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Ages 9-12

Books Every Third Grader Should Know

Find these books and more online at https://catalog.coolcat.org

Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne
Eight-year-old Jack and his younger sister Annie find a magic treehouse, which whisks them back to an ancient time zone where they see live dinosaurs.
Series -
Magic Treehouse
Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch by Donald J. Sobol
Idaville's secret weapon against lawbreakers, ten-year-old Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown, helps the police force solve ten new cases, the solutions to which are found in the back of the book.
Fables by Arnold Lobel
Twenty original fables about an array of animal characters from crocodile to ostrich.
Flora & Ulysses: the Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Rescuing a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner, comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman is astonished when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates astonishing powers of strength and flight after being revived. Lexile 520
Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
Andrew wants freckles so badly that he buys Sharon's freckle recipe for fifty cents.
Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows
When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected.
Series -
Ivy and Bean
Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
Third grader Judy Moody is in a first day of school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece, the Me collage. Lexile 530
Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry Allard
The kids in Room 207 take advantage of their teacher's good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a vile substitute.
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton
Take a dip into a Graphic Novel with this fun underwater story. Narwhal is a happy-go-lucky narwhal. Jelly is a no-nonsense jellyfish. The two might not have a lot in common, but they do love waffles, parties and adventures. Join Narwhal and Jelly as they discover the whole wide ocean together. Lexile 490
Paul Bunyan: A Tall Tale by Steven Kellogg
Recounts the life of the extraordinary lumberjack whose unusual size and strength brought him many fantastic adventures.
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
Six-year-old Ramona tries to cope with an unsympathetic first-grade teacher.
Stuart Little by E.B. White
The adventures of the debonair mouse Stuart Little as he sets out in the world to seek out his dearest friend, a little bird who stayed a few days in his family's garden.
The Adventures of Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel by Dav Pilkey
When George and Harold hypnotize their principal into thinking that he is the superhero Captain Underpants, he leads them to the lair of the nefarious Dr. Diaper, where they must defeat his evil robot henchmen.
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie DePaola
Little Gopher follows his destiny, as revealed in a Dream-Vision, of becoming an artist for his people and eventually is able to bring the colors of the sunset down to the earth.
The Sleepy Hollow Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
"In the town of Sleepy Hollow, the Aldens discover an old legend that's come back to life! Their friend's ghost-tour business is being disrupted by a spooky figure on horseback who throws pumpkins in the streets and frightens everyone. Has the headless horseman returned to haunt the town? The Boxcar Children must find out before the ghost tours are ruined!"--Jacket flap.
Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems & Drawings of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
A boy who turns into a TV set and a girl who eats a whale are only two of the characters in a collection of humorous poetry illustrated with the author's own drawings.
Updated 12/10/2021