The Best Children's Book Series to Read in Summer 2024

Perfect for six-to-nine-year-old sleuths, the InvestiGators series “has healping helpings of surreal alligator action and wordplay gags to keep new readers bent on solving the mystery” (New York Times). Kids will crack up while reading this goofy graphic novel and seeing if Mango and Brash can solve not one but two mysteries to save the day.

Tom grew up in Weatherly Orphanage, but when he hears a rumor that his parents may actually be alive, he'll stop at nothing to find them. His only clue is the word “Britfield,” and his only help is his best friend Sarah—but together, they're more determined than all the police officers in England. 

Perfect for pre-teens, Britfield and the Lost Crown is “a far-flung adventure story” with “an effect that offers an element of timelessness to the storytelling” (The Booklife Prize).

The first book in an adorable manga series sees everyone's favorite alien Stitch visiting a Japanese island near Okinawa. There, he makes friends with Yuna, a girl who is excellent at karate. Together Yuna and Stitch will create a few new adventures—going fishing, entering a costume contest, and even trying to bake a cake!

This children's series by Isaac and Janet Asimoc is the perfect way for sci-fi lovers to introduce their children to the genre. The story follows Jeff Wells, a fourteen-year-old Space Academy student who finds a robot to help him study. 

But Norby the robot is much more than just a talking textbook—and his skills are very much needed when a villain named Ing decides to target Jeff's older brother.

In this lighthearted spoof, two wisecracking, underachieving middle schoolers find themselves transported into Bram Stoker's Dracula. They'll need a whole lot of garlic if they want to make it out alive—and they'll definitely wish they had actually read the book!

This series goes on to lambast other classics, including Romeo and Juliet, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, and more.

Best friends May, Jasmine and Joey are all totally horse-crazy. They ride together all the time, but their trio is broken up when Joey's family moves away. 

Things get extra odd when the new residents in Joey's old house move in. The lights flicker, and odd noises are coming from the barn. Can May and Jasmine find out what's happening?

This isn't your old school Nancy Drew! This series for young readers follows Nancy and her friends as they go on various adventures. In the first book, Sleepover Sleuths, a doll-themed sleepover goes awry when one of their dolls goes missing. Can Nancy crack the case?

Fans of Redwall and Poppy will love this middle-grade series based on Arthurian legend. Young mouse Calib Chritophers wants to be a Knight of the Round table, and spends his days training. But when a new threat arrives, he may need to save the day before he's been knighted!