Random House Children’s Books (www.randomhouse.com)
Here is a list of bestselling series that are both age-appropriate and meet your child's area of interest!
Age 4-9 Early Chapter Books
Adventure
Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne (Adventure/Fantasy/History/Humor)
A to Z Mysteries Series by Ron Roy (Adventure/Mystery/Humor)
Andrew Lost Series by J.C. Greenburg (Adventure/Science/Humor)
Nate the Great Series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Adventure/Mystery)
Shredderman Series by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adventure/Mystery/Humor)
Fantasy
Stepping Stones Books (Magical Tales/Mystery/History/Humor)
Humor
Junie B. Jones Series by Barbara Park (Humor)
Marvin Redbost Series by Louis Sachar (Humor/Master of Mayhem)
Ages 10 + up
Adventure
The Edge Chronicles Series by Paul Stuart (Adventure/Fantasy)
The Five Ancestors Series by Jeff Stone (Adventure/History/Chinese Traditions)
Mostly Ghostly Series by R.L. Stine (Frightful Adventure/Mystery/Humor)
Humor
Sammy Keyes Series by Wendelin Van Draanen (Humor/Mystery)
Mystery
Trixie Belden Series by Julie Campbell (Mystery/Girl Detective)
Encyclopedia Brown Series by Donald J. Sobol (Mystery/Boy Detective)
Non-Fiction
Stepping Stones Books (Amazing True Stories)
CBC (Children’s Book Council) Recommendations
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine
Arthur Series by Marc Brown
BookHive Recommendations
K-3
Adventure
Butterfingers by J. M. Trewellard (Adventure/Fantasy)
Dragon of the Red Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne (Adventure, Humor, Mystery, Read Aloud)
Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne (Adventure/Mystery)
Rotten School Series by R.L. Stine (Adventure, Humor, Read Aloud, 4th-6th also)
Mallory on Board by Laurie Friedman (Adventure, Humor, Spring)
Little Genie: Make a Wish! by Miranda Jones (Adventure, Beg. Chapter Books, Fantasy, Read Aloud)
Roger, the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist (Adventure, Humor, Read Aloud)
Scholastic Recommendations
Babies & Toddlers
Best bets are sturdy, "chewable" books that resist being damaged by spills. Look for bold illustrations or photographs with simple or no text. Books that contain pictures of things familiar to your child will make "reading" more enticing to him. Board books featuring other babies or animals are perennial favorites — as are beloved characters such as Clifford. For toddlers, try interactive board books or book-and-toy sets about feelings and daily rituals.
Preschoolers
Add traditional picture books to your collection. They should have eye-catching illustrations and rhythmic and/or rhyming text that's fun to read aloud. Try simple stories that relate to your little one's experiences, and make reading comfortable by choosing books starring a favorite character, like Franklin or Barney. Try searching for stories about characters with the same age or first name to help her relate to the story. Books that invite interaction, like I Spy hunt-and-finds, scratch-and-sniff, or pop-up books will encourage her to become an active reader.
K-2
Choose several kinds of picture books — some with text at your child's reading level, which he can tackle alone, and others with more difficult sentences and vocabulary, which you can read and discuss together. Introduce basic chapter books, which feature large, simple text and illustrations on each page, for lap or bedtime reading. Be sure to include plenty of fantasy in your child's reading diet, including classic fairy tales and their contemporary parodies. Kids this age love animal stories; they also gravitate toward tales starring favorite characters. Read-aloud poetry like Mother Goose will enchant your beginning reader with sounds and rhythms that reinforce literacy skills. When choosing realistic fiction, pick stories starring children a year or two older than your child.
3-5
Mix fiction and nonfiction that follows her fascinations. Young history buffs can travel back in time with Dear America diaries, and kids curious about how things work will enjoy science adventures aboard the Magic School Bus. If your child is having difficulty making the transition from picture to chapter books, try those with easy-to-read, large-print text and illustrations on each page. Also try series fiction like Harry Potter or the Powerpuff Girls, and humor stories like Captain Underpants.
Middle-Schoolers
If your child's an avid reader, introduce classic books that contain elevated language, like The Wind in the Willows. For less enthusiastic readers, try lighter series fiction that will keep him reading to find out what happens. Choose a variety of action and adventure titles, including fantasies like Deltora Quest and the extreme reality fiction you see in the Everest series. Books exploring teens' social struggles and general adolescent angst may also strike a chord with reluctant readers. Middle-schoolers tend to prefer protagonists who are in high school.
Select games or toys based on your child's interests and developmental needs. Any child games selected should be designed for interaction keeping children engaged in the ways they learn best - through seeing and hearing, touching and trying.
Below 12 months - At this stage, you would consider providing games that develops eye-hand coordination, motor skills and recognition of animals, objects, colors, shapes and numbers.
12 to 24 months - Start introducing activities that are done in sequence and those that will increase attention span. Your toddler can now play games that requires him/her to follow simple directions. Let your child learn to match things that go together as he/she starts to recognise letters, numbers, colors and shapes. This is also a good time for the children to learn to make music.
2 Years and Up - As your child grow, provide them with activities that develop self-confidence, encourage thinking skills and those that strengthens social skills. Continue to fine tune their motor skills and expand their vocabulary. You can also play games that helps strengthens their memory skills.
Develop Eye-hand coordination and motor skills - stacking toys, shapes sorter, activity links gym, pounding toys, lacing toys and pull toys
Thinking and Creative skills - Legos, building blocks, art materials, play dough, gears, puppets and dress ups or props
Mathematical thinking skills - Monopoly, construction toys, pretend & play calculator cash register
Logical deductive skills - Clue, checkers
Imagination - pretend play, dollhouses
Problem solving skills - puzzles, brain teasers
Develop self-confidence - roller skates, scooter
Strengthens social skills - pretend play with other children, sports
Physical fitness - sports, hula hoop, Gymnic Hop Ball
This list was tabulated from an online survey that ran at this web site (NEA) from
1. Harry Potter (series) by J. K. Rowling
2. Goosebumps (series) by R. L. Stine
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
5. Arthur (series) by Marc Brown
6.
7.
8. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
9. Holes by Louis Sachar
10. The Giver by Lois Lowry
11. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
12. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (series) by Judy Blume
13. Sideways Stories from
14. The BFG by Roald Dahl
15. The Boxcar Children (series) by Gertrude
16. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
17. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (series) by Beverly Cleary
18. Pokemon (series) by Tracey West, Maria S. Barbo
19. The Babysitters Club (series) by Ann M. Martin
20. Ralph S. Mouse (series) by Beverly Cleary
21. Little House on the Prairie (series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
22. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
23. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
24. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
25. Clifford the Big Red Dog (series) by Norman Bridwell
26. Stuart Little by E. B. White
27. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
28. The Adventures of Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
29. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
30. The Berenstain Bears (series) by Jan and Stan Berenstain
31. Animorphs (series) by K. A. Applegate
32. The Witches by Roald Dahl
33. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories by Carolyn Keene
34. The Hobbit (series) by J. R. R. Tolkien
35. American Girls (series) by Susan Adler, Valerie Tripp, Connie Porter, Janet Shaw, et al
36. Matilda by Roald Dahl
37. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
38. The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
39. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
40. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
41. Junie B. Jones (series) by Barbara Park
42. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
43. Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
44. A Wrinkle in Time (series) by Madeleine L'Engle
45. Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
46. Amber Brown (series) by Paula Danziger
47. The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds
48. Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley (Mankind)
49. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
50. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Chicken Soup for the Soul (series) by various authors
53. Curious George (series) by Margret and Hans Augusto Rey
54. The Teacher from the Black Lagoon (series) by Mike Thaler
55. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
56. The
57. The Hardy Boys (series) by Franklin W. Dixon
58. The Mitten by Jan Brett
59. Amelia Bedelia (series) by Peggy Parish
60. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
61. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
62. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
63. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
64. The River by Gary Paulsen
65. Magic Tree House (series) by Mary Pope Osborne
66. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka
67. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
68. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
69. The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
70. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
71. Redwall by Brian Jacques
72. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
73. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
74. Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
75. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
76. Dear Mr. Henshaw by
77. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
78.
79. The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley (series) by Judy Katschke, Cathy Dobowski, Lisa Eisenberg, Nancy E. Krulik, Nina Alexander, Frances Lin Lantz, et al
80.
81. Magic School Bus (series) by Joanna Cole
82. Math Curse by John Scieszka
83. White Fang by Jack London
84. I Spy (series) by Walter Wick, Jean Marzollo, Diana Noonan, et al
85. Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
86. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
87. The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
88. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
89. Draw 50 Airplanes, Aircraft and Spacecraft (series) by Lee J. Ames
90. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
91. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
92. The Rock Says by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
93. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
94. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
95. All About Sam by Lois Lowry
96. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
97. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
98. Hank the Cow Dog (series) by John R. Erickson
99. Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
100. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan