Book series for middle schoolers
Book series for middle schoolers hook readers ages 11–14 with stories that stretch across multiple books, whether it’s fantasy quests, funny adventures, mysteries, or real-life drama. The characters usually feel relatable, facing challenges that match what kids that age are going through. Because the story keeps unfolding, readers stay motivated to pick up the next book, build deeper comprehension, and grow alongside the characters. These series often spark a lasting love of reading while tackling friendship, identity, and discovery. This list features books by J. K. Rowling, Jeff Kinney, Beverly Cleary, Kazu Kibuishi, Jason Reynolds, Katherine Applegate, Cressida Cowell, Tui T. Sutherland, Trenton Lee Stewart, and Shannon Messenger.
Book series for middle schoolers – our recommendations
Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth. 
The Tapper Twins Go Viral by Geoff Rodkey. 
Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner. 
Olga and the Smelly Thing from Nowhere by Elise Gravel. 
Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi. 
Socks by Beverly Cleary. 
Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Mike Lowery. 
Heidi Heckelbeck Had a Secret by Wanda Coven, illustrated by Priscilla Burris. 
Chang’e on the Moon by Katrina Moore, illustrated by Cornelia Li. 
Emma Mckenna, Full Out by Kate Messner. 
Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon: The Graphic Novel by Paula Danzigeri, illustrated by Victoria Ying. 
Planet Omar: Unexpected Super Spy by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Nasaya Mafarikik. 
Max and the Midknights: Battle of the Bodkins by Lincoln Peirce. 
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. 
I Survived the California Wildfires by Lauren Tarshis. 
A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Charles Santoso. 
Warren the 13th and the Thirteen-Year Curse by Tania del Rio, illustrated by Will Staehle. 
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann. 
Jake the Fake Keeps it Real by Craig Robinson and Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Keith Knight. 
Endling: The Only by Katherine Applegate. 
The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell. 
The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found by Karina Yan Glaser. 
A Tale of Magic… by Chris Colfer. 
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Best Friends by Jeff Kinney. 
Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen. 
Beyonders by Brandon Mull. 
The Isle of Lost by Melissa De La Cruz. 
City Spies by James Ponti. 
Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen. 
The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon. 
Bodega Cats: Picture Purrfect by Hilda Eunice Burgos, illustrated by Siara Faison. 
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon. 
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. 
National Archive Hunters: Capitol Chase by Matthew Landis. 
V Is for Victorine by Anne Nesbet. 
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. 
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. 
Moraline by Cintia Alfonso Fior. 
Cluedle by Hartigan Browne. 
Spy School by Stuart Gibbs. 
Ghost by Jason Reynolds. 
Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson. 
Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall. 
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen. 
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab. 
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer. 
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. 
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. 
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. 
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland. 
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston. Click the buttons below to purchase all of the books in this middle schoolers series book list, as well as classroom sets of any of these books and many more, from Bookshop.org. Or buy the 20 most popular titles from this list from Amazon – ideal for gifts or stocking your school library. If you are ordering from outside the US, have a look at our ‘worldwide orders’ page which makes this process easy.
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Book series for middle schoolers – resources for teachers
- NPS – Oregon National Historic Trail: Teacher Resources Primary-source maps, trail diaries, and inquiry lessons to anchor westward-expansion units alongside Rescue on the Oregon Trail or projects that compare historical routes with students’ GIS maps.
- NSA – For Educators Cryptology history, code-making/-breaking activities, and cybersecurity basics to extend ciphers, surveillance ethics, and problem-solving threads in Spy School and City Spies.
- CIA “Spy Kids” – Parents & Teachers Kid-friendly tradecraft snippets (aliases, observation, secret writing) and logic games that pair well with infiltration or deduction arcs.
- Smithsonian American Art Museum – K–12 Visual-literacy strategies, artist resources, and object-based analysis that dovetail with sequential-art study and worldbuilding in Amulet or diary/hybrid series such as Invisible Emmie.
- NASA eClips – Educator Guides 5E-modeled, standards-aligned STEM lessons with companion videos—use for engineering/forces in Max and the Midknights or tech angles in Klawde.
- Library of Congress – Teacher Guides & Analysis Tool Downloadable organizers to scaffold Observe–Reflect–Question routines, clue logs, and timelines that mirror how characters sift evidence in mystery and quest series.
BISAC JUV058000 Children’s / Teenage fiction / Series | Thema YX 5AF
