1. Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
Now, I know every kid has read this series at some point in their lifetime. Some teens and adults have probably read these books too. I swear this was probably my favorite series growing up. It's about the adventures of Junie B. Jones as she goes through kindergarten and first grade, and they were so hilarious for me to read as a kid. I remember my teachers reading these to us sometimes and I would literally laugh out loud (even when the other kids didn't really think a part was that funny). But anyway, if you're a parent, teen, or kid reading this and you have never read a Junie B. book, what's wrong with you? Go pick one up!
2. Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo! series by Nancy Krulik
I initially didn't even know what this series was until I was in maybe first or second grade. Once I read a book or two from this series, I became obsessed and had gathered up quite a bit of these. A lot of you might know these books, a lot of you might not. It's about a girl who, in certain situations, can switch into another person. In these events, something's usually wrong with the person and she unexpectedly switches into them and solves whatever their problem is. These were pretty funny to read as a kid and if I read one today, I'd probably still like it. I recommend those to kids of all ages.
3. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I'm fairly sure everyone knows this series, or at least most of you do. I remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old, the movie came out. I bought it on DVD when it was released because of Jim Carrey. He's always been a favorite actor of mine, even as a kid. I used to watch the movie over and over. I didn't find out it was a book series until 4th grade when my teacher would usually read us a book to get us engaged in reading, and she read the first 2 books to us. I loved them both a lot and bought most of the other books. I recently was in a thrift store and found a limited edition of A Bad Beginning that was about $2.00 and I bought it, feeling like a little kid again excited for this series. For those of you who don't know what A Series of Unfortunate Events is about, it follows three siblings: Claus, Violet, and Sunny Baudelaire. When their parents are killed in a house fire that leaves them orphaned, they have to live with a creepy relative known as Count Olaf (played by Jim Carrey in the film). He is always trying to find a way to somehow inherit their family fortune by doing whatever it takes to get rid of them. That probably sounds a little iffy for some of you if you're parents and trying to figure out what you want your kids to read. So, if you need an age recommendation for this series, I'd say probably 8+. Also, if you're a teen or an adult who wants to try this series, it's definitely worth it no matter how old you are, which is why I put the +.
4. Warriors/Survivors/Seekers by Erin Hunter
I never read a ton of books in these series, but I always loved the Warriors books that I read. I never read a Survivors or Seekers book, even though they were basically in the same world as Warriors and were just spin-offs. Warriors involves the lives of cats, Survivors is about dogs, and Seekers are just your general wild animals such as bears. I don't know much about the last 2 since I never read any of those, but Warriors was a fantasy series about cats, like if you've seen or read any kind of fantasy stuff, it's basically that but with cats in place of humans. I think anyone can read those, I started reading them when I was about 6 or 7. For them, I don't really think it matters how old you are either if you like them enough. They were really good series, but teens and adults might find them a bit childish because of talking cats that fight wars with each other.
5. Roald Dahl books
If you've never read a single book by Roald Dahl, you have really been missing out your whole life. He wrote books like James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The BFG. You've probably heard of at least one of those or seen the films based off of some of them. The BFG also happens to be a Disney movie coming out this year, so if you haven't read a book by him, now would be a perfect time to read The BFG. I recommend all of his books to anyone. Anyone at all. He's just great.
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid/Dork Diaries by Jeff Kinney/Rachel Reneé Russell
Why did I put these two together, you ask? Basically, they're each other's counterparts. They have absolutely nothing to do with each other yet they're written almost exactly the same way and are equally funny. Diary of a Wimpy Kid follows a kid named Greg Heffley through his middle school life. I never read past book 6 because I grew out of them, but he must have gone to high school by now. Those were pretty funny books and most of the kids these days has read them. Dork Diaries is pretty much the same, except it's about a girl. I actually forgot her name and that makes me feel pretty bad... But anyway, Dork Diaries basically made me stop reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid because I found it to be funnier and I could relate more since it was a girl. A lot of kids also read them. I have no age recommendation really, although I'd say maybe 7+.
7. A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin
This isn't a series but it's definitely a need for this list. Most people love dogs, right? Well, I was about 8 years old when I discovered this book. I think I got it at my elementary school's book fair and it was about a dog so I figured, why not? I read it and it was one of the greatest things from my childhood. It's such a cute story told from the perspective of a dog as it goes through life. It wrecked my soul.
8. The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley
Don't even ask. Just don't. I went through a phase where I was obsessed with everything that had anything to do with the Olsen twins. I watched all their movies and tv shows and read all their books and have probably seen every episode of Full House twice. The books were always super fun for me to read and I would fly through them in a day or two. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be The Haunted Maze or Haunted Camp book. Honestly, I can't pick a favorite, they were all pretty great.
Well, that's it guys! Thanks for checking out my post. If there were any books or series you felt like I should have put on here that I might have forgotten about or if you'd like to share your favorite childhood books, please share in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!
P.S. I realize I didn't have Percy Jackson or Harry Potter on my list. This is because I didn't read Percy Jackson until last year so I wouldn't exactly count it as a favorite childhood series since I didn't read it as a kid, and I actually haven't read Harry Potter yet, although I plan to over the summer. Go ahead and throw rotten food at me.
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