Top 5 novel series for kids, ranked by my 12-year-old
During the first couple years of the COVID pandemic, when lockdowns were the norm and school and sports were cancelled, my son Owen took his reading habit to a new level.
He made his way through dozens of kid-focused novels, including all 1 million words of the Harry Potter series.
Yet after motoring through more books than I could supply, it wasn’t Harry Potter that topped his list of favourite stories. More on that below.
Owen used to have a flyer route, but eventually it didn’t jive with his competitive sports schedule.
He was looking for a way to make an allowance, so I offered him a taste of the freelance life: write me an article listing his top 5 favourite novel series so that other people with voracious young readers in their life would have some ideas to fill stockings.
Honestly, I think the following is pretty great writing for a 12-year-old.
So here it is: The top 5 novel series for kids, by Owen.
Favourite book series
Reading is one of my favourite pastimes, and I read for hours every day, including before I go to sleep and when I’m waiting for something.
I like to read because, unlike TV, movies, and other forms of visual entertainment, the book uses words rather than pictures to help you visualize what’s going on.
It gives you key information about the setting, the characters, and the situation, amongst other things, but lets you fill in the gaps with your imagination.
When two people watch, say, a movie, they both see the exact same thing.
When two people read a book, they see completely different things, with some big similarities. When reading, you essentially create your OWN book based on information that the author gives you.
I also like how reading gives you the ability to immerse yourself. Sometimes when you’re reading, you just forget about everything else.
This, and the fact that reading builds your vocabulary, is good for you, and helps you get by in life, is why reading is one of my favourite pastimes.
In this article I will be ranking my favourite book series 1 to 5, and if you read until the end, I will be talking about my favourite book of all time and why I like it.
First of all, when looking for a series to read, there are a few things I like to look for:
- I prefer the main character or one of the main characters to be somewhere between the age of 12 and 18. As a 12-year-old, I like to read about people my age doing amazing stuff, and frankly, I think young people’s thoughts are much more interesting and creative than a middle-aged character’s.
- I like it if the main character is special or different in some way. This quality exists in all of the books I will be talking about here.
- I like it if the book takes place in the real world. It makes you think: could this really be possible? Is there a chance this is happening? Of course not … but what if there was? This quality also exists in all of the series I will be talking about.
So without further ado, let’s begin!
Number 5: Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is a very popular book. If you’ve never read it yourself, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Percy is a 12-year-old demigod (half human, half god) who is the son of the Greek god Poseidon.
I like this series because it is based on real mythology.
Everything about the mythical characters, objects, and past events comes straight from Greek mythology, though a lot of the action takes place in the present day real world.
However, what those characters and objects do in the book is purely the product of Riordan’s imagination.
Number 4: The Funjungle series by Stuart Gibbs
Stuart Gibbs may be tied for my favourite author of all time. His writing is very descriptive, creative, and fun.
The Funjungle series features Teddy Fitzroy, a 12-year-old boy living at a zoo/theme park in Texas.
When crimes occur in and around the park, Teddy and his friend, Summer, have to solve them.
I enjoy this series because it features animals and even teaches you a bit about them. I love animals and this series is just an overall fun, creative idea.
Number 3: The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
The Unwanteds is an interesting series set on a dystopian island in the Bermuda Triangle.
Every year, the uncreative 13-year-olds are sent to school while the creative ones are given a death sentence. However, an eccentric magician saves them and teaches them to use their creativity to make spells and weapons.
I like this series because I think it’s cool how they use their creativity like a superpower.
Number 2: The Bloom trilogy by Kenneth Oppel
Kenneth Oppel is tied for my favourite author with Stuart Gibbs. Oppel’s ideas are interesting, inventive, and smart.
In the Bloom books, aliens invade and try to terraform earth … but since they’re aliens, they have different needs. The result would be an Earth that is completely uninhabitable to humans.
But three half-alien kids try to save their planet by defeating the evil aliens.
This series is cool because all the other humans are helpless against the aliens, but the half-alien kids around the world have cool powers and can survive the alien terraforming, and are therefore earth’s only hope.
Number 1: Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
My number 1 favourite series is the Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs.
In Spy School, kids with special skills are recruited by the CIA to undergo training for six years before hopefully becoming a field agent.
Ben Ripley, a 12-year-old boy from Vienna, Virginia, is repeatedly thrust into important missions before his graduation from the academy.
Like all of Gibbs’ series, spy school is fun, creative, captivating, and exciting.
Plus, ever since I was very young, I have been really interested and in awe of spies. I thought it would be a cool job to have, which was what drew me to this series originally.
My favourite book of all time
My favourite book of all time (so far) is probably Spy School At Sea, part of the Spy School series. It takes place on a tropical cruise where Ben goes undercover and battles his evil nemesis, Murray Hill.
I like the characters in this book and I also like it for the same reasons as all the other books: it’s fun, creative, captivating, and exciting and has spies!
Thank you for reading about my favourite book series.
These books are great for kids between the age of 10 and 13. If you are within that age range, maybe try them out. You might enjoy them.
I know I did!
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