20 Fantastic Books for 10 Year Olds

Meet Lety Muñoz, whose parents are hardworking Mexican immigrants. She and her brother are also learning English, and she’s very self-conscious about speaking correctly in this new language. She doesn’t give herself enough credit for how much she’s made. Still, this summer is supposed to be fun. She’s volunteering at an animal shelter with her best friends. However, it quickly becomes stressful when two boys set up a contest between Lety and another volunteer (who reads at the high school level) for the role of Shelter Scribe. Lety Out Loud is a CUTE and inspiring young middle grade book about the immigrant experience, pets, and building friendships.

When Josie’s older brother rescues a runty pig and brings it to their cramped city apartment on Thanksgiving Day, Josie’s heart opens wide for the animal she names Hamlet. Determined to stop Hamlet from becoming bacon, Josie promises her parents that she’ll find the pig a home before the New Year. But will she? This holiday-themed story feels Charlotte’s Web inspired but far more feel-good. It is perfect for readers who love The Vanderbeekers and other stories of big families in big cities.

Ava’s mom is on bed rest about to have twins, so Ava’s been sent to her grandparents’ lake house. There, she witnesses the death of a bird, and after her Nonna unknowingly mentions that dead birds can signify a curse, Ava is convinced that something bad will happen to her mom unless she does a good deed of caring for two newly hatched chicks. This is a gentle, sensitive book, perfect for anxious kids desperate to control life’s many uncertainties.

In his debut memoir, Mexikid, author Pedro Martin relates a pivotal experience of his childhood. Pedro Martin and his family of 11 (NINE kids!) decide to drive from the US to Mexico to pick up his aging Abuelo and bring him to the US with them. Along the way, they encounter corrupt border patrol officers, diarrhea-inducing milk, bad haircuts, stories of his Abuelo’s past, and plenty of family. Mexikid is a lively, funny, and transporting middle grade graphic novel about family, Mexican history, and a life-changing family road trip.

Omar is a young Muslim boy with a huge imagination. He and his family (his mom, dad, and two siblings) are adjusting to a new move (new house, new school) and approaching the month of Ramadan. Unfortunately, the adjustment process is NOT smooth. First, there’s a neighbor who doesn’t seem to like Omar’s family and a bully at school who keeps making fun of him. Things come a head when Omar and Daniel, the bully get lost together during a school trip. Can Omar escape all this trouble he keeps attracting? This is a charming chapter book about the life of a Muslim imaginative boy during Ramadan, adjusting to a new school, befriending a bully, and navigating family/sibling relationships.

Mariana is a shy girl looking for friends in a new town. Things seem to be looking up when she befriends two creative kids, and they start running a salon together. Soon, though, they have more demand than they can keep up with. This is a great graphic novel for kids who are always thinking about starting a business, love being creative, or just love a good graphic novel.

Rosie’s dad wants her to play racquetball even though she says she wants no part and has no interest. He used to love it when he was a kid and he pushes Rosie to improve by constantly critiquing her game. But Rosie has a bad attitude about the sport because of the pressure he puts on her.Blair is a new student with a warm family who are all into racquetball and Rosie wants her to compete in her behalf. But as Rosie hangs out with Blair’s family away from her father’s harsh supervision, she realizes what it means to play for fun. Match Point is a delightful graphic novel about racquetball, female friendship, and the value of true sportsmanship.

Max is a video-game-obsessed tween who’s qualified for the Gamerville finals when his parents decide that he’s too addicted to his devices and schlepp him over to Camp Reset, a technology-free camp where he’ll be stuck during the week of his Gamerville finals. There, Max gets thrown in the mix with campers Ari, Dylan, and Zazzi, who are dealing with upheavals in their own lives. In all the mayhem, Max decides to break out of the camp for his finals. This was fun — though not as good as this author’s Swim Team — and I loved the camp vibes and the adventure, the community, and the friendships. The illustrations are lovely!

Ruby is an 11-year-old future entomologist who loves studying insects and playing video games with her neighborhood friends. When she sees a strange bug in her bedroom and shares a picture of it on social media, suspicious agents appear at her door to re-capture the now missing insect. Soon, all the metal in her neighborhood begins to disappear as Ruby and her friends realize there’s more to the strange bug. This was a lot of fun and will appeal to fans of STEM stories and books about robots. Ages 9+ (202 pages)

Luna is a space-obsessed grade-schooler who’s looking forward to acing her class space and getting a spot in the NASA summer camp for kids. But a wrench is thrown in her plans when her teacher is temporarily replaced by a substitute. This is a short verse novel about a girl who struggles with change but comes to see that change is a constant in life as she navigates evolving friendships, changing home and school routines, and even changing preferences. A good young middle grade pick for kids who can’t get enough of space.

Ginny’s summer is thrown off when her dad gets a surprise redeployment in the middle of their family’s moving to another city. Then, her geography camp gets canceled. Her sister seems to be making new friends, but no one appears to like Ginny–even when she starts her own geography camp. This sweet, unique young middle grade book made my heart grow and ache for Ginny and her family as they navigated a season of change. Features illustrations and a new geography fact in each chapter.

Ratty Barclay turned into a rat minutes after he was born, causing his parents to run away from him, leaving him in the care of his Uncle Max. But now, Max is 13 and ready to undo the curse, so he convinces his uncle Max to take him back to Fairweather Island, the home of the Barclay family where Ratty is convinced he can reverse the curse. Unfortunately, Max and Ratty meet Edweena, the rat-obsessed daughter of their caretaker whose ancestor invented the rat catcher. Ratty and his uncle must hide Ratty from Edweena as Ratty learns about the Barclay family history and their curse and figures out how to fix things. This illustrated middle grade book gripped me from the beginning, and it felt strong, like a classic fairy tale. I was worried about Ratty the whole way through and was fully invested in the story. 

After a memorable birthday sleepover with her two best friends, Elise wakes up to realize that time has jumped by six months and her best friends no longer speak to her. With the help of an old friend, she works to figure out what happened and how to undo it. This is more fantasy time travel than sci-fi and has a slightly spooky feel for kids who like books about magic with a touch of mystery.

It’s 1998 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In the middle of the Sri Lankan Civil War, Kavi is dealing with her own personal upheavals. Her mother has remarried her father’s best friend after his death and is expecting a new baby. Meanwhile, Kavi is getting sent to the city on a scholarship to an elite private school. There, she starts telling lies about a life of wealth and grandeur– small at first, then bigger and bigger — to fit in with the rich kids until she begins to lose herself. I Am Kavi is a touching verse novel about a young girl adapting to changes in her world and finding her voice amidst the Sri Lankan civil war. 

It’s 1944, and Dory’s father has joined the US Army in World War II, leaving behind 12-year-old Dory and her brothers, Fish (17) and Pike (7), with the parting words that the neighborhood will always give them what they need. At the same time, Dory discovers an old dumbwaiter (old school elevator) in Caputo’s, which she follows one night to a hideout beyond her expectations. Can the kids get the miracle they need to keep their home and get their father back in one piece? This is a heartwarming, slice-of-life middle grade novel about New York City, family, and the safety of community. Ages 9+

Dani and Eric have been best friends since Dani moved next door in second grade. They bond over donuts, comic books, and camping on the Cape. But one summer, Eric saves Dani from a fire in his family’s camper. Unfortunately, the accident prevents Dani from doing what she loves the most: playing baseball. It also drives a wedge between the friends as they discover the real reason behind the fire. Can Dani forgive her best friend? Hidden Truths is an insightful, realistic, and touching middle grade book about forgiveness and evolving friendships.

Samira’s summer has taken a disappointing turn as her best friend Kiera seems to have dumped her, and someone has toilet-packed the tree outside her house. Her parents and older sister are traveling to India for part of the summer, leaving her with her grandmother Umma and her brother Imran, who is on the autism spectrum. When a new girl moves in next door, she begins to pull Samira out of her self-imposed shell, helping her investigate the TP-ing, even as Kiera continues to undermine every new friendship Samira tries to make. What Samira hoped would be a quiet summer licking her wounds becomes a full summer of figuring out family and friendships and finding the strength to be herself. I was VERY surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The writing is so accessible, and even though it’s over 300 pages long, I loved the short chapters and the fact that this one will appeal to a wide range of readers in grades 5-8.

I loved this story! Kylie has three besties who are all different but love to do stuff together. All her friends think she’s such a baby because sensitive and quick to tears and while they’re all excited about 7th grade, Kylie is worried she isn’t mature enough and they’ll leave her behind as they start wearing bras and getting their periods so she decides to do an experiment where she’ll do everything everyone is doing for the whole summer. In time, she learns that she’s enough and she doesn’t have to mature at the same pace or in the same way her friends are. She also learns what it really means to be mature. I loved the flow of this story, the short chapters, the nuance, the family dynamics, and that feel of summer on every page. Heads up for some hard issues like parental divorce, parents working away from home, growing faster or slower than your peers, and having stricter parents than your peers, as well as peer pressure, shoplifting, and lying.

Four orphans, Lucy, Nico, Eugene, and (Not-Bald) Doris, are four orphans who decide to escape from The Home for Unfriendly Children, their awful orphanage in the 1930s. Their poorly planned escape plan leads them to become circus apprentices. But Lucy has selective mutism, being able to speak but never speaking since some incidents with the home’s matron, which makes it hard to get a job in the circus. With the home’s matron hunting down Lucy, Lucy’s sister searching for her, and Lucy desperately trying to find her voice again so she can belong in the circus, this book takes readers on a surprising but heartwarming adventure. A Place to Hang the Moon meets The Greatest Showman, Orphan Eleven is an enchanting historical adventure for fans of orphan stories and the circus. Ages 9+

This story is about Evan, a moody middle schooler whose days consist of trying to figure out why his mom is always grumpy, defending his besties from the school bully, and trying to bond with his artist father. Until he meets a dog, or rather, the dog finds him. Told from the perspectives of Evan and the dog, a clever border collie with a love for running, this soaring, heartwarming adventure about friendship, family, and the healing power of dogs is perfect for fans of Silvey’s The Underdogs of Upson Downs. Ages 9+