Here’s a list of books successfully tested by mother-daughter book clubs. If you’d like to add your group’s selections to the mother-daughter book club reading lists, send to:  info@motherdaughterbookclub(dot)com.

You’ll find reading lists by age group, books by favorite authors, books to make you laugh out loud, and even a list of good books for boys. Search for reviews of many books listed here by clicking on the category listed in the sidebar for the age group you’re interested in.

Books make it onto the recommended titles list in several ways:

• I read a book with one of my book clubs then write a review about the basic plot and topics that came up for discussion.
• I review a book outside of my book club, again emphasizing basic plot and topics that may come up in a book club discussion.
• Other readers and members of mother-daughter book clubs send in their lists of recommended books along with reviews.

Also, most of the books I review must be widely available in libraries so mother-daughter book club members can borrow them or buy them.

Books for 7 and 8 year olds

• Afternoon of the Elves—Janet Taylor Lisle
• Bed-Knob and Broomstick—Mary Norton
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—Roald Dahl
• Dealing with Dragons—Patricia C. Wrede
• Frindle—Andrew Clements
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler—E. L. Konigsburg
• Harriet the Spy—Louise Fitzhugh
• The Hundred Dresses—Eleanor Estes
• Little House on the Prairie—Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle—Beverly Cleary
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle—Betty MacDonald
• Premlata and the Festival of Lights—Rumer Godden
• The Real Thief—William Steig
• Sarah, Plain and Tall—Patricia MacLachlan
• The Secret School —Avi
• Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing—Judy Blume
• The Trumpet of the Swan—E.B. White
• The Year of Miss Agnes—Kirkpatrick Hill
• The Year of the Dog—Grace Lin

Books for 9 and 10 year olds

• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl—Anne Frank
• Bat 6—Virginia Euwer Wollf
• Becoming Naomi Leon—Pam Munoz Ryan
• Boston Jane—Jennifer Holm
• Boy—Roald Dahl
• Caddie Woodlawn—Carol Ryrie Brink
• Cosmic—Frank Cottrell Boyce
• Dealing with Dragons—Patricia Wrede
• Ella Enchanted—Gail Carson Levine
• Falcon’s Prey—Kristina Coia
• Granny Torrelli Makes Soup—Sharon Creech
• Julie of the Wolves—Jean Craighead George
• Limeria—Kristina Coia
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh—Robert C. O’Brien
• Our Only May Amelia—Jennifer Holm
• The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy—Jeanne Birdsall
• The Phantom Tollbooth—Norton Juster
• Red Scarf Girl—Ji-Li Jiang
• The Great Good Thing—Rod Townley
• The Heart of a Chief—Joseph Bruchac
• The Mother Daughter Book Club—Heather Vogel Frederick
• The Tale of Despereaux—Kate DiCamillo Review
• When the Hermit Thrush Sings—Susan Butler

Books for 11 to 13 year olds

• A Year Down Yonder—Richard Peck
• A Step from Heaven—An Na
• Al Capone Does My Shirts—Gennifer Choldenko
• Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging—Louise Rennison
• Awesome Plays for Teens and Tweens–Christina Hamlett
• Bloomability—Sharon Creech
• Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter – Adeline Yen Mah
• Coraline—Neil Gaiman
• Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pies—Jordan Sonnenblick
• Everything on a Waffle—Polly Horvath
• Fair Weather—Richard Peck
• Flipped – Wendelin Van Draanen
• Framed – Frank Cottrell Boyce
• Girlwood–Claire Dean
• Going Solo—Roald Dahl
• Hattie Big Sky—Kirby Larson
• Holes—Louis Sachar
• Hoot—Carl Hiaasen
• If I’d Known Then, Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves–Edited by Ellyn Spragins
• Island of the Aunts—Eva Ibbotson
• Kira-Kira—Cynthia Kadohata
• Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras—Cathy Hopkins
• Millions—Frank Cottrell Boyce
• P. S. Longer Letter Later—Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin
• Petey—Ben Michaelson
• Pobby and Dingan—Ben Rice
• Red: The Next Generation of American Writers–Teenage Girls–On What Fires Up Their Lives Today–edited by Amy Goldwasser
• Remember Me to Harold Square—Paula Danziger
• Savvy—Ingrid Law
• Sold–Patricia McCormick
• Songs for a Teenage Nomad – Kim Culbertson
• Stargirl—Jerry Spinelli
• Stolen Voices: A Collection of Young People’s War Diaries—Melanie Challenger and Zlata Filipovic
• Tangerine—Edward Bloor
• The Curse of AddyMcMahon–Katie Davis
• The House of the Scorpion—Nancy Farmer
• The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles–Julie Andrews Edwards
• The Not So Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen–Mitali Perkins
• The Princess Diaries—Meg Cabot
• The Secret Garden—Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants—Ann Brashares
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle—Avi
• Uglies—Scott Westerfeld
• Walter, The Story of a Rat—Barbara Wersba/Illustrated by Donna Diamond
• Weedflower—Cynthia Kadohata
• Zlata’s Diary—Zlata Fillipovic

Books for 14 years and older

• A Certain Slant of Light—Laura Whitcomb
• A Matter of Profit—Hilari Bell
• The Adoration of Jenna Fox–Mary E. Pearson
• The Adrian Mole Diaries —Sara Thompson
• All But My Life: A Memoir—Gerda Weissmann Klein
• Biting the Moon—Martha Grimes
• The Book Thief—Markus Zusak
• Firestarters: 100 Job Profiles to Inspire Young Women—Kelly Beatty and Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw
• Hope Was Here—Joan Bauer
• I Am the Messenger—Markus Zusak
• I Capture the Castle–Dodie Smith
• In the Time of the Butterflies—Julia Alvarez
• Keeping the Moon—Sarah Dessen
• Light Years—Tammar Stein
• Movie Girl—Christina Hamlett
• The New York Stories of Edith Wharton–Edith Wharton Review
• Red: The Next Generation of American Writers–Teenage Girls–On What Fires Up Their Lives Today—edited by Amy Goldwasser
• The Secret Life of Bees—Sue Monk Kidd
• Speak—Laurie Halse Anderson
• To Kill a Mockingbird—Harper Lee
• West With the Night—Beryl Markham

Favorite Authors

• Frank Cottrell Boyce: Millions, Framed, Cosmic
• Meg Cabot: The Princess Diaries series
• Sharon Creech: Bloomability, Chasing Redbird, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
• Roald Dahl: Boy, Going Solo, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Kate DiCamillo: Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux
• Susan Fletcher: Alphabet of Dreams, Shadow Spinner, Walk Across the Sea, Dragon Chronicles series
• Cornelia Funke: The Thief Lord, Inkheart, Inkspell, Dragon Rider
• Shannon Hale: Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, Princess Academy
• Jennifer Holm: Our Only May Amelia, Boston Jane
• Richard Peck: A Long Way from Chicago, A Year Down Yonder, Fair Weather, The Teacher’s Funeral
• Markus Zusak: I Am the Messenger, The Book Thief

Books to Make You Laugh Out Loud

• A Long Way from Chicago—Richard Peck
• A Year Down Yonder—Richard Peck
• Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging—Louise Rennison
• Bloomability—Sharon Creech
• Boy—Roald Dahl
• Flipped—Wendelin Van Drannen
• Framed—Frank Cottrell Boyce

Here’s a list of books that will appeal to boys whether they’re reading on their own or as a part of a parent/child book club. You can find reviews of many of these books by searching the categories for the age group you’re looking for or by typing the title into the search field. Visit powells.com to purchase anything you see here that you like. Got suggestions to add to the list? Please send them to info@motherdaughterbookclub.com.

Books for 7 and 8 year old boys

• Charlotte’s Web—E. B. White, Charlotte the spider and Wilbur the pig become friends.
• The Number Devil—Hans Magnus Enzensberger, a beguiling number adventure.
• The Real Thief—William Steig
• The Secret School – Avi
• The Trumpet of the Swan—E.B. White, Louis the trumpeter swan learns how to thrive despite being born without a trumpet
• The Year of the Dog—Grace Lin

Books for 9 and 10 year old boys

• A Necessary End—Nathaniel Benchley, a realistic depiction of a young Navy recruit in World War II.
• Across Five Aprils—Irene Hunt, a moving account of the effect of the Civil War on one family.
• Alibi Junior High—Greg Logsted, an undercover CIA agent’s son goes to middle school.
• And Then There Were None—Agatha Christie
• Bat 6—Virginia Euwer Wollf, a story of lingering feelings of guild, racism, and patriotism in two small Oregon towns after World War II.
• Boy – Roald Dahl, a laugh-out-loud funny and serious memoir of Roald Dahl’s childhood that reveals his inspiration for some of his most infamous characters.
• Cabin on Trouble Creek—Jean Van Leeuwen, a frontier survival tale of two brothers.
• Children of the Covered Wagon—Mary Jane Carr, a 1934 tale about the old Oregon Trail.
• Code Talker—Joseph Bruchac, based on a story of the Navajo Marines in World War II.
• Cosmic—Frank Cottrell Boyce, a boy discovers the true meaning of what it takes to be a dad.
• Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio—Marguerite Henry, based on a true story of a courageous horse and his rider in the Palio race of Siena, Italy.
• Holes—Louis Sachar, Stanley survives at a boy’s work camp in the desert while solving a family mystery.
• Julie of the Wolves—Jean Craighead George, a survival tale set in Alaska.
• Red Scarf Girl—Ji-Li Jiang, a touching and informative memoir of life in China during the Cultural Revolution.
• Sword of the Samurai: Adventure Stories from Japan—Eric A. Kimmel, a collection of Samurai tales.
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer—Mark Twain, the 1876 boyhood classic.
• The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn—Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler, the first book in a Samurai mystery series.
• The Great Brain series—John D. Fitzgerald, a 1960’s series reminiscent of Tom Sawyer.
• The Great Turkey Walk—Kathleen Kerr, a humorous tale of the Old West.
• The Heart of a Chief—Joseph Bruchac, an 11-year-old American Indian boy learns what it takes to be a leader.
• The Sea of Trolls—Nancy Farmer, a fantasy involving Vikings, berserkers and trolls.
• The Tale of Despereaux—Kate DiCamillo, a story of mouse and human love and redemption.
• Walk Across the Sea—Susan Fletcher, historical fiction of Chinese immigrants in California and a lighthouse keeper’s daughter.
• War Horse—Michael Morpurgo, a World War I tale as told by an English farm horse.
• When the Hermit Thrush Sings—Susan Butler, science fiction tale of escaping a repressive society.
• Up Periscope—Rob Whte, based on a true story of a Navy frogman in World War II.
• Young Mac of Fort Vancouver—Mary Jane Carr, A 1940 story of a 13-year-old at Fort Vancouver.

Books for 11 to 13 year old boys

• A Year Down Yonder—Richard Peck, forced to spend a year in the country with her Grandma, Mary Alice eventually becomes Grandma Dowdel’s partner in crime.
• Al Capone Does My Shirts—Gennifer Choldenko, Moose and his family live on Alcatraz Island in the 1930s with his father who is a guard.
• Bloomability—Sharon Creech, Dinnie learns to live on her own at a boarding school in Switzerland.
• Bright Candles: A Novel of the Danish Resistance—Nathaniel Benchley, a well-researched and moving story of the Danish Resistance during World War II.
• Cold Sassy Tree—Olive Ann Burns, a coming-of-age tale set in a turn-of-the-century Georgia town.
• Coraline—Neil Gaiman, a creepy story of a girl who must find her parents in a parallel world.
• Ender’s Game—Orson Scott Card, an action-packed science fiction story of the future of the human race.
• Fair Weather—Richard Peck, the story of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
• Flipped—Wendelin Van Drannen, see how the same story can be told from two perspectives.
• Framed—Frank Cottrell Boyce, a boy working in his family’s mechanic shop in a smal town in England learns how to save his family and the town through famous art.
• Going Solo—Roald Dahl, the second of Roald Dahl’s memoirs, this one about his stint as a fighter pilot in World War II.
• Hoot—Carl Hiassen, Roy and his friends save burrowing owls from dishonest developers in Florida.
• Joey Pigza Loses Control—Jack Gantos
• Kensuke’s Kingdom—Michael Morpurgo, a tale of shipwreck and survival.
• Millions—Frank Cottrell Boyc, Damien and his brother decide what to do with money that drops from the sky.
• Private Peaceful—Michael Morpurgo, poignant story of two brothers in World War I.
• Remember Me to Harold Square—Paula Danziger, teens go on a scavenger hunt in New York City.
• Stargirl—Jerry Spinelli, what happens to a girl who dares to be different than everyone else in her school.
• Story Time—Edward Bloor, social satire and black comedy about the perils of overemphasis of standardized testing in education today.
• Tangerine—Edward Bloor, a story of how families, communities and the environment act under stress.
• Time Stops for No Mouse—Michael Hoeye
• The Boy and the Samurai—Erik Christian Haugaard, sequel to The Samurai’s Tale.
• The House of the Scorpion—Nancy Farmer, futuristic story of cloning humans.
• The Man in the Ceiling—Jules Feiffer, a funny and thought-provoking story of a boy who wants to be a cartoonist, by the illustrator of The Phantom Tollbooth.
• The Once and Future King—T. H. White, the classic tale of King Arthur’s boyhood.
• The Phantom Tollbooth—Norman Juster, a witty and highly imaginative fantasy.
• The Samurai’s Tale—Erik Christian Haugaard, a riveting story of Samurai and feuding warlords in ancient Japan.
• The White Deer—James Thurber, a charming James Thurber fairy tale.

Books for Boys aged 14 and up

• A Matter of Profit—Hilari Bell
• All But My Life: A Memoir—Gerda Weissmann Klein
• I Am the Messenger—Markus Zusak, mysterious messages start appearing for 19-year-old Ed Kennedy after he foils a bank robbery.
• Light Years—Tammar Stein, can 20-year-old Maya make a new life at college in the U.S. and forget the suicide bombing that killed her boyfriend in Israel?
• The Adrian Mole Diaries—Sara Thompson
• The Book Thief —Markus Zusak, a story about Leisl,the German people, and Death during World War II
• The Kite Runner—Khaled Hosseini, a story about loyalty and courage set in Afghanistan and the U.S.
• This Boy’s Life—Tobias Wolff, a memoir of Wolff’s boyhood.
• West With the Night—Beryl Markham, a memoir of the aviatrix’s childhood in Africa, life as an elephant bush pilot, and being the first pilot to cross the Atlantic east to west.