The Wizard of Oz series.
If you can find it, for girls, The Campfire Girls. They’re rather old, 1930s-40s, but they’re very fun to read.
I liked Encyclopedia Brown too.
The Princess Bride–William Goldman rocks!
Where the Red Fern Grows was always one of my very favorites.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn–that might be a little above them yet, but still a great book.
Plus, I’d actually like to suggest Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon. There’s maybe a sentence or two you’d have to skip over if you’d rather avoid sexual questions, but overall it’s a very “clean” work. King actually wrote it for his children, IIRC. It’s got dragons and wizards and true love and kings. Very exciting and fun to read.
bella
What a lovely tradition, Dragongirl!
Like Beadalin, I really dug Harriet the Spy. She’s just so appealingly unlovable, if that makes sense.
Lloyd Alexander is wonderful children’s author. His Prydain Chronicles were among the first books I was ever super-enthused about. They’re fantasy adventures, with plenty of both scary and funny bits. I read the first of the series, The Book of Three when I was about eight, so they should be around the right level for your young’uns.
I will third the Series of Unfortunate Events…my son, who’s 8, and I are on 5 now and we’re really enjoying them. I started with them as a fill-in 'til the next Harry Potter book, which we also enjoyed very, very much.
My son likes books with lots of action, so he liked Roald Dahl’s The Witches and both Willy Wonka books, but found A Cricket In Times Square slow. I’ve read through the original Dr. Dolittle with him and he found that a little dull as well. We started on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe but he was a little spooked by that, so we stopped – but that was quite a while ago.
Also, The Westing Game and A Wrinkle In Time were by far my favorites as a youngun. I’m waiting a bit to introduce them to my son, but I think it’ll be time once we finish the Unfortunate Events books.
Any of the Paul Jennings books.
They are heaps of them… Some of them off the top of my head are Uncanny, Unreal, Unbearable, Unmentionable, Undone, Unbelievable andUncovered among many others.
They’re short stories, usually hilariously funny, and often very disgusting (one story that springs to mind is called “cow dung custard”) but they’re the kind of stories kids love (especially boys, in my experience), and they’re pretty easy to read.
Any of the Paul Jennings books.
They are heaps of them… Some of them off the top of my head are Uncanny, Unreal, Unbearable, Unmentionable, Undone, Unbelievable andUncovered among many others.
They’re short stories, usually hilariously funny, and often very disgusting (one story that springs to mind is called “cow dung custard”) but they’re the kind of stories kids love (especially boys, in my experience), and they’re pretty easy to read.
There’s a guy named Bruce Coville who writes fantasy and science fiction for that age group. Kids find them hilarious, though they fall a little short for adults. My favorite during the fifth grade was Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.
I first read The Lord of the Rings when I was 8, although I get the impression that most people don’t tackle those until they’re older.
I’ll also add another vote for The Phantom Tollbooth and Cheaper by the Dozen, both of which I read many times during my youth. The Wizard of Oz, on the other hand, is a perfect demonstration of the fact that a book can be a classic without being good.
James Herriot’s books are good for that age group as well.