Great Kids & Teen Books on Kindle Unlimited

The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn’t be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide, she quickly comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people who never meant to like each other. Vibrant characters and lots of humor make this a charming and addictive introduction to Ivy and Bean. Ages 7+

I love the Ramona Quimby books and while not all of them are available on Kindle Unlimited, the second in the series is. Thankfully, you don’t necessarily need to read them all in order so this can be a great way to test out the series with your young reader. Ages 7+

This chapter book series is perfect for sports loving young readers. It’s under 100 pages and has illustrations to keep kids flipping the pages. In this edition, Jo can’t wait for the summer softball league to start. She knows this will be the year she’s on a winning team. But when she finds out some surprising information, Jo has to decide between the team that wins and the team she’s come to love. Ages 7+

Follow 7-year-old Sofia Martinez as she deals with her family and daily adventures. This bilingual chapter book is a good choice for kids who love the Yasmin series. Ages 6+

The Unteachables are a group of misfits deemed so hopeless (academically and in terms of behavior) that the school has isolated them in a class of their own. Mr. Zachary Kermit started off as an enthusiastic schoolteacher, but after a cheating scandal 25 years ago, he’s exactly the opposite. He’s coasting along, barely investing in his students and waiting for retirement. Until the school assigns him to teach Room 117 — The Unteachables. The kids nickname him Ribbit and as the school year progresses, both the kids and Mr. Kermit learn a lot from each other — and maybe the kids aren’t quite unreachable? The Unteachables is a funny, endearing middle-grade book full of hijinks and memorable characters. Ages 9+

2 books in series

After she receives a mysterious message about her estranged father, Emmy discovers a box of her father’s possessions, especially a set of intricately designed medallions. Soon after, Emmy’s life is turned upside down as her mom sends her to a British boarding school. There, she begins to connect the school’s medallion’s symbols with her father’s medallions. This book is fantastic on audio and hooked me from page one!

I read this story about friendship and bullying years ago and remember it being particularly moving. Ages 10+

This book reminded me so much of The Lemonade War, even if the premise isn’t similar to the latter. Perhaps because it’s about a boy with a sister who’s also gifted? Tristan’s parents have moved him and his sisters to a small town, and because of timing issues, they’ve missed the chance to join school that term and have to stay home, bored to tears until the following one. Tristan loves baking, and after discovering that the town’s popular chocolate cream doughnut is no longer being made decides to start a doughnut stand selling those doughnuts. What follows is a funny, entrepreneurial slice-of-life story about their family, the doughnuts, and a mischievous raccoon. Ages 9+

This amazing survival story of a girl stranded on an island after a shipwreck packs plenty of suspense, adventure, and heart. Hand to fans of survival stories like Hatchet and Alone. Ages 10+

If your kids read and loved The One and Only Ivan, they’ll be happy to hear that its sequel is on Kindle Unlimited! Ages 8+

Barbara O’Connor writes sweet animal-human friendship stories and this one is no different. It’s a good pick for kids in grades 3+ looking for a gentle story. Ages 9+

There’s a reason why this book won the Newbery Medal! Lowry writes about the German occupation of Denmark through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie whose family has to hide their Jewish friends during that tense period. It is so evocative, yet manages to be short and totally accessible for younger readers. I loved this on audio! Ages 9+

The perfect book to read aloud with tweens on a hot-button issue – screen time! Korman, of course, makes this topic engaging. Set in a sleepaway camp called Oasis, protagonist Jett Baranov is the son of a tech billionaire who can’t believe his father is forcing him to go to a camp where he has no access to any technology. Although Jett can’t stand all the kids around him, he gets used to the tech-free lifestyle of the camp, until he notices something very strange going on with the adults. With an adventurous plot and intriguing premise, tween readers will want to keep going to the next chapter – and adults will want to follow along with them. Ages 9+

Thanks to their dad, Josh and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood—he’s got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it’s all on the line. As their winning season unfolds, things begin to change. When Jordan meets a girl, the twins’ bond unravels. This is an utterly moving novel in verse.

In this exceptional debut novel, a boy and a typewriter work together to solve the mystery of his missing mother. The Brindley family has been through the wringer but seems to be on the mend after “Everything that happened before” when all of a sudden, their mother leaves the house in tears, witnessed only by her Olivetti typewriter, which she pawns immediately for the precise sum of $126. The pawn shop owner’s daughter accosts Ernest, the third out of four Brindley kids, right after he steals back the Olivetti, which he discovers can type back in response. The two work together, Ernest, reluctant, Quinn confident and opinionated, to retrace his mother’s steps and figure out why she ran away. This reads like an instant classic, and although some readers may be dubious about the talking typewriter element, it is excellently executed — better than many anthropomorphized animals and creatures have been in books. 

Owen is perpetually bored, preferring to imagine himself as a character inside his favorite books. But his life suddenly gets more exciting when he catches his classmate Bethany climbing out of a Roald Dahl novel in the library where his mother works! He discovers that Bethany is half-fictional and on a mission to find her father, who vanished into a book years ago. Together, Owen and Bethany jump in and out of books, determined to solve the mystery and rescue her father. Like KoTLc, this series delivers a fast-paced plot and clever humor that keeps kids eagerly turning pages. Ages 9+

This beloved classic is excellent as a graphic novel and has also been made into a TV show (see more books made into movies here). There are so many ways to get kids today into this story about a charming redheaded girl with a big imagination.

This is the second book in this sweet graphic novel series. The series can be read out of order so if you have KU, you can try book two before committing to the entire series. Ages 7+

This graphic novel is a good fit for kids who love Wimpy Kid. Nate Wright is eleven years old, four-and-a-half feet tall, and the all-time record holder for school detentions in school history. He’s a self-described genius and sixth-grade Renaissance man. Middle-grade kids everywhere can relate to Big Nate’s daily battle against overzealous teachers, backbreaking homework, wimpy cafeteria food, and all-around conventionality. This collection features cartoonist Lincoln Peirce’s daily and Sunday comic strips packed with his vintage flair and insights into school humor. Ages 8+

Real Friends is Shannon Hale’s graphic memoir of her middle school experience with real friends — and girls who weren’t quite friends. Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends since Shannon came out of her shell in early elementary school. She had earlier been the shy middle child who never felt like she quite fit in anywhere. But with Adrienne, it was like she could finally exhale. But when Adrienne starts hanging out with the popular girl, Jen, Shannon suddenly doesn’t know where she fits in anymore. As we go through the stressful roller coaster years with Shannon, each chapter highlights her relationship with one of the girls in the new friend group. This is a realistic, moving depiction of the roller coaster that middle school friendships can be, and how affirming it can be to find true friends. Ages 9+

Avery is a high schooler living in her car when she discovers she’s been named heiress to the fortune of Tobias Hawthorne, a man she never knew. There’s only one condition: She has to live in the family home with Hawthorne’s kids and grandsons (one of whom was heir apparent) for a year — while solving some intriguing riddles along the way. I didn’t love this one as much as many teens do, but it is a huge favorite, and I like that there’s barely any strong language. It’s also a traditional mystery with little to no gritty elements. Ages 12+

This book is FANTASTIC — and the audiobook is even better (a top-class full cast audiobook that feels like a movie). When the principal of the Urban Promise Prep school is murdered in his office, three boys are high on the suspect list: J.B., Trey, and Ramon. They were either in the wrong place or have the wrong reputation or affiliation. Now they must join forces, along with their loved ones to find the real killer. I’d hand this to readers ages 13 and up.

When a girl in their class takes her own life, Jodi and her friends (nicknamed “The Thrashers”) are at the top of the suspect list because the girl, Emily, claimed to have been bullied by them in her journals. Jodi knows that something is off because the deceased girl’s stories are far from true. It’s up to her to get to the bottom of why Emily chose to frame them. Lots of language and underage drug and alcohol use make this YA best for ages 15 and up.

This young adult thriller for fans of McManus’s One of Us is Lying follows four Native teenagers under suspicion for the murder of a classmate. It integrates the Missing Indigenous Women issue with other challenges of Native Americans, one of the teens is half Native, and another one is raising his sister because his drug-addicted father has abandoned them. I loved seeing the way this mystery came together, and the reveal was definitely worth waiting for. Ages 12+

Jay Murphy is just trying to do right by his grandmother, who’s been raising him and his older sister Nic since his father’s death and his mother’s imprisonment for a drug-related offense. But then Nic, who’s been hanging with the wrong crowd, goes missing. It’s up to Jay to follow the clues, question the right people, and find law enforcement officers who will listen to a kid like him — all to find Nic. I was hooked from the first word, and I loved Jay’s character, his friendship with Bowie, and the romance that blossomed between him and Alexis. (Some language.)

Sophie is looking forward to getting time away from her parents for the holidays. They’re visiting her heavily pregnant sister over the holidays. But she’s especially happy because she’s looking forward to spend time with her boyfriend, Griffin. So she’s thrown for a loop when she overhears Griffin discussing his desire to break up with her — and then of course, she breaks up with him. Sophie’s large family wants Sophie to enjoy the holidays and decide they will set her up on a date every day for the last 10 days of the year. 10 family members get to choose a different date — location, person, and all — for each day. In the midst of all the chaos, Sophie begins to rediscover her connection with Charlie’s friend, Wes. 10 Blind Dates is an entertaining young adult novel, perfect for lovers of Hallmark movies or anyone looking for a festive, fluffy read. Ages 11+

How does a mouse feel after a bath?! Squeaky clean! How do you catch a squirrel? Climb a tree and act nuts! What kind of key opens a banana? A monkey! What do you call a train full of chewing gum? A chew-chew train, of course! Here at last: the funny jokes that every six year old needs to know. A power pack of punchlines that’s sure to get grandfathers groaning, mothers moaning and best friends begging for more. They’re all in here: more than a hundred classics, twisted originals, and brand new awesome jokes. With sixty easy-to-read pages and illustrations throughout for extra guffaws, it’s the perfect gift for every joke-loving six year old!

This captivating nonfiction series about real FBI cases invites aspiring sleuths to “solve” actual crimes. Presented in a graphic novel format, the series combines comic panels with reproductions of documents from real FBI files and photographs from the investigations. The book is highly visual, yet the author manages to include numerous details and information, making this series a compelling read. Young readers who enjoy spy mysteries and puzzles will be intrigued by the suspenseful cases presented in this series.