8 Great Book Series for Tweens ...

Best for: Boys (of any age)
Start with: Book One – Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Price: $7.70 at amazon.com
Reg is a typical junior high boy — he’s tormented by his older brother, Rodney, and gets into minor trouble and school with his silly schemes. He does have his best friend, Rowley, and of course, his Diary. The simple stick-figure illustrations are hilarious and expressive, and you’ll be swiping them from your tween boy as soon as he’s done with them.

Best for: Boys
Start with: Book One – The Adventures of Captain Underpants
Price: $7.15 at amazon.com
A hero unlike any other, and he will have your tween boy laughing from the very first page. After all, what tween boy doesn’t think the word “underpants” is hilarious? The premise is a little saucy (two boys hypnotize their school principal and turn him into the hero), but it’s good, clean fun, replete with potty jokes.

Best for: Girls
Start with: Book One – Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
Price: $9.99 at amazon.com
This series follows the everyday mishaps and adventures of a bright, silly little girl named Junie B. Jones. I love her cute little catch phrases, and her interesting phobias. For example, she’s afraid of ponies because they can “stomple you into the ground” and (like me) she’s afraid of clowns because “they are not normal people.” Buy the first book for your tween daughter, and she’ll immediately demand the rest… be prepared… there are nearly 30 of them!

Best for: Girls
Start with: Ramona the Pest
Price: $5.99 at amazon.com
This entire series, which follows Ramona Quimby and her family, starts with the spunky little girl’s (mis)adventures in kindergarten. The books can be read in order, but they really do stand well on their own, and most libraries are loaded with the series.

Best for: Girls and boys!
Start with: Book One - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Price: $13.75 at amazon.com
This series of seven books and films has become a world-wide phenomenon that even puts the “Twilight” series to shame. As the plot progresses and the main characters grow, the books become a little more mature, but they’re still perfect for a tween, girl or boy. The boys will want to be orphaned, heroic Harry, and the girls will end up with a crush on him.

Best for: Girls and boys!
Start with: Book One - The Mysterious Benedict Society
Price: $3.85 at amazon.com
Part Harry Potter, part Sherlock Holmes, this series is scary and strange enough for tweens, but not at all racy or overly mature. The characters are diverse and interesting, and if your tween girl or boy liked the Harry Potter series, they might love this series, too!

Best for: Girls or boys!
Start with: Book One – Heck, Where the Bad Kids Go
Price: $6.99 at amazon.com
This tongue-in-cheek series takes a poke at classical literature with its depiction of a boy and his older sister. Milton is a good kid, mistakenly sent to Heck after a terrible marshmallow accident caused by his trouble-making sister, Margot. The references to Faust will make you grin (the principal in Heck is Bea “Elza” Bub), but whether your tween gets them or not, they’ll love the series.

Best for: Girls
Start with: Book One – a Wrinkle in Time
Price: $3.85 at amazon.com
This series contains for amazing books, beginning with the very first, which starts on a dark and stormy night. Meg Murray is a high school student who just doesn’t fit in, and when her scientist father goes missing, she and her brothers, and a friend of hers, set out to find him. All four books are fantastically written, and though older (they were written in the early 1960’s), aside from the absence of cell phones, they’re not at all dated.

I’ve read all of these book series, and even though I’m roughly three times the age of a tween, I loved them all. Have you read any of these books? Which do you, or your tween, like best? Or is there another book series that tweens like better? Please let me know!

Top Photo Credit: t-squared