The Ultimate Backseat Bookshelf: 100 Must-Reads For Kids 9-14
As we enter the last stretch of summer before school starts again, we present our big annual book list — and this year, we're focusing on great reads for kids.
Back in June, NPR's Backseat Book Club — our book club for young readers — asked you, the NPR audience, to nominate your favorite books for kids age 9-14. More than 2,000 of you replied, giving us hundreds and hundreds of titles to consider. So we turned to our expert panel (read more about them — and their Newbery honors! — here), who combined audience favorites with their own choices to come up with a curated list of 100 must-reads.
And our final Backseat Book Club list has a little bit of everything: tales of trying to fit in, escaping to magical lands, facing prejudice, coming of age and fighting to survive. There are animal stories, pioneer sagas, science-fiction adventures and, of course, beloved classics.
So if you're looking for a new book for the young readers in your life — or you want to relive that age yourself — please stick around and browse our bookshelf. (Here's a printable version of the list, too.) And if your favorite book is missing, please tell us about it — nicely! — in the comments. Happy reading!
American Stories
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
The Birchbark House
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Long Way from Chicago Series
Esperanza Rising
The Witch Of Blackbird Pond
Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Little House Series
Animal Kingdom
Watership Down
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Poppy
Because of Winn-Dixie
Misty of Chincoteague
The Redwall series
The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Story of Two Dogs and a Boy
The Cricket in Times Square
Charlotte's Web
Biography, Memoir And History
The Lincolns
A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary
Anne Frank the Diary of a Young Girl
Eleanor Roosevelt
A Life of Discovery
Bomb
The Race to Build - and Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Everyday Magic
The Borrowers
Harry Potter series
A Series of Unfortunate Events books
Mary Poppins
Family Life
Ramona series
Walk Two Moons
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
A Novel
Catherine, Called Birdy
The Saturdays
Anne of Green Gables series
Fantasy Worlds
The Chronicles of Prydain series
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The City of Ember
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
The Earthsea Cycle series
Chronicles of Narnia series
The Giver
His Dark Materials series
The Hobbit
Or There And Back Again
Friendships And Finding Your Place
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda series
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
The Secret Garden
Harriet the Spy
Bridge to Terabithia
Okay for Now
Maniac Magee
Good For A Laugh
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Matilda
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Graphic Novels
The Bone Series
The Arrival
American Born Chinese
Mysteries And Thrillers
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
A Novel in Words and Pictures
The Egypt Game
Myths And Fairy Tales
The Dark Is Rising series
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
The Little Prince
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales
The Sword in the Stone
Poetry
Inside Out & Back Again
Science Fiction
A Wrinkle in Time series
Survival And Adventure
My Side of the Mountain
Julie of the Wolves
Number the Stars
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Hatchet
The Twenty-one Balloons
Meet The Panel
Soman Chainani wrote his graduate thesis on why evil women make irresistible fairy-tale villains. His first novel, The School for Good and Evil, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List and is currently being adapted into a film by Universal Pictures.
Travis Jonker is the elementary school librarian for Wayland Union Schools in Wayland, Mich. He reviews children's books for School Library Journal and writes about all things children's literature on his blog, 100 Scope Notes.
Gussie Lewis is an independent bookseller focusing on childrens' and YA titles. She has worked for Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., and currently serves as the chair of the Children and YA Author Recruitment Committee for the Gaithersburg Book Festival in Gaithersburg, Md.
Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including A Single Shard, winner of the 2002 Newbery Medal, and two books in "The 39 Clues" series. Her most recent novel is the New York Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water.
Margi Preus writes books for young people, including the novels Shadow on the Mountain and Heart of a Samurai, a 2011 Newbery Honor book and featured by NPR's Backseat Book Club. Margi also writes plays, hikes, skis, paddles, or sits quietly with a book in her lap.
Rita Williams-Garcia is an award-winning writer of books for young readers, and is known for her realistic portrayal of teens of color. Her books include Jumped, Every Time a Rainbow Dies, and One Crazy Summer, which won the Coretta Scott King award in 2011.
Produced by Justine Kenin, Petra Mayer, Michele Norris, Beth Novey, Annalisa Quinn and Matthew Weddig