My 7-year-olds, M and J, have helped me put together a list of books that they greatly enjoy. They are typical 7-year-old girls as far as their interests go. They’re intrigued by the following things in their own lives and the books they read:
- Interpersonal relationships and conflict resolution
- Family dynamics and friendship
- Fairies, magic and adventure
- Dance and song
- School
- Math, science and personalities in history from the everyman to famous people
They read significantly above grade level, around a 4th or 5th grade level in 2nd grade. While this is a very good thing, it does present something of a challenge when locating books for them. It can be hard to find books for academically advanced but otherwise typical 7-year-olds. I want to them to read things that stretch their analytic skills, their vocabulary, and their understanding of human nature without confounding them with excessively mature topics, inappropriate words, or conflicts beyond their ability to handle.
With no more ado, here is our list, in no particular order.
- Rainbow Magic by Daisy Meadows (our review)
- Horrible Harry/Song Lee
by Suzy Kline (our review)
- Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne (review pending)
- Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder (review pending)
- Katie Kazoo Switcheroo by Nancy Krulik (review pending)
- American Girl by Various Authors (review pending)
- Fashion Kitty by Charise Mericle Harper
(review pending)
- Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
(review pending)
- Enid Blyton’s Enchanted World by Various Authors (review pending)
- Oz
by L. Frank Baum
(review pending)
- Ben Baglio’s Animal Ark
by Various Authors (review pending)
- Judy Moody and by Megan McDonald (review pending)
My daughters have been helping me review each of these series, but this post started getting really long. I’ve decided to publish the review of each series as its own post. I’ll link them above as I publish them.
What are your children’s favourite books?
Sadia (rhymes with Nadia) has been coordinating How Do You Do It? since late 2012. She is the divorced mother of 7-year-old monozygotic twins, M and J. She lives with them and their 3 cats in the Austin, TX suburbs and works full time as a business analyst. She retired her personal blog, Double the Fun, when the girls entered elementary school and also blogs at Adoption.com and Multicultural Mothering.
We just finished Charlotte’s Web – so wonderful!
Ooh, that’s a good one!
It must be quite a challenge finding books that won’t bore them without raising issues they might not be emotionally ready for. Great list of recommendations – I loved Enid Blyton when I was their age! Have you tried any books from the Nancy Drew series? They are quite advanced reading but not too gruesome!

Thanks for linking up to #fictionalfun
Debbie
http://www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com
Random Musings recently posted June Reading List