyamonde Daniel (P) - Alvin Ho (P) - Ruby and The Booker Boys (P) - Emma Dilemma (Q) - Nina Soni (Q) - Magnificent Makers (Q) - Little House (Q) – Amazing Days of Abby Hayes (Q) - Anastasia Krupnick (Q) – Humphrey (Q) - Timmy Failure (Q) - Tia Lola (R) - Magnificent Mya Tibbs (R) - Dream On, Amber (R) - Lemonade War (S) - Cilla Lee Jenkins (S) - Middle School Worst Years of My Life (T) - I Funny (T) - Joey Pigza (T)
Mystery
Nate the Great (K) – High Rise Private Eyes (K) - Cam Jansen (L) – Bailey School Kids (M) -Nancy Drew Notebooks (M) – Nancy Drew and Clue Crew (M) – A-Z Mysteries (N) – Jigsaw Jones (N) - Polka Dot Private Eyes (N) - Babysitters Club (O) – Boxcar Children (O) – Pony Pals (O) - My Weird School (O) - Precious Ramotswe (P) - Smashie McPerter (P) - Clubhouse Mysteries (P) - Encyclopedia Brown (P) – Museum Mysteries (Q) - Bunnicula (Q) - SpyX (Q) - Sherlock Holmes and Baker Street Irregulars (R) – Nancy Drew (S) - Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (T) - Secret Series (U)
Fantasy/Dystopian
Pixie Tricks (M) – Polly Diamond (N) - Catwings (N) – Dragon Slayer's Academy (P) - Secrets of Droon (Q) – Humphrey (Q) - Charlie and Chocolate Factory (R) – Spiderwick Chronicles (R) – Amos (R) - Warriors Dawn of the Clans (S) - Emily Windsnap (S) - Philippa Fisher (S) - Deltora Quest (R/S/T) – Narnia (T) – How To Train Your Dragon (T) – Penderwicks (T) - Emily Windsnap (T) - Gregor the Overlander (U) - Warriors New Prophecy (U) – Series of Unfortunate Events (V) – 39 Clues (V) – Flashback 4 (V) - Percy Jackson (W) – City of Ember (W) - Among the Hidden (Z) - Enders Game (Z) – Maze Runner (Z) – Hunger Games (Z)
*Harry Potter ranges from V (books 1&2) – W (books 3,4,5) – Z (books 6&7)
Action/Adventure (Some titles in other sections might also be considered Action/Adventure)
Magic Tree House (M) – Max Malone (N) – Geronimo Stilton (O) – Ralph S Mouse (O) - Time Warp Trio (P) – Thea Stilton (P) - Help! I'm Trapped (Q) - I Survived (Q) - Shredderman (R) -Gordon Korman Trilogies (R) – Hatchet Trilogy (R) – Girls Survive (S) - Swindle (S) - Million Dollar series (S) - Baseball Card Adventures (T) - Storm Runners (U) - Secret Series (U) - Genius Files (V) - Alex Rider series (Z)
Sports
Matt Christopher (Range of Levels) – TJ Edwards Sports Mysteries (P) – Jake Maddox (P) - Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream (Q) - Mike Lupica (V) – John Feinstein Sports Mysteries (W/X)
One of the best ways for students to move through levels of text is to get hooked into a good series. This resource provides you some guidance on levels of popular series.
If your child is interested in reading a series above their reading level, this can also serve as a guide for which series will help them "get ready" for the one they are interested in. For example, if a student is reading "Bailey School Kids" and really wants to read "My Weird School", it helps to read a lot of "A-Z Mysteries" and "Jigsaw Jones" first.
Ways of Discussing Your Child's Reading...
Discuss your child's reading with them in many of the same ways you would if you were talking to a friend about a book! Here are some discussion starters. Let these lead you into fantastic discussions with your child:
For every book:
What parts of your character's life are mirrors to you (in other words, they are just like yours, and you understand them)?
What parts of your character's life are windows to you (in other words, they are different than yours, and the text is helping you understand them better)?
What is easy to understand about the character's life/choices/big problems?
What is hard to understand about the character's life/choices/big problems?
What surprises you?
Would you want to be friends with the main character? Why or why not?
Tell me about your favorite part of the story so far.
If you could reach into the book and speak directly to the character, what would you say? Why?
For books at levels K/L/M:
What is the character's big problem? Have you ever had a problem like that?
Do you agree with how the character works to solve the problem?
How do the character's feelings change in the story?
How would you feel if you were the character?
For books at levels N/O/P/Q:
What are a few of the character's problems? Which one seems to be the biggest one?
What does the character seem to really want? What's getting in the way?
How is the character trying to deal with their big problems? What does that teach you about them?
If you could give the character advice, what would it be?
What bigger problems in the world does this book seem to show ?
For books at levels R/S/T:
Are noticing any problems the character has that will probably be big and complicated to solve?
How are you noticing your character changing? Growing?
In books like these, minor characters have important roles in the life of the main character. What are you noticing about that?
What do you recognize about the setting? What is hard to recognize or understand about the setting?
What bigger problems in the world does this book seem to be dealing with?
For books at levels U/V/W and higher:
In books like these, different characters have different plotlines, each with their own complicated problems and issues they face. What are you noticing about that?
How do the different characters and plotlines in this book intersect?
What are you noticing about the perspectives of each character? How are they similar or different?
What in the character's life or background leads to their unique perspectives?
For books at levels X and higher: