Here are some of my most beloved series from when I was a child up to ones I've just recently read. They are books I have shared with my students, my friends, and read with my husband. They are novels I have seen the movies for, waited in lines for midnight releasings, and ones I have even read more than once. I hope you will enjoy this list and find your next favorite series among this compilation for all ages.
JUVENILE/MIDDLE GRADE
Mosts of these series sum up my childhood but I have very fond memories of laying on my bed, unable to put the book down, waiting at Borders books for the midnight releasing of the new books, waiting a year in between, going with family friends to the movies when they came out. It is just all fantastic! If you haven't read the illustrated versions, they are a MUST! They are just so so beautiful.
I'm a huge fan of C.S. Lewis. I think he is incredible and the way he weaves truth into his novels and amazing lessons in a fantasy story is just phenomenal.
These are a newer series similar to Magic Tree House where a child is transported to important events in history and learns all about them. These are so fun!
I just listened to these this past year and I was so impressed. They are read by the author which is always a plus but I think I would have loved them if I had read them on my own. All your favorite fairy tale characters coming together to fight evil. It can't get better than that.
Lemony Snicket is one of the most mysterious, creative, depressing authors and these are books that stick with you. Just when you think it can't get worse for the Beaudelaire chidren, it does. Your heart hurts for them but there's enough mystery and suspense in the novels that you can't help but keep reading to see what happens. The Netflix series is also fantastic and so quirky, but very well done.
My students eat these books up. The Wild Robot is so endearing and combines man-made inventions and mark on the earth with nature and the circle of life.
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne (33 books)
I ate these up as a child. Brother and sister, Jack and Annie, get transported to faraway places to help Morgan le Fay and Merlin on a variety of missions all across history. The author continued the series with the Merlin Missions so there are many more books to enjoy.
Track by Jason Reynolds (4 books)
Jason Reynolds is an amazing author for our day. He is not afraid to discuss real issues of unconventional families, poverty, and race as he depicts a group of kids on a track team. Ghost, Patina, Lu, and Sunny are so different and come from different backgrounds but they come together as the new kids on their track team. Each book tells their individual stories and the prose makes you feel like you are totally in their head and living in their shoes.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner (19 books)
I also loved these as a child. Four siblings left as orphans and forced to find a life on their own. This series continued with other authors.
There are not many things that are appealing about being a pioneer but I loved following this family's life on the plains.
YOUNG ADULT
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (4 books)
I wouldn't say science-fiction is my genre of choice but this series blew me away. Mixed with fantasy, you will absolutely love Spensa and her feisty, determined, soul-searching personality. The fourth book is coming out this fall and there are also three novellas that give you more context for the series.
I didn't read these until I was in college, but I sped through them. Kind of a messed up idea, but also so intriguing. Don't forget to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the prequel to the series, which gives you the backstory of President Snow. It is sinister and haunting, but fantastic.
Hunger Games meets the Bachelorette in these dystopian novels. This series got me back into reading about I had graduated from college and I flew through them. Great little chick-lit series, plus some novellas.
Another one I was late to the bandwagon on. I started watching the film when it came out on Netflix and thought it was the weirdest story so I gave up on it. Tried the book a couple years later and loved it!! Your worst high school nightmare coming true when Lara Jean's letters that she wrote to her past crushes get delivered to them!
A re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, this series is great. It is a little slow at times but the character development is phenomenal and you become invested in their lives. As the series goes on, there are many additions and I love how the author tells the story from the point of view of many characters.
ADULT
My husband and I read these together and we're obsessed. Combining history and myth and religious and cultural tradition, Dan Brown writes amazing novels that explore everything from ancient rome to the founding fathers of the U.S., churches in Spain, and crazy scientific theories.
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans (5 books)
Richard Paul Evans is an author whose books I wait for and read right when they come out each year. Having nothing left, Alan Christofferson decides to walk from his home in Spokane, Washington clear to the furthest point in the United States, St. Augustine, Florida.
Historical fiction is my jam and these hit the nail on the head. They don't have to be read in order as they follow different women leads in the same family, but different generations.
Lilac Girls follows the story of Caroline Farraday during WWII as well as two other women involved in the war in Europe. Lost Roses follows the story of Caroline's mother, Eliza, during WWI and Sunflower Sisters is the story of their ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey during the Civil War. They are extremely well-written and will get you sucked into the worlds of these women during very difficult times in our nation's and world history.
Timothy Ballard is remarkable for many reasons, but one of them being that he thoroughly researches his books for years and years before they are brought to our hands. His books focus on very convincing hypotheses he has created outlining how events in our history were necessary and how they connect to all of us, but specifically members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Lincoln Hypothesis explores how Abraham Lincoln was connected to The Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the implications this had on the Civil War. The Washington Hypothesis analyzes the role of the american covenant, latter-day temples, and the father of our country, George Washington. The Pilgrim Hypothesis takes a similar approach in exploring the connection between the pilgrims, the gathering of Israel, and the restoration of the gospel. They are all fascinating!
I hope you will enjoy one of these if you need a new series to last you awhile. What are your favorites that I missed?
