When I first read this prompt, I genuinely could not think of what I could possible write about for it. I thought about it some more, and still couldn’t, so I decided I’m just going to write about 4th grade me’s favorite books! I still love most of these, so I would say I had pretty good taste for a 10 year old.
Harry Potter
I was obsessed with Harry Potter back then. Still am, but I am at least currently capable of having a conversation without bringing it up, which I don’t think I was able to do at 10 years old.
Anything in the Percy Jackson universe
Actually, this would have been the year between the release of The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades, so I probably wasn’t feeling too kindly towards Rick Riordan at that time. Nevertheless, I loved this universe as much as I still do (I am devastated that there won’t be any more series in it after the finish of The Trials of Apollo in less than a month). I probably reread the first series at least 10 times that year, which I have been unable to match since.
The 39 Clues
This is probably the only one of these that I don’t think stands up to reading by people much older than the target audience. I still think the plot and setup was super interesting; I just think that the different-author-for-each-book approach did not work very well looking back on it now.
The Penderwicks
Ah, to be young and to not having had to read the last two books in this series. The first 3 are wonderful and I love them.
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
I was younger than the target audience for this, but it was like a series made specifically for how much I loved mythology back then. It’s a brilliant series with such cool worldbuilding that is criminally underrated. Anybody with even a passing interest in folklore or mythology or the resurrection stone or random historical figures like Virginia Dare, Niccolo Machiavelli, Billy the Kid, John Dee, or Nicholas Flamel should read these books.
The Sisters Grimm
This is another great series. It’s basically Once Upon a Time, but it was written before that and is better. It follows Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, who have been in foster care since their parents disappeared a few years prior and then go to live with a long-lost grandmother in Fairyport, which, as you can guess, is populated by fairytale characters. It also has people like Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream or Grendel from Beowulf. It’s amazing and has some plot twists that some YA books can only dream of.
Warriors
Okay, this is one of the few series where I think more than two authors work, and I honestly still think that some of the arcs are brilliant, and I actually do still read the new books. I’m not sure if I would recommend that anybody start them now, because I don’t think anybody older than a middle schooler has the tenacity to get through however many books are currently out, but then we do all manage with Shadowhunters, so maybe not. I do think the shear volume of books allows this series to create a detailed socirty and world that others can achieve because it is actually possible to write books about different characters, and by the time you get to the sixth arc you can trace the repercussions of actions that were taken generations prior. It’s that breadth of lore that I think makes this series so interesting despite its target audience and the fact that it is literally about cats.
The Mysterious Benedict Society
One of my absolute favorite types of books are about children who are smarter than all of the adults around them but rarely acknowledged for it (see A Series of Unfortunate Events and Ruby Redfort). I love this series so much; it has so many great riddles and mysteries and it’s just so fun and interesting and it never gets old no matter how many times I reread it (which has been a lot over the years).
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
Like The Penderwicks, this is another series that I think the last book did dirty, but I still think it was overall wonderful. It isn’t as clever as The Mysterious Benedict Society, and the main plot twist can be seen from a mile away, but it’s still a really smart book and the four main characters are so endearing.
Ruby Redfort
These books are flat out brilliant and I love them. Ruby is one of my favorite protagonists ever, and the mystery and plot are just so well done that I think that anybody will love them.
I totally agree with you on the Percy Jackson universe!
My post .
I just love everything in that universe so much! With the mild exception of the second Trials of Apollo book; that is literally the only one of Riordan’s books I’ve ever had trouble getting through.
I recently read a book in the 39 Clues series with a friend’s daughter and I would’ve devoured that series as a young teen!
https://ichlese.blog/2020/09/08/top-ten-tuesday-books-for-my-younger-self/.
I have really distinct memories of rushing through each book in the series as soon as it came out. It was definitely a perfect series for me and my interests at the time.
I had a hard time with this prompt as well! Fourth grade was a looonnnggg time ago for me 🙂 I love your choices because most of these are titles/series my daughter (who’s now 18) was also obsessed with at that age. She’s read the whole HP series at least a dozen times. You and she would have been fourth-grade buddies, I think 🙂
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
We probably would have! I wasn’t great at making friends back then except when I had books in common to talk about, but once I had a series in common with somebody I was all in.
Percy Jackson was at the top of my list for this one!
I knew once I saw the prompt that no matter what direction I went with it, I would manage to wedge Percy Jackson in somewhere! That was actually part of the reason I chose to take this approach to it.
I really wish I had the opportunity to grow up with Percy Jackson – instead of waiting until 2013 when I was already in my mid twenties. Great list!
Lauren @ Always Me
I’ve always been grateful to be able to grow up with Rick Riordan’s books, especially since they’ve matured in tone as the series went on, so it was almost like the characters were aging with me.
It’s awesome that you did this list when you’re still young enough to remember what you loved at 10. I’ve got most of my reading history well documented or traced back, but elementary & middle school gets sort of fuzzy and I mix up remembering which year I actually read the books I remember “younger me” reading. I suspect I was reading a lot of Jim Kjelgaard and Jean Craighead George animal books at that age? Definitely Goosebumps and maybe Babysitters Club.
I read The Mysterious Benedict Society in college and I loved it, but could tell I would also have loved it as a kid because it reminded me of Roald Dahl — oh! That’s another one I was definitely reading at 10.
Mysterious Benedict Society is one of those series that I will recommend to everybody, whether they be 7 or 70. I never really thought of the connection to Roald Dahl, but I guess I can see that. I was never terribly into Dahl’s books, with the exception of Matilda, which I adored.