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As their interests expand and reading skills improve, children are lucky that literature evolves alongside them. These are the best chapter books for young readers transitioning to more complex stories.
‘Amelia Bedelia Means Business’ by Herman Parish (2013)
Parents and grandparents might remember the bumbling Amelia Bedelia from Peggy Parish’s original books. Her nephew, Herman Parish, continued that legacy of literary humor and idiom-fiddling with a series of chapter books tailored to young readers that starts with “Amelia Bedelia Means Business.” ($7, Greenwillow Books, Amazon)
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Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Feisty second-grader Yasmin gets creative to solve everyday problems, with help from her Pakistani American family. The “colorful illustrations, short chapters” and an “approachable amount of text” create “a win-win,” said The Every Mom. ($3, Picture Window Books, Amazon)
‘Pug Blasts Off: A Branches Book’ by Kyla May (2019)
“Diary of a Pug” is another series popular among younger readers today. This installment introduces kids to Baron von Bubbles, a.k.a. “Bub,” the self-proclaimed world’s cutest pug. It is part of Scholastic’s Branches line of early chapter books “designed for those ready to read independently,” which helps them “transition from leveled readers” to chapter books, said Scholastic. ($8, Scholastic, Amazon)
‘The Princess in Black’ by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale (2015)
Princess Magnolia lives the royal life, but she also secretly transforms into the Princess in Black, a monster-fighting dynamo hiding her identity from the nosy Duchess Wigtower. This is the first in an action-packed series for young readers, one that is “great for read-aloud or beginning readers,” said Common Sense Media. ($18, Candlewick Press, Amazon)
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Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
