I have neither DD or GD, but stumbled across Judy Blume for niece and nephew. Actually, I read one myself before I realized it was really for tweens, and it was really quite good. Sometimes adult themes, but well-done. I don't think her books are actually a series, but she has written a lot.

Mt 6-yo DD loves the Patricia Maclaughlin series that starts with Sarah Plain and Tall. I think your GD might too if she liked the Little House series.

If she's more into the Harry Potter, she might like the Bartimaeus (sp?) trilogy by Jonathon Stroud, the Children of the Lamp series, the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, Charlie Bone, Pendragon - those are all series my 11-yo DS read this past year or so.

hope she's not hooked on Twilight.

How about checking the series for Percy Jackson & the Olympians --- according to the movie hype there is a series of books -- haven't read them myself .... but may be a place to start .....

of course there is Lord of the Rings ... and the Hobbit ....

Jan

Not a series, but at that age I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins

Oh yes I forgot about the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan - DS liked those, but they're written at a simpler level than the others I mentioned above. Which may be fine, since your GD is younger than my DS. At that age he also liked the Guardians of Ga'hoole series by Kathryn Lasky (we just brought to used book store, but he reread them for years) about owls, and he's still reading the Warriors series (about cats) by Erin Hunter. Another plus may be that they're bringing Guardians to movie theaters in September this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Guardians movie

My neice who is 9 years old, loved Percy Jackson and The Olympians, and she couldn't wait to see the movie out now.

I think Nancy Drew hasn't aged well and the American Girl books are aimed at a younger reader. Would she like Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle?

Or maybe the Lemony Snicket series or His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman? Gone With the Wind? I loved it in 6th grade, and I suspect I would have loved the Twilight series then as well. My parents very wisely never limited my reading in any way (even when I was reading trash, like Forever Amber or Peyton Place or Valley of the Dolls--none of which I could bear to pick up today.)

Here's a book site that has some recommendations.

Here is a link that might be useful: Award Winning Books for Tweens and Teens

The Percy Jackson books are great. And an education in myths as well.

There's the All of a Kind Family series, about a Jewish family in New York in the early part of the 1900s.

There's the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.

There's the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. Based on British mythology, with a bit of King Arthur legend thrown in.

And the Greenknowe series by L.M. Boston. British again, slightly supernatural.

Maud Hart Lovelance wrote the Betsy and Tacy series, which follows a young girl in a small town in Michigan or Minnesota, I think, in the early 1900s.

L.M. Montgomery wrote the Anne of Green Gables series which has about 14 books, and several shorter series, Emily of New Moon and Pat of Silver Bush, plus several stand alone books.

Madeleine L'Engle wrote two main series, the sci-fi-ish Wrinkle in Time and the real world Meet the Austins, plus several other books.

Not a series, but Noel Streatfeild wrote several books about young girls (and a few boys) in England, set during and after WWII. They mostly focus on girls who want to become dancers or actors, but there are a couple about normal families as well.

Susan Coolidge wrote What Katy Did and two sequels, about the adventures of a young girl in a country town in the late 1800s.

Elizabeth Enright wrote two books about Gone-Away Lake, plus the Melendy series and several other stand alone books that are very good, especially Thimble Summer.

Elizabeth George Speare didn't write series, but she has several books of historical fiction with young women as the main characters. My two favorites are The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Calico Captive.

There are also several short series by E. Nesbit, The Five Children and It and The Wouldbegoods.

And don't forget Lousia May Alcott and Little Women, Little Men and Jo's Boys, plus Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom.

Another vote for the Warriors. Lots of fun and age appropriate.

Tamora Pierce books were my daughter's favorites, but I think some of the material may be a little old for some 9 year olds. My kid ripped through them at an even younger age and by the time I had caught up with her, I felt they were a bit advanced. It is difficult when a child's reading ability surpasses their maturity.

The Pullman series was completely wonderful, but again, perhaps for an older child. We took the three books on vacation one year and all loved them...my 10 y.o., my 60-something husband, and me in my 40's.

I made a point to have my daughter work her way through all the Newberry Medal books. Some were written long ago, when standards were different and therefore they need less vetting for mature subject matter. It was great to see her reading my childhood faves.

The Brian Jacques books capture many kids, but not my girl. Don't know why.

A great source is Chinaberry Books, but please, if you go to them for ideas, give them your business. They are a small company with a lot of heart and they deserve not to lose out to Amazon and the big box stores.

Here is a link that might be useful: Best books out there

DS is just reading Tamora Pierce now. Lloyd Alexander too, but that may be a bit mature. He read the Pullman books but I didn't so don't know what level they are. He stll loves all the Brian Jacques books, not only Redwall (more anthropomorphic animals) but The Angel's Command series is good. Narnia may not be too advanced - but I don't think Tolkien is good for such a young reader. The Hobbit maybe in a year or so, but the LOTR trilogy is more appropriate for a teen. Can't say about Dark is Rising but she might like The Once and Future King, and oh if she likes Merlin there is the whole series (Merlin as tween) of T.A. Barron's books. Thanks for jogging my memory.

DS makes it a point every year to read the "Nutmeg" (state) contenders - look beyond the 4-6 grades, but I find some of the content of the 7-8 grade entries to be mature. It *is* a problem when skill exceeds maturity.

As far as Newbury, that's a good idea - one of my favorite books as a kid was "Call It Courage", DS enjoyed it too. I think I was about 9 when I was reading Alcott, all those mentioned above but they may also be too "old-fashioned" for her. I never cared for Anne of Green Gables, DS didn't like Wrinkle in Time though I remember I loved it.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'm saving this thread so we can look at it when she comes to visit; then we can make a list. My very first reading material when I was very very young was all about the Roman and Greek gods & goddesses; still am fascinated by those stories. My sister and I used to sneak into my aunt's bedroom when we were about 9 and 10 and becoming curious about "grownup stuff" to read books like Forever Amber, Lady Chatterly's Lover, Lolita, and the like. Later I read and reread all of Louisa May Alcott's books (and I still have them all); biographies of outstanding people, horse books of every description, all of the Lassie books. If it would stand still on the page, I read it. Thanks for all the suggestions; I had kind of lost touch with what kids are reading today and can't get her to pick any of the books I had as a kid to read.

This is so great.

My 9yr ds loves the Diary of a Whimpy Kid series. He also likes Beast Quest and Goosebumps.

Both my kids have always loved encyclopedias and history type books. We picked up a book on tanks and army machines recently.

I did not allow my dd 12yrs to read Twilight because she is struggling with boy/girl stuff and told her she could in highschool. She loves the Riordan books and is also reading the books Glass, Impulse, Crank. The library rarely has these in so she has had to wait. She reads them over and over. This weekend she read one in just a few hours. I know these are very grown up but these kids are being forced to grow up so fast. She is studying sexual reproduction in Science and this is not the class we had 30 years ago. They say it is because our kids are being forced to grow up to fast these days that we need to teach them about sex way earlier. I remember my mom not wanting me to see "the movies" in science because she simply did not want us to know anything. But these days your 12yr old will end up pregnant if you don't teach them early. At least the teacher she has is really taking this from a scientific approach which is a great way to learn. I told ds that she will learn why things happen the way they do, where most of the boys in her class just think it is all funny when the teacher uses certain phrases. When she comes home it is easier to then take the scientific info she now has and apply it to real life. So when she reads these books about addiction and abuse she looks at the subjects more deeply and we then discuss them. I really want her to see how harmful things can be and how it really can ruin your life and everyone around you. She likes to have these kinds of talks so that makes me happy. She never liked the Little House series for some reason. She recently read Uncle Tom's Cabin and has picked up Pride and Prejudice but has not completed it.

I am seriously going to look into some of these other series for her. It is so hard to tell if one is going to like something or not. The folks at our used bookstore were really helpful in suggestions too.

Hi -
My daughter is another one who is crazy about Guardians of Ga'hoole and Warriors.

She loves all of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum - I saved them all from when I was a kid. They are really nothing at all like the Oz of the movie; they are terrifically magical and full of wonderful girl characters. The illustrations are superb. They make a nice change from the many formula series!

She also likes the Trixie Belden Books. They resemble Nancy Drew but I prefer in them every way. The writing is better, Trixie is a great role model, there is lots of adventure, clever plotting and the books are a just lot of fun. The first six in the series, by the original author, are best.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Oz books

My DD likes the English Roses series, but if your GD is reading Harry Potter, she may be well beyond these books. My DD is not a reader (I mean, she can read, but just doesn't choose to read unless it's an assignment) and tends to gravitate toward the easier books, unfortunately. She also LOVES Roald Dahl books.

James Patterson, Maximum Ride. It's about genetically enginered children that can fly. They live together as brothers & sisters in a tree house until they are pursued by the government.....who is trying to exterminate them! Oooooooooooooooooh!

RE: the books she's not interested in, do you know why?

One thing I do (if I really think DD will love it) is to start reading the book with her. That is usually enough for her to rip it out of my hands and read the rest herself.

I found this book about Darwin that I thought would suit her. I started reading it on my own, left it around, and soon she did started reading it. She went to a sleepover the other night and that was the book she brought with her. :)

Other books she's read that I can remember:

-Notes Left Behind (we bought this for us-- it's non-fiction about a girl who dies from cancer . . .DD got ahold of it and has read it many times . . .don't know if that's good or bad, but she does love it)
-Oh, Yuck! and Oh, Yikes! -All of the Oz books (read those last yr. after we went to see Wicked)
-The Number Devil (DD is not a fan of math but for some reason loves this book)
-The Pocket Guide to the Constitution
-Encyclopedia of Immaturity
-The Devious Book of Cats
-Gaia Girls (she read this one yesterday and loved it)
-Around the World in 80 Days
-Lemony Snicket books (but she stopped at a certain point because they got a little too dark for her, but she was 7 then so maybe too young)
-Midwife's Apprentice, Matilda Bone, and Catherine Called Birdy

Here is a link that might be useful: Darwin

I second all of camlan's suggestions.

Also,

Diana Wynne Jones (try Dogsbody--a dog and his girl story)

Joan Aiken: anything in her children's books, maybe starting with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. A lot of her best stuff wasn't printed in the United States, but don't hesitate to track it down.

Diane Duane, the Young Wizards series

Noel Streatfield (addendum to camlan) The book to start with is "Ballet Shoes." My family's copy is in tatters. Also the "Thursday's Child" series.

Norton Juster, "The Phantom Tollbooth."

The Henry Reed series. Start with "Henry Reed, Inc." Hysterically funny.