25 Must-Read Children’s Chapter Book Series

Children’s chapter book series are wonderful for kids’ personal reading and family read-alouds. If you want some recommendations that will engage their brains, nurture their hearts, and spark their imaginations, then check out this list of some of my favorite children’s book series.

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If you’ve been around me long – either in person or online – you know that I am ardently passionate about children’s books and reading. I love to tell kids that books have magical powers – they have the power to teach you anything you want to know, take you anywhere you want to go, and turn you into anyone you want to become through the stories they contain. Reading not only develops many different skills in kids, it transforms them from the inside out. Plus, it’s just plain fun!

Over the years, I’ve read a LOT of children’s books – both as read-alouds with my kids and on my own. And while I’m a bit selective in what I read and recommend, both in terms of quality and content, I have read many that I have loved and enthusiastically promoted.

Every Monday, I share the kids’ books I’ve been reading on Facebook and Instagram, but I want to start putting together more lists on the blog for easy reference. I already have a few, including Our Favorite Chapter Books for Read-Alouds and 20 Books For Kids Who Love Outdoor Adventure. This week, however, I’m focusing specifically on chapter book series. These series will delight your kids (and you, if you’re reading them aloud!) book after book after book.

Why I Love Chapter Book Series

While I, of course, love stand-alone children’s books, chapter book series bring the added benefit of getting kids hooked. They can’t wait to see what happens in the stories, they become invested in the characters, and they just want more of what they love! This fuels reading momentum.

Kids also enter what reading expert Nancie Atwell calls “the reading zone” more quickly and easily because they already have a foundational understanding of the setting, characters, and plot. Series books also have predictable patterns that are easier for kids to follow. Because of this, series can help build kids’ reading fluency and comprehension.

Plus, there’s just something comforting about a favorite book series. Characters become like old friends. It’s almost like a real “good-bye” when you finish a series! And there’s less risk of not liking a book when you already love the series, making the series like an emotional security blanket.

25 Must-Read Children’s Chapter Book Series

For all those reasons (and more!), children’s chapter book series are wonderful for kids’ personal reading and your family read-alouds. Want some recommendations that will engage their brains, nurture their hearts, and spark their imaginations? Then check out this list of some of my favorite must-read children’s book series.

(Note: There are MANY other wonderful children’s book series than the ones included in this list, and I hope to keep adding to my repertoire! But I only recommend ones I have personally read, so if you don’t see one you love here, that’s probably why. So, PLEASE share YOUR recommendations in the comments below!)

The Green Ember Series, by S.D. Smith
Tales of Magic, by Edward Eager
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, by Karina Yan Glaser
The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall
The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes
The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, by Chris Grabenstein
Book Scavenger, by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Ramona, by Beverly Cleary
Gooney Bird Greene, by Lois Lowry
The Shoe Books, by Noel Streatfeild
Poppy, by Avi
Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
The Tucket Adventures, by Gary Paulsen
The Growly Books, by Erin & Philip Ulrich
Redwall, by Brian Jacques
The Ralph Mouse Series, by Beverly Cleary
The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks
The Adventures of Paddington, by Michael Bond
My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George (though we didn’t enjoy #3 nearly as much as the first two)
The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner (My boys didn’t take to this series, but I LOVED it as a kid!)
The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell (It’s not exactly high-quality literature, but they’re fun, and we loved the tales of courage, loyalty, and self-discovery.)

Money-Saving Tip: Want to build your collections of children’s chapter book series without breaking the bank? I get the majority of our chapter books second-hand from Thriftbooks! Get a FREE BOOK credit when you sign up for ReadingRewards through my link and spend $30.