Looking for the best chapter books for kids? Here are 100+ chapter book series perfect for preschool, kindergarten and first graders. Perfect for family read alouds or for beginning readers to try on their own.
Hi friends!
I’ve been working so hard to put together the ultimate list of chapter books for kids! In the past year, we’ve started reading more kids chapter books with my older two (starting around the time they were 4 & 6) and I wanted to put together a list with a bunch of suggestions all in one place so we could work our way through all of them.
With the help of my friend Paige at Food 4 Tots, we came up with over 100 series for you to check out. HUGE thank you to Paige for all her help! For this list, we focused on series (at least 3 books) rather than individual books. These lists are more for read-aloud chapter books versus categorizing by reading level.
I’m always looking for early chapter books to read to my kids so I wanted to put together a list that I could work my way through. If you’re looking for a printable version of this list, scroll all the way to the end!
Kid’s Chapter Books
Preschool Kids Chapter Books (Series )
These children’s chapter books have larger print, not a ton of words and still have a fair amount of pictures. They’d be a great next step after picture books but should still hold the attention of a preschooler. They’re also great for beginning readers to read themselves! An asterisk (*) denotes diverse characters.
- Narwhal and Jelly
- The Adventures of Sophie Mouse
- Frog and Toad
- Wallace and Grace
- Poppleton
- Charlie & Mouse
- Sydney & Taylor
- Haggis and Tank
- Scaredy Squirrel
- Diary of a Pug
- Owl Diaries
- The Last Firehawk
- Owly
- A Friend For Dragon
- Princess in Black
- Billie B. Brown
- The Kingdom of Wrenly
- Yasmin*
- Mia Mayhem*
- Anna Hibiscus*
- Mr. Putter & Tabby
- Henry and Mudge
- Monster and Boy
- Billy and the Mini Monsters
- Mercy Watson
- The Critter Club
- King & Kayla*
- Dragon Masters
- Amelia Bedelia
- Kung Pow Chicken
- Boris
- Little Bear
Beginner Chapter Books for Kids
Kindergarten Kids Chapter Books (Series)
These kid’s chapter books are a little bit longer, still have some photos and most have bigger text and short chapters. Great for read alouds and also for maybe 1st/2nd grade readers to read themselves. This is not an all-inclusive list. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some great ones. There also may be some on this list you’re not comfortable with for your kids. As always, do your own research! An asterisk (*) denotes diverse characters.
- The Bad Guys
- Press Start
- Dr. Kitty Kat
- Isadora Moon
- Geronimo Stilton
- Ellray Jakes*
- Nancy Clancy
- Hey Jack
- Stink
- Ivy + Bean
- Zapato Power*
- Captain Awesome
- Magic School Bus Chapter books
- A to Z mysteries
- Dory Fantasmagory
- Eerie Elementary
- Magic Tree House
- The Questioneers
- Zoey and Sassafrass*
- Notebook of Doom
- The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian*
- Ruby and the Booker Boys*
- Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol*
- Keena Ford*
- Alvin Ho*
- Tales from Deckawoo Dr
- Lighthouse Family
- Piper Green and the Fairy Tree
- Jasmine Toguchi*
- The Infamous Ratsos
- Teddy Mars
- Jigsaw Jones*
- Mindy Kim
- Cam Jansen
- Nate the Great
- Heidi Heckelbeck
- Jada Jones
- Kitty
- Dog Man
- Captain Underpants
- Junie B. Jones
- My Weird School
- Flat Stanley
- Kitty
- Juana and Lucas*
- Polly Diamond*
Chapter Books for First Graders
Longer Chapter Books For Kids
These books are a bit longer, have longer chapters and are mostly text.
- Hank the Cowdog
- Heartwood Hotel
- Tanglewood Animal Park
- Moomin
- Judy Moody
- Ramona Quimby
- The Carver Chronicles*
- The Magnificent Makers *
- Boxcar Children
- Henry Huggins
- Gooney Bird Greene
- Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
- Whatever After
- Pippi Longstocking
- Hotel Flamingo
- The Last Kids on Earth
- Toys Go Out
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle
- Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys
- Little House on the Prairie
I hope this list was helpful! A few other notes:
I encourage you check your local library to borrow these books or to shop local/independent bookstores if you want to buy them! Check out bookshop.org to find one! If you’d like to find them on Amazon, I’ve put the first book in each series in my Amazon shop. Click the link below to shop my affiliate links!
Kid’s Chapter Books Amazon Shop
If you’d like a printable list so you can keep track of the series as you try them, I’ve made one for you! Click the link below:
Chapter Books For Kids Printable List
If you want to see the inside of a book, check out the “look inside” feature on Amazon or search the name on google books for a preview. I’m also starting a chapter book highlight on IG where I do a quick flip-thru of the books on this list as I check them out from the library so you can look there too!
If you found this post helpful, please pin it for later!
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
