Best Book Series for 9 – 12 Year Old Girls To Read Now

(as Recommended by Girls!)

Last weekend our family bit the bullet and went to another flea market (Flohmarkt, for those of you wanting to expand your German vocabulary 😉). No, not to buy anything, but to Sell! Sell! Sell! And we had definitely collected plenty of unwanted kids’ stuff to sell.

Sure we made some money. Not as much as we had fantasised about beforehand (bathtub full of banknotes, anyone?!?), but we actually did OK. Afterwards, we reloaded the car and brought the unsold stuff home again. Do you know what constituted the biggest pile of leftovers? Can you guess???

BOOKS!

I mean, we did sell quite a few, but we just had so many that the kids didn’t want anymore.

Our 3 children LOVE books. If we left the kids alone with no demands or expectations of homework, attending school, helping out with chores, speaking to another human or having a breeze of fresh air brush their sweet faces… well, I think they would probably just lie in bed and look at books all day. Do you know what the perfect word for them is? Bookworms!

The 2 girls have been begging for months to contribute towards my blog here, as a sort of “Stuff for Kids, by Kids” offering. And hey presto! I have finally got my eldest right here, helping me put together a list of highly-recommended, tried-and-tested book series. to give you some great reading ideas!

So, why wait?!? Read on to discover these compelling, page-turning, book series for girls aged 9 to 12 years, as recommended by my girl, who is (funnily enough) also aged between 9 and 12 years old 😉.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

We have a LOT of books in our house. We have books for all sorts of age groups and interests. We have fiction and non-fiction. We have books in German and books in English (we have a bilingual household going on here 😉). We have books popular with boys and books popular with girls. You get the idea.

But today we’re sticking to book series, suitable for 9 to 12 year old girls! Be sure to stay tuned in the future for further book recommendations for other age groups.

I would also like to add, that I have personally not read most of the books on this list, but I sure have heard a lot about them via excited descriptions from my daughter. I have done some research into the target age groups for these books to ensure we are not recommending books targeted at 5 year olds nor 18 year olds. And obviously every child is different in their maturity and reading level. You are the one who can best gauge which books would be suitable for your own girls 😊.

Tip! If you are looking for book recommendations for girls younger than this age, say, girls 6 to 9 years old, then my kids and I have got you covered too! Here‘s a list of brilliant book series for them too! And if you have a little guy around 6 to 9 years old, I’ve put together a list of book series boys love too!

Irresistible Reads for 9 to 12 Year Old Girls

“Agatha Oddly” Series by Lena Jones

This series currently consists of 3 volumes, with the 13 year old Agatha starring as the bold heroine obsessed with being a detective.

Miss 11 says: “Cool, but sometimes a bit scary. But girls who like crime stories might like them. This series is about a girl who likes to solve mysteries. Agatha and her friends Liam and Brianna try to solve them before they themselves get in trouble. But she never knew, that she would solve ones so big… and so dangerous… “

“Simon Thorn” Series by Aimée Carter

There are 5 books written in this series, however currently only volumes 1-3 are available in English, but all volumes 1-5 are published in German under the title “Animox”. Go figure… My daughter has the luck to be able to read both languages, so she whizzed through this series as fast as they could publish them. Twelve-year-old Simon lives with his uncle, has the secret ability to talk to animals and one day he is going to have to use his power to save the world!

Miss 11 says: “Interesting. Fantasy. Lots of Animals. Very thrilling. Sometimes scary. But sometimes it’s funny. A world of people, who can change into animals (Animalgams). Simon’s grandfather wants to get the pieces of the predator, a mighty weapon, that can steal the ability of any Animalgam to transform into an animal. Whoever uses the predator has the power to change into that animal instead! And Simon and his twin Nolan are especially in danger, they have a very mighty ability, that they need to hide… even from each other….  “

“Warriors” Series by Erin Hunter

Insider Tip: These books are not actually by someone called Erin Hunter. The “author” here is actually a pseudonym for a group of 5 authors who have written the dozens of books that make up this series 😉.) The stories follow the mysterious quests and courageous adventures of several clans of warrior cats. Whether they can continue living together in peace…???

Miss 11 says: “I LOVE these books!!! Its fantasy with a lot of cats. Maybe you don’t like them, but you should try these books. When you read these books, you will see the world (of cats) totally differently. They’re a bit fun. They’re a bit scary. They’re a bit everythingy! 😊. Read all about the world of Fireheart, Graystripe and their Warrior Clans!”

“The Daring Book for Girls” Series by Andrea J. Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz

There are 2 volumes in this series plus a number of pocket-sized variations. (FYI, there are also a couple of “Daring Book for Boys”, but today we are sticking with the girls’ recommendations!) I think my daughter’s review below sums up these books well; anything and everything which can be learned, discovered, built or baked is to be found within these pages!

Miss 11 says: “Watch out Girls! This is the no-boy guide to adventure and fun! Lots of cool ideas for girls who like exciting experiences and having lots of fun. 😊 There are lots of ideas for all possible things. Games, pyjama parties and crafty stuff, it’s all in there! I never knew there were so many cool things for me to try out and build myself.”

“Harry Potter” Series by J.K.Rowling

In case you have been hiding under a rock, you would already know that the Harry Potter adventures take place over 7 books 😉. The Harry Potter series is a worldwide phenomenon, translated into just about every known language. The orphan Harry Potter unexpectedly receives his invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there begins several school years full of thrills, magic, suspense, fun and evil wizards. Tip: These books get darker with each progressive story and the later volumes may be a little “too much” for younger kids.

Miss 11 says: “I guess, you all know Harry Potter. Huh? THE Harry Potter? The guy, who was adopted by his aunt and uncle, his cousin Dudley and… Yes, I KNOW that you know who Harry Potter is. Great books, aren’t they?!? Still, Harry Potter is one of my recommendations. If your kid hasn’t read them yet, they should!”

“Treehouse” Series by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

There are now 10 books in this series, starting with “The 13 Storey Treehouse” right up to “The 130 Storey Treehouse”, with each new book adding 13 storeys. If you have seen any other books by Andy Griffiths you can imagine what you are in for. These books are around about as crazy as books get and will leave your kids howling in laughter.

Miss 11 says: “‘Hi, my name is Andy. This is my friend Terry. We live in a tree. Well, when I say tree, I mean treehouse. And when I say treehouse, I don’t just mean any old treehouse, I mean a…’. I love these books! A great series of books. Always very funny and action-packed. The books are full of really funny drawings and nonsense!”

“The Popularity Papers” Series by Amy Ignatow

This 7-book series of stories follows the friendship between Lydia and Julie as they negotiate high school, the popular girls and life. Sweet and humorously written, with plenty of amusing illustrations make this a fun read.

Miss 11 says: “Lydia and Julie are 2 friends with one goal: they want to be the most popular girls in the school. But somehow this doesn’t work, because the harder they try, the more they move away from their plan. These books are laugh out loud funny and full of Lydia and Julie’s drawings. P.S. Julie’s drawing are much nicer than Lydia’s.”

“Spirit Animals” Series by Various Authors

Over mulitple series these books tell the stories of 4 children united by their spirit animals and their quests to overcome ruthless, dark forces in their world. Another must-read for fantasy and adventure fans!

Miss 11 says: “If some special people drink the nectar of the Nahini they get their own Spirit Animal. Conor, Abeke, Meilin and Rollan are very lucky. Their spirit animals aren’t any old animals, they’re the Four Fallen animals: Briggan the wolf, Uraza the leopard, Essix the falcon and Jhi the panda. Together they have to collect the talismans from the other Great Animals. These talismans have mighty powers and that is why Conor and his friends need to get them before the baddies do…”

Further Reading Recommendations from Fellow Bookworms

After consulting with a bunch of Mama friends who have girls of their own (big thanks to you all 😘), we’ve compiled a bonus list with another TEN fun, thrilling book series also ideal for girls aged 9-12. While my Miss 11 hasn’t read any of these (yet) I can assure you we will be on the lookout next time we visit the library. We can’t wait!

• “Percy Jackson” by Rick Riordan

• “Book Scavenger” by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

• “The Land of Stories” by Chris Colfer

• “Woodwalkers” by Katja Brandis (available in German… and Polish… and Dutch… but not English!)

• “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien (not officially a series of it’s own, but introduces the worlds of the “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy)

• “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket

• “Mr Lemoncello” by Chris Grabenstein

• “The Mother Daughter Book Club” by Heather Vogel Frederick

• “Nevermoor” by Jessica Townsend

• “Dork Diaries” by Rachel Renée Russell

I hope you enjoyed this list and discovered some new reading inspiration!

Remember, these recommendations are all book series. Which means once your girl finishes reading one of them, don’t be surprised when she jumps up and down and demands to read the next one!! (Tip: Libraries are great places to find books. So is under the Christmas tree 😉… **Jingle Bell Jingle Bells**)

Help your girl set up a comfy reading corner and you may not see her again until she reaches the very last page of her book 😉. Happy Reading!

What book series did we leave off this list that you can recommend? We’d love to know! Share your suggestions below in the comments section!!