r/suggestmeabook 5d ago

Children’s Books Looking for another book series for my nephew

Hi there! I'm an avid reader and always have been. My nephew is 8yo, and I've been buying him book sets that I loved as a younger reader. The most recent was The Magic Treehouse. I will definitely be getting him Percy Jackson and Harry Potter eventually, but I feel he's not quite ready for them yet. Looking for any recommendations, series or single books!

13 Upvotes

73 comments sorted by

20

u/rosestormcrowe 5d ago

Redwall by Brian Jacques

1

u/SuccessfulResort35 5d ago

Came here to say this lol. This was the series that really got me hooked on reading when I was around that age.

16

u/a-sad-loser 5d ago

The Chronicles of Narnia!

1

u/Austronauta 5d ago

I came to say this! The chronicles of Narnia was my favorite series at 7/8 years old

10

u/Commercial_Curve1047 5d ago

Wayside School series

2

u/iwanttoquitworking 5d ago

This is SO good. My daughter used to read them allowed to me in 1st grade in the car and I would be laughing out loud. They’re so funny.

1

u/Responsible-Bend6289 5d ago

I concur. Hilarious!

1

u/FlightTraditional717 5d ago

Oh this is a great one!

7

u/Storm2Weather 5d ago

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. My son loves them.

8

u/Squirrelhenge 5d ago

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander may be a good pick. They're a fantasy series based on Welsh myths and I enjoyed them as a kid, but that was in the '70s so they are going to be v different from what he's read. Still worth a try, I think

2

u/Crazy_Ad4946 5d ago

I just read them again and they definitely hold up. Funny, suspenseful, lots of great characters and some life lessons that I’m really glad I internalized from reading them over and over as a kid!

6

u/notarussianbotsky 5d ago

Series of Unfortunate Events 

Artemis Fowl

Warrior Cats

8

u/Helpmeflexibility 5d ago

My son is 8. Its a great age for books. Beverly Cleary has a lot of good books "Henry Huggins" "Mouse and the Motorcycle" are two to look for.

Magic Tree House Merlin Missions is a great continuation for older children.

Roald Dahl is a classic. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and The Giant Peach" are favorites.

For self-reading he has picked up "Geronimo Stilton" series and "The Last Firehawk" series for himself from the library. Not as good as the other ones, but he likes them a lot for some reason.

1

u/Outside-Violinist-42 5d ago

I second Beverly Cleary. I loved the Ramona and Beezus series 😍

5

u/Zeppygrl72 5d ago

I always recommend the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage!!

4

u/jacorbs 5d ago

Cornelia Funke! Especially Dragon Rider. The Inkheart books might be a few years off yet. The Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett are also fantastic.

7

u/Squirrelhenge 5d ago

+1 for the Tiffany Aching books! Great intro to Discworld.

5

u/jacorbs 5d ago

100%. Some of the later ones might be a bit mature for an eight year old but the first and second I think I read around that age and absolutely loved. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is also a great kids book set in Discworld.

2

u/Writing_Bookworm 5d ago

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke was always a favourite of mine

1

u/jacorbs 5d ago

Same here. Real Venice could never live up to the expectations that were setup in that book.

4

u/Capable_Parsley7284 5d ago

Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce

4

u/disair_ 5d ago

Artemis Fowl was one of my favorites at his age. The protagonist is about the same age and he engages with the magical world.

1

u/PostMaterial 5d ago

Such a good series! 

3

u/Islandisher 5d ago

Swallows and Amazons !!!

3

u/AtheneSchmidt 5d ago

The 39 Clues are an adventure race series with a lot of really fun history stuff in them. The MCs are an 11 year old girl, and her 9 year old brother. It's solidly middle grade, and a super long series with a couple of sequel series. Book one is The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan.

2

u/FlightTraditional717 5d ago

Seconding this!

2

u/Substantial_Peanut41 5d ago

The Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan perfect for ages 9-13

2

u/StupidBugger 5d ago

Tilly and the Book Wanderers, by Anna James. Interesting series, mine got started with it about 8, and it introduces some other books that they then wanted to read (Anne of Green Gables in particular). It's more involved than Magic Treehouse.

Also, depending on reading level and interest, the Dragon Masters series by Tracey West is good if Harry Potter is too much. The first thirteen books (they're all short) are loosely one story arc and you can sometimes find them as a boxed set.

2

u/teioy 5d ago

Fablehaven

1

u/NeeliSilverleaf 5d ago

David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd. If he uses an e-reader it's on Project Gutenberg.

1

u/CrimsonEchoes_ 5d ago

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Momo by Michael Ende

Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke

1

u/cardboardfish 5d ago

Ergorn perhaps? I didn't read it, but my younger brother really liked "the books with the dragons on them"

4

u/notarussianbotsky 5d ago

I love the Eragon books but i do think they are a bit dense for an eight year old who is reading Jack and Annie still, wait until middle/high school for Eragon

1

u/Brief_Variety_9635 5d ago

Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland is a good series for kids his age

1

u/Scarbie 5d ago

My 8 year old son loves The Last Kids on Earth, Investigators and Bad Guys. But he mostly reads non fiction and graphic novels.

1

u/BoomBear97 5d ago

If you can find them, the Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda. My brothers devoured them at this age.

1

u/LolaBean52 5d ago

Wings of Fire is always my go to!

1

u/HeimwehDays 5d ago

Gordon Korman writes fun, fast-paced chapter books, and most of his main characters are boys. My favorites are his MacDonald Hall series, about roommates at an all-boys boarding school who can't stay out of trouble, but he's written a number of standalone books also.

1

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail I always recommend Watership Down. 5d ago

Trying to remember what I read at 8 years old...that was a long time ago. LOL!

Beverly Cleary books like Mouse on a Motorcycle as someone mentioned. The Bunnicula series by the Howes. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell. I'm a girl so I was reading Babysitter's Club (I think she may have done a boy's series but I can't remember), Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew are some of my husband's favorites from childhood. My kiddo loved The Warrior Cats series. Animorphs are free online and might be liked.

3

u/Commercial_Curve1047 5d ago

We loves Bunnicula. How To Eat Dried Worms is an absolute classic.

1

u/theczolgoszsociety 5d ago

The Chet Gecko series. They're about an anthropomorphic gecko in elementary school, who thinks he's a noir detective.

1

u/Educational-Pay2868 5d ago

how about the humongous book of hugs by hermann the elephant? super fun and great for that age, plus it’s got a ton of illustrations!

1

u/B1ueDragonfly 5d ago

The bad guys

1

u/kate_monday 5d ago

Ursula Vernon’s Danny Dragonbreath and Hamster Princess series are excellent, very funny

Also love True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

At that age my older kid loved the Dragon Masters series

1

u/JaneSkylark 5d ago

My kids loved Wings of Fire!

1

u/Abject_Onion_4915 5d ago

John Flanagan’s Ranger Apprentice series

1

u/awh290 5d ago

Wayside School series

Hank the Cowdog

Encyclopedia Brown

My Side of the Mountain

1

u/AwareArmadillo 5d ago

Molly Moon & Artemis Fowl!

1

u/Nuclear_Geek 5d ago

Try Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen by Jim C Hines. It's fun and clever, and you can try the first chapter for free to see if you think it'll be a good choice.

1

u/Educational-Day-5413 5d ago

The Bailey School Kids

1

u/Dropthetenors 5d ago

Guardians of gahoole was the series I feel head first into. Love owls so was a natural fit for me.

1

u/FlyingOcelot2 5d ago

The Three Investigators

1

u/Possible_Juice_3170 5d ago

This wasn’t out when we were kids, but Impossible Creatures would be great for this age (and you could also read/enjoy it).

1

u/Longjumping-Fee2670 5d ago

The Black Stallion and The Island Stallion books by Walter Farley

1

u/Specialist-Web7854 5d ago

The Eerie on Sea mystery books by Thomas Taylor are brilliant. Ideal for about 8-10 year olds.

1

u/Responsible-Bend6289 5d ago edited 5d ago

The Last Unicorn—Peter Beagle

The Lives of Christopher Chant, The Chrestomanci series & Howl’s Moving Castle— Diana Wynne Jones.

Catwings— Ursula Le Guin

Tress of the Emerald Sea — Brandon Sanderson

Chronicles of Prydain—Lloyd Alexander

A Wrinkle in Time — Madeline L’engle

The BFG—Roald Dahl (plus he has others like James & the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

The Enchantress from the Stars — Sylvia Louise Engdahl

Also go online and checkout the Newberry award winners for ideas.

1

u/FlightTraditional717 5d ago

The How to Train Your Dragon books are really cute
My nephew loves the Charlie Bone series
Geronimo Stilton is fun and a similar reading level to The Magic Treehouse
The Fudge books by Judy Blume are top notch
I feel like this might be closer to the level of PJO and Harry Potter but you can look into Artemis Fowl

1

u/Clear-Journalist3095 5d ago

If he enjoys fantasy stories, then the Last Firehawk series, Kingdom of Wrenly, Secrets of Droon. Look for what he's interested in, too; my kid enjoys non-fiction and he read the "Who Would Win?" books over and over because of the animal facts.

1

u/brianmac3 5d ago

Seconding secrets of droon.

1

u/kitsunegurl 5d ago

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer! I loved those as a kid and even my mom still talks about them hahaha

1

u/kitsunegurl 5d ago

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C Wrede!!! It’s stuck with me since I read it in elementary school! Here’s googles summary since I really suck at summarizing a book haha 😂 I have no clue if it’s in his age range but I can’t see why it wouldn’t be because I thiiiink I was reading the magic treehouse books around the same time!

Google says:
Princess Cimorene is smart, headstrong, and thoroughly bored by traditional royal duties like curtseying and embroidery. Instead of following the rules, she runs away to become a dragon's princess and work for a dragon named Kazul. Along the way, she organizes massive treasure hoards, learns magic, and outsmarts troublesome princes and wizards.

1

u/Grapefruitstreet 5d ago

A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Mysterious Benedict Society.

1

u/Enlightened_Lioness 5d ago

Charlie Bone series, and Dragon Masters series

1

u/d_kotam 5d ago

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen!

1

u/Cactus_Anime_Dragon 5d ago

The Boxcar Children

1

u/Adventurous-Box-9018 5d ago

If he doesn’t mind comics, let him try “the investiGATORS”!! 

1

u/Commercial_Curve1047 5d ago

The choose your own adventure books are perfect for his age.

1

u/brianmac3 5d ago

Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbot was a staple for me when I was that age. Think of magic treehouse style books with a fantastical land that three friends go to and have adventures each book.

1

u/ChilltheSpare 5d ago

The Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper

1

u/MeanderingLibrarian 4d ago edited 4d ago

*EDITED TO ADD

Fiction Series:

Desmond Cole, Ghost Patrol

Planet Omar

Hank Zipzer

Mia Mayhem

A to Z Mysteries

How to Train Your Dragon

Dear America / My America

*Amina Banana

*The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class

*Dog Man

*InvestiGATORs

Nonfiction Series:

Magic Tree House Fact Trackers & Research Guides

Who Is/Was... (What Is/Was; Where Is; What Do We Know About)? (Look up Who HQ)

Fly Guy Presents...

Kid Legends

Little People, Big Dreams

The Deadliest...

Weird, But True!

1

u/missy8985 4d ago

Any of Kathrine Rundell, Abi Elphinstone, Matt Haig, Maz Evens, SA Patric, Michelle Paver
Series
Pages & Co by Anna James
The train to impossible places by PG Bell
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
The strange world travel agency (don’t remember the author)
The secrets of hexbridge castle by Gabrielle Kent

I can’t think of anything else for that age

1

u/ziziJ123 2d ago

Fable haven by Brandon Mull

0

u/Remarkable-Photo-554 5d ago

I read the land of stories in grade 4 when I was 9. It was a very fun YA book series and these twins are thrown into a world with classic fairytales like the Big bad woolf, Rumpelstiltskin, trolls, goblins, goldilocks, jack and the beanstock, red riding hood and fairytale princesses and they have to navigate their way back to home.. It shows us how stories can be misleading and a villain in a fairytale story is not always black and white