If you’ve got a sixth grader at home, chances are they have a lot on their mind—from school, to activities, to social lives—finding a new favorite read may not be their number one priority… though we’d make the case it should at least be in the top five!
Reading at this stage can expand your child’s perspective and help them develop greater empathy and understanding. Fast-paced, exciting stories will allow them to pinpoint the genres they truly love, while nonfiction and interactive books help open their world to new possibilities.
Since access to engaging books through sixth grade and beyond might just be the key to your child’s lifelong reading habit, we’ve gathered some of our favorite titles. Here are Literati’s picks for the best books for sixth grade readers:
The Land of Roar
It’s been years since Rose and Arthur traversed the folding bed in Grandad’s attic to their imaginary Land of Roar, but while cleaning the attic, Grandad himself gets pulled in! And if our readership is any indication, so will your middle-grade reader.
With constant danger and intrigue, this gorgeously-illustrated story has proven time and time again to help develop consistent reading habits in budding fantasy-lovers.
Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret
Forget book reports—at Explorer Academy, students are graded on their code-cracking, obstacle coursing, and virtual-reality explorations. But for new pupil Cruz, this elite school has a few more challenges up its sleeves.
With solvable puzzles, Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret is the perfect book for those who need a little brain challenge to stay engaged. Get your young scientist in on the journey, and give them Trudi Truett’s full-throttle adventure.
Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels
The daring and adventurous women who have shaped the world are often missing from history textbooks. Supplement your kid’s education with these stories of 52 women who fearlessly pushed boundaries. Read all about Helen Gibson, the first professional stuntwoman, or Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space!
From action scenes to astronomical heights, this book covers a multitude of fields and interests, so no matter what your child loves to do, they’ll find tons of inspiration and motivation to challenge themselves. You may just want to invest in a helmet and some elbow pads for your adventurer once they finish this essential anthology of history’s toughest ladies.
Adventures in Engineering for Kids: 35 Challenges to Design the Future
Adventures in Engineering asks an important question: without limits, what can kids create? The
answer is pretty much anything and everything, including the first human settlement on another planet.
This book recruits your child to an elite engineering team, the Irresistible Futures Agency. It’s their job to help design City X and solve the many challenges that lie ahead. With 35 design and engineering challenges, this is one of the best books for sixth-graders or seventh-graders who love science, puzzles, and making the impossible a reality.
Odd Gods
Oddonis is a son of Zeus. He’s surely odd—he doesn’t have powers like the rest of his family and even has webbed toes—but he’s also endearing. He and his friends at Mount Olympus Middle School are an ungodly group, but can they pull it together in time for a big school election?
This mythological mix-up will put your own middle-schooler into giggling fits. As a perfect mix of Percy Jackson and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this out-of-the-box read is a fun-filled introduction to epic myths—their English teacher will thank you!
The Lost Property Office
Jack’s got a knack for discovering all things lost and found. From scarves to books, Jack Buckles has a special gift for locating all of London’s abandoned treasures. But there’s one thing he can’t find—his long-lost father and sister. That is, until a few family secrets emerge.
James R. Hannibal’s clever thriller is a top pick for readers who enjoy a bit of magic in their mystery. The whimsical London setting helps make this a fully immersive read, while challenging readers to link past and present.
Readers Thrive with Literati Book Clubs
The books your child finds outside of the classroom will have a huge impact on whether they continue to seek out stories on their own. By laying the groundwork for steady reading habits, you’re setting them up for a lifetime of curiosity and learning—and Literati is here to help!
Literati curates book boxes on a reader-by-reader basis, to ensure that every child has access to enriching and age-appropriate stories. When you join Literati book clubs, curation experts take your reader’s specific level and interests into account to send premium titles they’re sure to love.
Get started with Literati’s personalization quiz, and watch your reader learn and grow with the very best titles out there for them.
