9 Great Books For 9 Year Olds - chosen by my 9 year old.

I'm often asked which books are good for children of various ages and I give my answers, but what does an actual 9 year old think? My own 9 year old is a voracious reader and it took him precisely 23 seconds to choose 9 of his favourite books - and here they are...

1.Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling
Everyone has heard of J.K.Rowling's student wizard and all of our children worked their way through the series of books with gusto. They are a fantastic natural progression with your child, as the books get longer, stories more complex and subject matter slightly more mature gradually from book 1 to 7.
My son says his favourite of the whole series is the 7th and final book, and he's read them all twice.

2. Nelly The Monster Sitter series by Kes Gray
There are several books featuring Nelly, a girl who has a part time job offering her services as a monster sitter. As you can imagine, looking after monsters isn't always the easiest job, but it's usually the funniest.

3. Birthday Boy by David Baddiel
In the evening, after a day of birthday celebrations, Sam sees a shooting star and at the stroke of midnight makes a wish he very quickly regrets. A birthday every day seemed a good idea at the time.... This is an excellent book with a great story. Funny and thought-provoking.

4. Horrible Histories Pirates Handbook by Terry Deary
Horrible Histories/Science/Geography have all been incredibly popular with all of our children, but the Pirates Handbook is my son's absolute favourite. Everything you ever didn't need to know about piracy and pirate pastimes back in the 17th and 18th centuries, with loads of illustrations and comedy throughout.

5. Sherlock Holmes And The Disappearing Diamond by Sam Hearn
A comic style book following the school time adventures of young Sherlock, Watson and Moriarty. plus the ever sensible and calm Miss Hudson. Mysteries and capers and the occasional bout of embarrassment....

6. The Witches by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl's books have delighted and scared children for many years and The Witches is my son's favourite. The relatively short and easy to read story of what happens when a boy and his grandmother find themselves sharing a hotel with a genuine witches convention...

7. The Lord Of The Rings series by J.R.R.Tolkien
Absolute classics and really very big books, yet my 9 year old has worked his way through these twice and adores them. Very popular with 4 of our children and a great read for old and young alike. Start with The Hobbit for a much less intimidating introduction to Middle Earth. My 9 year old's favourite is the first book in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy - The Fellowship Of The Ring.

8. Dog Man Unleashed by Dav Pilkey
Dav Pilkey is a big favourite here and this comic book style story is utterly barking, full of illustration and ideal for any child who wants to read something lighter, or is less confident. Very funny, I often hear my children chuckling when they're reading his books.

9. Bad Dad by David Walliams
David Walliams may not be the most traditional or prosaic writer, or have the most innocent of characters, but he taps into something kids love and his stories are easy to read and interesting. My 9 year old loves him and has read about 6 of his books - Bad Dad is his favourite.

Dav Pilkey and Horrible Histories are the most easy to read choices from this list. If it's useful to you, I also have a blog post full of ideas for reading material and books for reluctant and less confident readers.

Amazon is a great place to buy the children's books on this list, including Birthday Boy by David Baddiel, which is currently reduced to only £5.49 (rrp £12.50). My link is an affiliate link, which means I get a few pence if you order anything, but you don't pay any extra,