Hey, kids! Here's your next book!

Fans of The Magic Tree House books will like…
Always hungry for a new book and often craving structure and familiarity, early chapter-book readers go crazy for series. Here’s where to turn when your reader has plowed through all 43 of Jack and Annie’s adventures.

A to Z Mysteries
By Ron Roy
Roy presents a mystery story for each letter of the alphabet. In each book, the three young friends work together to solve a mystery. In The Haunted Hotel, guests of the Shangri-la Hotel are being scared away by a white-haired ghost. The trio must figure out what’s going on before their town, Green Lawn, turns into a ghost town.

Geronimo Stilton
By Geronimo Stilton
Young readers are also requesting the series of books about Geronimo Stilton. This series contains books like The Shipwreck on the Pirate Islands and The Phantom of the Subway and features the funny adventures of the mouse, Geronimo Stilton, who runs a newspaper called The Rodent’s Gazette. The books promise to be “whisker-licking-good tales.”

Lulu’s Hat
By Susan Meddaugh
Another appealing book for the early chapter book reader. When Lulu finds a dusty old hat in a magician’s trunk, strange things start to happen and she ends up on an adventure in Deep Magic Space. Mystery, suspense, humor, and unpredictable magic are all part of this tale of an adopted girl who learns the secret of her original family.

– Recommendations by Gloria Busch, youth services librarian, Pierre Bottineau Library

Fans of Captain Underpants will like…
If it’s goofy and just a little gross, it’s sure to please a certain contingent of little boys (and a growing number of girls). If the classic of the genre, Captain Underpants, makes your little reader giggle, suggest these books.

Muppet Peter Pan
By Grace Randolph.
Kermit and Miss Piggy are back with a goofy retelling of this classic children’s tale in comic book form.

The Lunch Lady series
By Jarrett Krosoczka
Think lunch ladies are sweet old women who serve up sloppy Joes? No way! Not with their secret kitchen lairs where they uncover the misdoings of creepy cyborg substitute teachers and evil school librarians.

The Adventures of Daniel Boom
aka Loud Boy
By David Steinberg
Bad habits become superpowers in this series about a boy who turns his overly enthusiastic voice into a weapon.

The Alvin Ho series
By Lenore Look
Alvin Ho confronts his “allergies” to girls, school, camping, hiking, birthday parties, and science projects.

The Day My Butt Went Psycho!
By Andy Griffiths
Beware: This book has been rated “G” for gross! Twelve-year-old Zach’s butt goes rogue to join a worldwide army of runaway heinies.

– Recommendations by Johannah Genett, youth services librarian, Franklin Library

Fans of Ramona, Age 8 will like…
If your child liked Ramona Quimby, Age 8, by Beverly Cleary, he or she will love the spirit and enthusiasm of these five girls.

Clementine
By Sara Pennypacker
Like Ramona, Clementine is a very creative problem solver.

Moving Day
By Meg Cabot
Allie Finkle moves across town to a new house, a new school, and a new best friend. Like Ramona, she has to find her courage.

Year of the Dog
By Grace Lin
Just as Ramona has a very exciting year full of new challenges, Pacy has a few humorous missteps as she tries to “find herself” during the Chinese year of
the dog.

Babymouse, Queen of the World
By Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Fans of Ramona will love Babymouse’s wild imagination and sense of humor.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little
By Peggy Gifford
Moxy pulls many clever tricks out of her sleeve to avoid reading Stuart Little over summer vacation.

– Recommendations by Katherine Debertin, youth services librarian, Minnetonka Library

Fans of Harry Potter will like…
Has a penchant for magic sparked your child’s love of reading — or vice versa? When all seven boy-wizard books are dog-eared, young readers can get their magic fix here.

The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Book 1)
By Michael Scott
Harry Potter fans may remember Nicholas Flamel, the legendary immortal who appeared in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In The Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel lives, and is part of an epic struggle to save humanity from the dark elders. The book is filled with characters from legend and myth.

Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1)
By Angie Sage
Stolen at birth and pronounced dead, Septimus Heap, the seventh son of a seventh son, it turns out, is alive and well. Younger fans of Harry Potter will love this series filled with wizards, adventure, and intrigue.

The Graveyard Book
By Neil Gaiman
The night his family is murdered, an orphaned baby crawls into the nearby graveyard, where he is adopted by its ghostly inhabitants. They name him Nobody — “Bod” for short, and raise him as their own. Bod, now a young teen, begins to explore the world of the living, and finds himself in danger once again.

Dragon Rider
By Cornelia Funke
Accompanied by Ben, an orphan boy, and Sorrel, a sarcastic Scottish brownie, Firedrake the dragon embarks upon a journey to find the Rim of Heaven, the magical ancestral homeland of the dragons. The epic journey into the Himalayas is packed with humor, danger, and adventure.

Whispering to Witches
By Anna Dale
On his way by train to spend the winter holidays with his mother and stepfather in Canterbury, 12-year-old Joe mistakenly gets off at the wrong station. Stumbling upon a coven of misfit witches, Joe soon finds himself pulled into their quest to find the missing page of an ancient spell book.

– Recommendations by Amy McNally, teen services librarian, Ridgedale Library

Fans of the American Girl series will like…
For young readers, historical fiction is a chance to recognize themselves in courageous characters of another era. And some of these readers will find in it a lifelong passion.

The Magic Half
By Annie Barrows
Soon after moving to an old house full of mystery, Miri is transported to 1935 where she meets Molly, a girl who lived in the same house with an unkind aunt and sinister cousin. Join Miri as she discovers a different time and creates a remarkable friendship.

Ballet Shoes (part of the Shoes series)
By Noel Streatfeild
Ballet Shoes chronicles the lives of three orphaned girls, Pauline, Petrova, and Posie, training to earn a living on stage. Written in the late 1930s, the details of the girls’ London lives — with their rainy-day teas, London walks, and dance rehearsals — are sure to delight American Girl fans.

The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery
By Nancy Springer
Enola, Sherlock Holmes’ 14-year-old sister, is shocked when her mother goes missing on Enola’s birthday. Determined to find her mother and avoid the boarding school where she is to be molded into a true Victorian lady, Enola leaves for London, only to become enmeshed in another disappearance.

Betsy-Tacy
By Maud Hart Lovelace
From the moment they meet at Betsy’s fifth birthday party, Betsy and Tacy become such good friends that everyone starts to think of them as one person — Betsy-Tacy. Written in the 1940s, this is a classic tale from a beloved Minnesota author.

– Recommendations by Sue Haise, youth services librarian, Ridgedale Library

Fans of Twilight will like…
Teens who like a little otherwordly mystery with their romance have plenty of choices, even after they’ve tired of Edward and Bella.

Evernight
By Claudia Gray
A dynamic, well-written vampire romance about a seemingly ordinary girl, a mysterious boy, and a school that is much more than it appears to be, with a twist that readers won’t see coming. This novel is a must-read for fans of Twilight — especially members of Team Edward.

Wondrous Strange
By Lesley Livingston
An intriguing first novel about a struggling young actress, a fairy changeling, and the magical production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that brings them together.

Wicked Lovely
By Melissa Marr
Lyrical and gritty, this urban fairy tale tells the story of a uniquely gifted girl caught between the powerful faerie king who needs her as his Summer Queen and the sensitive goth boy she loves.

Shiver
By Maggie Stiefvater
Set in Minnesota, this haunting novel tells the tale of a werewolf who longs for his humanity and the girl who falls in love with him in both his forms; a great choice for members of Team Jacob.

Impossible
By Nancy Werlin
A beautifully written story with the ballad “Scarborough Fair” at its heart, Impossible tells of a girl who faces a family history of madness and the boy who helps her to break free of her fate. This modern fantasy will appeal to readers who loved both Wicked Lovely and Twilight.

– Recommendations by Stephanie Wyman, youth services librarian, Champlin Library