# Looking for book for 9 year old girl. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809 "2009-05-09T01:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Goblinboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3be4f8/32.png) [@Goblinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goblinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/1 "2009-05-09T01:10:19Z")
My niece’s birthday is coming up and I’ve been told that she’s looking for books “with three or 400 pages in them”. She doesn’t seem too picky about the content, although I’m assuming she means a fiction book of some sort. She’s an avid reader who had no trouble with the Harry Potter series, so I know this isn’t an idle request. Having no kids of my own, I really don’t know what’s out there. So does anyone have any suggestions on what books or books I could give her? ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/2 "2009-05-09T01:28:04Z")
If she can handle Harry Potter, try A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/3 "2009-05-09T01:41:02Z")
When I was her age I devoured the _Little House on the Prairie_ books. She may also like all the L. Frank Baum Oz books…there’s 12 altogether, if you didn’t know. _The Wizard of Oz_ is just the first one. I also adored the Encyclopedia Brown books. Granted, they’re short, but she may enjoy noodling out the mysteries, if she’s such a voracious reader that a 300-400 page tome doesn’t faze her. Speaking of mysteries…_The Westing Game_. I highly recommend it!! P.S. **Claire** …I LOVE your user name! Sept 22! ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/4 "2009-05-09T01:57:30Z")
The James Herriot books might be a good choice if she likes animals. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/5 "2009-05-09T02:14:23Z")
Absolutely concur with the recommendaton on the _Little House_ series. Add to that another series I was addicted to at that age: _The Narnia Chronicles_. Back then, I was wholly ignorant of and didn’t have to acknowledge the Xtian parable angle/debate; was a godless heathen (still am) and loved them deeply. Kids dig 'em. Can’t recount the hours I spent seeking a door to Narnia, nevermind trying to convince our cat she could trust me enough to speak in my presence. 🙂 More recently: The _His Dark Materials_ trilogy by Phillip Pullman. Also unfortunately belabored by religious controversy. Speaking as an adult, I enjoy the writing and imaginative storyline. Kids (& adults) who have graduated from (or bypassed entirely) the Potter series will enjoy them. Oh, goodness…Stuart Little…Charlotte’s Web…anything by Eleanor Estes! ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/6 "2009-05-09T02:20:28Z")
I highly recommend L. M. Montgomery, especially the Anne of Green Gables series. The books are I think more like 300 pages, but there are 8 of them, and they are all wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/7 "2009-05-09T03:00:37Z")
_The Chronicles of Prydain_ by Lloyd Alexander. She is the perfect age for these. They are fantasy based on Welsh mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/8 "2009-05-09T03:39:59Z")
^5 ivylass 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/9 "2009-05-09T04:51:34Z")
The Artemis Fowl books are amazing, if a little shorter than she requests. The Graveyard Book and/or Coraline by Neil Gaiman are also shorter, but I think both skew slightly older in their syntax or vocabulary, so she might overlook the shortness and be won over by the writing. Also, The Hobbit. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/10 "2009-05-09T05:02:46Z")
You might try Watership Down. I think I was around that age when I first read it. The Neverending Story is also quite good. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/11 "2009-05-09T05:07:26Z")
The unabridged **Little Women** and if she likes it you can always follow it up with **Little Men**. If she lives anywhere close to Concord, Massachusetts, you can take her to the house where the real little women lived. The book is fiction, but set in this house and very loosely based on the author’s three sisters. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/12 "2009-05-09T05:08:32Z")
Diana Wynne Jones has written some excellent fantasies that are suitable for kids that age. Some of her books are NOT suitable for kids, though. When I was that age, I devoured anything written by Andre Norton. It’s going to be hard to recommend a book of her prefered length at her age level. Most kids that age get bored quickly. Perhaps she’d like a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories? I can’t remember when I first started reading those, but they were a lot of fun, and a collection (doesn’t have to be complete) would fulfill her desire for a lot of pages. This would have to be accompanied by a talk about how people acted differently back then, they had a lot less technology, and all that stuff. A children’s librarian might be able to help you, too. You sound like a fine uncle. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/13 "2009-05-09T06:51:34Z")
I have two ten year olds and they have enjoyed the Cornelia Funke series Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath. The Inkheart movie is probably out on video by now…although it wasn’t great it could go along with the first book. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/14 "2009-05-09T06:57:41Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Speaking of mysteries…_The Westing Game_. I highly recommend it!! I read that around the age of 9 or 10 and loved it, although I can’t remember much about it now. I’m not sure if it’s still in print but _Escape to Witch Mountain_ is a really, really fascinating book - much better than the cheesy Disney movies that came out of it. I still read it every couple of years and enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/15 "2009-05-09T07:00:32Z")
David Eddings has a great series with a kid protagonist, _The Belgariad_. It’s a series of 5(?) books, and I really loved it when I was sligtly more that your nieces age. There is some violence, but I don’t recall it being any more graphic then the later bits of Harry Potter. If she likes them, there is second series with the same people, and another, similar series she could read. ---
**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/16 "2009-05-09T07:30:13Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > You might try Watership Down. I think I was around that age when I first read it. > > The Neverending Story is also quite good. Both of these. Also, [Ratha’s Creature.](http://www.amazon.com/Rathas-Creature-Named-Clare-Bell/dp/0142408433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241854169&sr=8-1) ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/17 "2009-05-09T07:39:16Z")
_The Hobbit_, or just about anything by Jules Verne. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Mood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@Blue\_Mood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Mood)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/18 "2009-05-09T08:09:34Z")
I would highly recommend [A Series of Unfortunate Events](http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Beginning-Unfortunate-Events-Book/dp/0064407667/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241855779&sr=1-3). There are thirteen books in the series, so it could be your thing to give her one or two periodically until she has the whole set. I suggest you read the first few pages of it on Amazon (“Click to Look Inside”) to see if it’s the type of book she would like. It is not princesses or ponies, and delivers what it promises (no happy endings, many trials for the Baudelaire orphans). The books are excellent in not being condescending, and as a bonus in teaching new vocabulary without kids even realizing it! ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/19 "2009-05-09T09:15:54Z")
I was a big fan of Zylpha Keatley Snyder at that age, particularly _Black and Blue Magic, The Headless Cupid, The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case, Blair’s Nightmare, and Janie’s Detective Agency_ (the last four are a set). They’re a bit dated now but still fun. Alternatively, you could give her a gift card to a local bookstore. That’s always been my favorite thing to receive; an afternoon browsing around the bookstore PLUS getting to buy books is like heaven to me. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/20 "2009-05-09T12:26:18Z")
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Better than the movie. Main character is orphaned(goes to live with her uncle) in the first chapter but I can’t remember how the book deals with her parents death. Might wanna check that out. I remember not being able to put the book down. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809.md?page=2)