# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/21 "2009-05-09T12:35:13Z")
Edward Eager’s [_Half Magic_](http://www.amazon.com/Half-Magic-Fiftieth-Anniversary-Edward-Eager/dp/0152053026/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in) would be a great choice. You could follow it up with [_Knight’s Castle_](http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Castle-Edward-Eager/dp/015202073X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241872413&sr=1-3). ---
**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, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/22 "2009-05-09T12:36:28Z")
Judy Blume also writes some good tweenie books, _Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret_, _Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, Fudge, Blubber_. _Deenie_ and _Forever_, however, I would not recommend until she’s a bit older. ---
**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, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/23 "2009-05-09T12:48:13Z")
Thank you all for the suggestions. I’ll have to give her mom a call and run a few of these by her to make sure she hasn’t read some of them. It helps that I’ve read about half these books when I was her age, I’d just needed my memory refreshed, apparently. Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/24 "2009-05-09T12:52:29Z")
I’d suggest anything by Roald Dahl. He is laugh out loud funny. ---
**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, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/25 "2009-05-09T12:53:04Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Judy Blume also writes some good tweenie books, _Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret_, _Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, Fudge, Blubber_. _Deenie_ and _Forever_, however, I would not recommend until she’s a bit older. I was reading Judy Blume books at that age. Apart from maybe _Forever_ I don’t think they’re too old for her. ---
**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, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/26 "2009-05-09T13:05:21Z")
_Deenie,_ IMHO, should wait until she’s about 13 or so. The rest are fine. ---
**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, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/27 "2009-05-09T13:20:11Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > _Deenie,_ IMHO, should wait until she’s about 13 or so. The rest are fine. Whoa. I definitely read _Deenie_ well before 13. I don’t think it scarred me or anything. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/28 "2009-05-09T13:24:39Z")
Lots of my own recommendations are already accounted for, except for the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/29 "2009-05-09T15:55:46Z")
A few more to add - Terry Pratchett - The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith are all titles my daughter adored. [Rick Riordan](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/rick-riordan/) - Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which comprises The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian. [Jonathan Stroud](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/jonathan-stroud/) - The Bartimaeus Trilogy, which comprises The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye and Ptolomey’s Gate ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/30 "2009-05-09T16:08:08Z")
Another good series is Sydny Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family. And anything by Beverly Clearly. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/31 "2009-05-09T18:20:00Z")
Let’s not forget Nancy Drew. When I was around her age I devoured that series. Yeah, I’m an old fart. I imagine they would still be available? Please tell me they are… ---
**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, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/32 "2009-05-09T18:21:12Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > A few more to add - > > Terry Pratchett - The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith are all titles my daughter adored. I went with this. I’m a big Pratchett fan and if I can corrupt my niece early, I figure it will be a job well done. I feel kind of cheap since I bought paperbacks as a gift instead of hardcovers, but tried to make up for it by buying four books. The three mentioned here plus The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Thank you all again for the wonderful suggestions. ---
**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, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/33 "2009-05-09T19:12:35Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > 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. It’s still available. Some of Alexander Key’s other books are also available. I particularly loved _The Forgotten Door_, and re-read it frequently. Zenna Henderson also wrote several books and stories with the same motif, and are similarly appropriate for kids. > [@Septima](#): > > 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. Eddings is too misogynist for me. His female characters are sometimes sent to nunneries for being inconvenient to males. While this is historically accurate, I really don’t like books that use this as a method of getting rid of female characters that are simply standing up for themselves. I certainly wouldn’t give any of his books to a young girl. On the other hand, once you read one of his series, you’ve basically read them all. > [@Goblinboy](#): > > I went with this. I’m a big Pratchett fan and if I can corrupt my niece early, I figure it will be a job well done. I feel kind of cheap since I bought paperbacks as a gift instead of hardcovers, but tried to make up for it by buying four books. The three mentioned here plus The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Hey, paperbacks are more portable than hardbacks, and these are books that she can read for the rest of her life. I loved all four of those books, and I read them as an adult. What’s more, you can give her Pratchett books in the future. ---
**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, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/34 "2009-05-09T21:04:35Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Hey, paperbacks are more portable than hardbacks, and these are books that she can read for the rest of her life. I loved all four of those books, and I read them as an adult. What’s more, you can give her Pratchett books in the future. Most of my old favorite paperbacks are falling apart, that’s what I was concerned about when I said that. And hopefully we’ll have another little Pratchett fan when she’s done reading these. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/35 "2009-05-09T21:41:46Z")
All the books I came in here to recommend are recommended. So, I will add a linky [To my favoritist kid bookplace](http://www.chinaberry.com)on line. ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/36 "2009-05-09T23:14:35Z")
If you want to keep a list for the next gift giving occasion, my twelve year old daughter - who was like your niece at her age - recommends the [Peter Pan prequels](http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Starcatchers-Box-Set/dp/1423117476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241907650&sr=1-1) by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson: Peter and the Starcatchers Peter and the Shadow Thieves Peter and the Secret of Rundoon Cave of the Dark Wind: A Neverland Book\* Escape from the Carnivale: A Neverland Book\* Blood Tide: A Neverland Book\* “These are funny, well written, and not babyish.” says **grayhaireddaughter1** \*These don’t involve Peter Pan, they tell the story of what’s happening in Neverland while Peter is in England. Also, she seconds the recommendation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians by **Le Ministre de l’au-delà**. “I also recommend the book “[So B. It](http://www.amazon.com/So-B-Sarah-Weeks/dp/B001DYH17W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241909248&sr=1-2)” By: Sarah Weeks” begins **grayhaireddaughter1** happy to talk about the pros and cons of every book she’s ever read, “I do not recommend [The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Wimpy-Kid-Jeff-Kinney/dp/0810993139/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910744&sr=1-2), no matter how good people say it is because it’s like popcorn, it’s tasty, but not very satisfying. [Vampirates](http://www.amazon.com/Vampirates-Demons-Ocean-Justin-Somper/dp/0316014443/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910694&sr=1-3)was also a good book. It was about vampire pirates…obviously. The [Alex Rider series](http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Rider-Collection-Anthony-Horowitz/dp/0142412511/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910386&sr=1-1) by Anthony Horrowitz was pretty good but he wrote these REALLY COOL horror stories [The Complete Horrowitz Horror](http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Horowitz-Horror-Anthony/dp/0142411620/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910462&sr=1-1) which was more superfantabular. [Junie B. Jones](http://www.amazon.com/Junie-Jones-Complete-Collection-Boxed/dp/B001XQ8HCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910638&sr=1-1) is a series written for 6-8 year olds which even now I always go back too because they make great popcorn books. [Fever 1793](http://www.amazon.com/Fever-1793-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0689848919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910512&sr=1-1) was about a plague and the [The Pink Fairy Book](http://www.amazon.com/Pink-Fairy-Book-Andrew-Lang/dp/0486469662/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241910555&sr=1-1), part of a series my mom read when she was my age (each book is different color and has different stories from around the world) are good because there not those stupid sugarcoated fairytales like now because people get their heads cut off and stuff. I had to read [The Giver](http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440237688/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_4) in 5th grade and it was cool to read a book about the future where technology was pretty much the same as it is now. That’s pretty much all I can think of now because I just read through the books ‘appropriate’ for my age too quickly and too long ago to remember them.” ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/37 "2009-05-10T00:33:09Z")
Oh, how could I have forgotten [Kenneth Oppel](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/o/kenneth-oppel/)? Airborn, Skybreaker and Starclimber are superb adventures in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson, while the whole Silverwing series is a great set of stories about bats. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/38 "2009-05-10T01:53:37Z")
Robin McKinley - particularly\* Beauty, The Outlaws of Sherwood, The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown\*. StG ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/39 "2009-05-11T22:12:18Z")
> [@luv2draw](#): > > Let’s not forget Nancy Drew. When I was around her age I devoured that series. > > Yeah, I’m an old fart. I imagine they would still be available? Please tell me they are… yes they are. They’re published in little hardcover books with the original artwork from when we were kids. My daughter has devoured every one and prefers the retro feel of the old ones to the new more modern series. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809/40 "2009-05-11T23:38:31Z")
> [@kbear](#): > > yes they are. They’re published in little hardcover books with the original artwork from when we were kids. My daughter has devoured every one and prefers the retro feel of the old ones to the new more modern series. They’ve also been rejigged into a comic book series, along with the Hardy Boys and The Baby Sitters’ Club. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-book-for-9-year-old-girl/495809.md?page=3)