Is this for ages six to 12 or grades 6-12? I know very few 6 year olds who could read and understand most of these. Just want tobe sure before I vote.

Haha. The range is large, I know.. but I think it will be fine. That's why Captain Underpants and Mortal Engines are both there.... I guess you can think of it as a list for an elementary school library -- the MUST HAVE series in an elementary school library? :) I'll go change the title.

Are picture book series not to be considered? I see Henry and Mudge but not other easy to read books such as Frog and Toad, the Stupids etc. The list would certainly be overwhelming with them and other picture book/ easy to read series yet they are definitely must have. I needed warning as there are so many I can't at the moment think of.

Feel free to add the picture book and beginning readers series as you see fit! I'm adding Frog and Toad and Miss Nelson for now.

State of Wilderness at number 3 with 5 votes? Very weird. It's not a series and only two people have actually rated the book on its GR page. I don't think it fits this list at all.

My list is based on what my daughter would like. She is four, I'm told she is advanced for her age. She loves to be read to, and is starting to read herself. She has two friends who are 7 and 9 (both girls) they like the same books. so that's what I went with.
I feel the same as Karen and Fairosa, This is quite a large range for kids. There is so many different kinds of books to be read between the ages of 6 and 12. Or even sixth and twelfth grade.

Unfortunately the list needs some maintenance. Some @#&*! added every single title by the author Bruce Coville and there are multiple books in the Cynthia's Attic series listed.
Also, we've got both #1 and #2 books in the Nancy Drew series on here (the first book is The Secret of the Old Clock), although that one was probably just an honest mistake.
Otherwise this is an excellent idea for a list! With two daughters (5 and 18months) I'm just starting to grow our home library for them, so this is a great resource for that.

Edited to add: Thanks to whomever started the cleanup process - I finished the rest of them as of today. 3/27/09

Carolyn wrote: "Unfortunately the list needs some maintenance. Some @#&*! added every single title by the author Bruce Coville and there are multiple books in the Cynthia's Attic series listed.
Also, we've got b..."

Oh, That was such a good ideal of why to start the list! What does your 5 yr old like so far? I'm just curious because my daughter is always wanting to here something different. This list was also a big help for her as well.

Kittiya wrote: "Oh, That was such a good ideal of why to start the list! What does your 5 yr old like so far?..."

= ) Well, I wish I could take credit for it, but I didn't start this list - I posted my comment about maintenance in hopes that the list owner would see it (and delete those books.)

For my 5 yr old (just turned 5 in December), she's also reading ahead of her level - now we're working on adding to her vocabulary and on reading comprehension. She loves the Magic School Bus books (and they watch the videos in her preschool).

[Sorry, would add the links for you, but I'm getting a GR error message when I try. You can find a bunch of the books I mention in my bookshelves - under kids or tbr-kids)

We've pretty much been vacuuming books up off the shelves of our library - 10-15 a week - we go every weekend to return them and get more. Let's see, she likes the Cowgirl Kate series, and she just 'met' the Madeleine series and is liking them a lot. I also just introduced her to both Amelia Bedelia and Nate the Great and she is liking them as well. She likes the Henry & Mudge series and she's worked her way through most of those. Harry the Dog books by Gene Zion are also good. (Of course, she also likes the books based on cartoon characters - Dora, Angelina, Blues Clues, Curious George, Clifford, etc.) Oh, and I just got her one of the "Pigs" books by Amy Axelrod - they teach math skills through the stories. She really liked it, so we'll be getting the rest of those.

She loves to read on her own, so I let her at it for all of those. In addition I'm moving on to reading books to her that are on the next level. Right now we're reading Donna Jo Napoli's Prince of the Pond, a chapter a night. It's the first of three books, and they are pretty cute. Starts out with the premise of a prince being turned into a frog - what is his life like then? Very entertaining, especially reading aloud the frog prince's words, since he has a pronunciation problem with that long new tongue. = )

After this series, we'll move on to Magic Tree House, Boxcar Children, and I think we'll throw in some Borrowers too. I want to re-read Mossflower to make sure it isn't too violent, then may work through that as well.

What is your daughter liking?

this is a big range and there were a few that I was a little iffy about but i guess its okay for elementary to middle. The only book i think that is inappropriate is Ender's Game. I know a lot of Middle schoolers are reading books above there level, but this is a High school level book and I really don't think its appropriate for 12 or even 13 year olds. The book is so violent, all its about is war and war schemes-not something a 7th grader needs to read!

Whereas I think Enders Game is fine for the 10-12 group, no need to wait until High School. It has battles and stuff, but the battles are mostly conducted as laser tag - no actual violence except for two or three instances, and they are very well written and no real details of the violence. If anything, Ender's story is one in which he constantly seeks to avoid violence. He isn't a pacifist, by any means, but he chooses the most direct path to the quickest end to each battle.
It's a story with a lot of excellent discussion points - themes of population control, isolation and loneliness, right and wrong, strategy and tactics, family relationships, xenophobia, and ultimately, taking responsibility for one's actions. There are probably more I could list, but it's 1am here and I'm tired.

Ender's Game is a book with a lot of complexity and I would say it is an excellent book for the 10-12 group. I first read it at 13, I think, and it is still one of my favorite books ever (35+ years and literally thousands of books later.)

Where the Sidewalk Ends is not a series.

yes however it is a book. there are some single books here like Miss Nelson is Missing and Charley and the Chocolate Factory.

Allison wrote: "yes however it is a book. there are some single books here like Miss Nelson is Missing and Charley and the Chocolate Factory. "

No one is contesting that it is a book, but Janna is right, it isn't part of a series. (The title of this list is "Must-Have Series..."

The two examples you name are both part of series, though. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is the sequel to Chocolate Factory and there are several more Miss Nelson books, (Miss Nelson Is Back and Miss Nelson Has a Field Day for example.

Thanks, Carolyn... that's just how I was going to reply. :)

oh BTW Where the Side Walk Ends does have a sequel its called Falling Up

Allison wrote: "oh BTW Where the Side Walk Ends does have a sequel its called Falling Up
"

They are both books of poems. While Falling Up is a second book of poems, it isn't a sequel - all the poems in each book pretty much stand alone.

whatever i don't want to argue w/ u

They are two poetry books by the same author, that's all.

Went in and did some maintenance on the list - removed a bunch of duplicates, multiple books for the same series, and WtSWE as well.

Cool... "Wayside School is Falling Down" can also be removed as it is the second book in the series. "Sideways Stories" is already on here.

Fixed.

RE: Must Have Series for 6-12 year olds --Does 'Harriet The Spy' have a sequel? If not, darn. Also, I'd like to say that it's been a long time since I read to my son at bedtime (he's now 43) but we used to like the Dr. Doolittle series by Hugh Lofting. Each night was a chapter, with a 'preview' of the next chapter. Those memories are among my most precious. And I have no problem reading children's books or YA for my own pleasure, some of them are quite entertaining. But nothing beats reading to a child...in fact I think I'm gonna see if they'll let me read to the grandkid before he goes to sleep...maybe he'll appreciate that these are the same stories I read to his daddy long years ago.

why is Ender's game on here? isn't tat a High school book? like in context... i think i remember reading that in my freshman year

6-12?! While I would definitely approve of reading The Chronicles or Narnia to a six year old, there is so much they won't appreciate about this wonderful series.

Madeline L'engle's Wrinkle in Time Series are brilliant as well, but they would be even harder for a small child to understand.

And then Harry Potter! I love those books, and Ive read them to death, but theres no way I would EVER let a six year old read them! No, I am not even sure 12 is quite old enough, but surely 12 is more reasonable.

These series are intended for "young adults" but i think adults can appreciate them just as much, if not more! :)