Thematic Reading List: Series books for Non-book Lover
According to several media outlets, the best-selling books for children in 2017 were books with funny themes, characters, or situations. You will find several series books that meet these criteria while other books present mysteries to be solved or situations that need to be resolved. If you find that the child is a non-book lover due to being a struggling reader, provide the child with books that have realistic characters and compelling storylines. The child can connect with these themes. Each book listed is the first book in the series.
Sammy Keyes series Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief By: Wendelin Van Draanen Thirteen-year-old Sammy’s penchant for speaking her mind gets her in trouble when she involves herself in the investigation of a robbery at the “seedy” hotel across the street from the seniors’ building where she is living with her grandmother |
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Borrowers series The Borrowers By: Mary Norton The miniature world of the Clock family–Pod, Homily, and Arrietty–who live beneath the floor of a country house in a home furnished with objects they have borrowed from the humans who live above them. |
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Captain Underpants series The Adventures of Captain Underpants By: Dav Pilkey When George and Harold hypnotize their principal into thinking that he is the superhero Captain Underpants, he leads them to the lair of the nefarious Dr. Diaper, where they must defeat his evil robot henchmen. |
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid series Diary of a Wimpy Kid: George Heffley’s Journal By: Jeff Kinney Greg records his sixth-grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship. |
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Ivy + Bean series Ivy + Bean By: Annie Barrows When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected. |
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Bunnicula series Bunnicula: a rabbit tale of mystery By: Deborah and James Howe Harold, the Monroe’s dog, tells of Chester the cat’s suspicions that the baby rabbit that one of the Monroe boys finds in the movie theater, takes home, and names Bunnicula is a vampire. |
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Hank Zipzer series Niagara Falls, or Does It? (Hank Zipzer #1) By: Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver Fourth-graders Hank, Ashley, and Frankie are excitedly preparing for a magic show at the Rock ‘N Bowl when Hank’s creative alternative to an English essay lands him in detention and grounded the week of the show. |
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Magic Treehouse series Dinosaurs Before Dark By: Mary Pope Osborne Eight-year-old Jack and his younger sister Annie find a magic treehouse, which whisks them back to an ancient time zone where they see live dinosaurs. |
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A Series of Unfortunate Events The Bad Beginning By: Lemony Snicket After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to steal their fortune. |
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Inheritance Cycle series (Young Adult) Eragon By: Christopher Paolini In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. |
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Hunger Games series (Young Adult) Hunger Games By: Suzanne Collins In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place. |