Top Ten Tuesday: Great Books for Third Graders

I very rarely completely ignore a Top Ten Tuesday prompt, but I just couldn’t get enough brain power around this week’s theme – Characters that Authors Surprisingly Redeemed. So instead, I went in a completely different direction. I think the most difficult age group to find books for is that third and fourth grade reader. These are kids who are most likely reading fluently, but might be intimidated by the depth and breadth of a typical middle grade novel.

And while I love Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kids, and The Bad Guys (legitimately had me laughing out loud, much to the embarrassment of my niblings!) I want to help families find books that they might not have found otherwise. Amazing authors, fun (sometimes thoughtful) plots, and character you love are just some of the criteria I used when creating this list. I also wanted to really showcase some books that aren’t on every list you Google or that you’ll see at a bookstore or on Amazon.

What You’ll Find

This list leans heavily toward graphic novels because I think they can be so powerful for this age. Kids reading graphic novels not only have to navigate the panels and story, but they also have to really incorporate the illustrations into the story as well. Your brain has to work really hard to do all the things! Plus, as kids get more comfortable with longer books, they’ll be more inclined to pick up a more traditional chapter book too. I also tried hard to provide you with a list that will be equally as exciting for readers who love realistic fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, and I even through in a nonfiction book as well.

In third grade, I think one of the most important aspects of reading is to keep kids engaged. As long as they’re able to read at an appropriate level, give them books they’ll love. You’re focusing on creating positive feelings associated with spending time with books and reading. Making sure that kids have that positive reaction to books now increases the chance they’ll continue reading well into middle school and high school.

And one last thing, many parents stop reading aloud to their children at this age! Don’t do it! Reading aloud allows kids to experience books that might be a little more difficult than what they’re ready for on their own. Plus, who doesn’t love some quality time together? Make reading a priority in your child’s life in as many ways as you can. It will be well-worth it.

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Great Books for Third Graders

The Academy by T. Z. Layton

Born and raised in a small town, Leo K. Doyle has never seen the ocean or stepped foot on a plane. But Leo is a star soccer player with big dreams in life.

Rock-star, Olympic gold, dragon-slaying dreams.

While Leo has a pet lizard named Messi and longs to make the pros one day, he has no idea how to achieve his goal—until a professional scout pays a chance visit to one of Leo’s games and extends an invitation to try out for the London Dragons youth squad, known as The Academy.

Leo is stunned. The London Dragons isn’t just any old soccer team. It’s a world-famous English Premier League team. Soon Leo is off to a whole new country, embarking on the greatest adventure of his life. The downside? Only eleven players can make the team.

Eleven out of two hundred of the very best youth players on the planet.

Along with the grueling competition, Leo must also face a bully intent on torpedoing his summer, a roomie who doesn’t know how to have fun, a terrifying camp director, and, most of all, Leo’s own lack of formal training and the fear he’ll never succeed. By the end of the summer, Leo will become a much better player and forever changed by his experience.

But will he be good enough to make the Academy?

The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell

Welcome to a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes, and their ordinary block into cardboard kingdom. This is the summer when sixteen kids encounter knights and rogues, robots and monsters–and their own inner demons–on one last quest before school starts again.

In the Cardboard Kingdom, you can be anything you want to be–imagine that!

Clementine Fox and the Great Island Adventure by Leigh Luna

Clementine is supposed to be on her way to school… but why not go out for a day of adventure and exploration instead? She recruits her friends Nubbins Squirrel and Penelope Rabbit and heads to the beach, where Jesse Otter is preparing to take his giant Turtle, Annabella, to a mysterious local island. Clementine’s great-aunt Marnie lives there — far away from math tests and tutors — so Clementine and her friends hitch a ride to the island as stowaways. What could go wrong?

Enginerds by Jarrett Lerner

Ken is an EngiNerd: one of a super-smart group of friends—all nerds—who have been close since kindergarten.

They may be brainiacs, but they’re just like everyone else: they fight with one another, watch too much TV, eat Chinese food, and hate walking their dogs. Well, maybe not just like everyone because Ken’s best friend Dan has been building robots. He then secretly sent one to each of the EngiNerds, never letting them know he’s the mastermind.

At first Ken is awed and delighted: what kid hasn’t dreamed of having a robot all their own? Someone who can be their friend, clean their room, walk the dog, answer homework questions…how amazing is that?

But be careful what you wish for: Dan’s robot, Greeeg, may look innocent, but his ravenous consumption of food—comestibles—turns him into a butt-blasting bot. And once the other robots ‘come alive’ it’s up to the motley crew of EngiNerds to not only save the day, but save the planet!

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements

Josh Willet is a techie, a serious gamer. Which is why Josh and his friends can’t stand Mr. N’s ELA class; it’s a strict no-tech zone. Mr. N makes them write everything out by hand, he won’t use a Smartboard, and he’s obsessed with some hundred-year-old grammar book. Then Josh discovers a secret; turns out Mr. N’s been keeping a lot more than technology from his students! Together with his best friend Vanessa, and using all the computer skills they’ve got, Josh is determined to solve the mystery of Mr. N’s past. And maybe get some screentime back, too? 

Just Harriet by Elana K. Arnold

There are a few things you should know about Harriet Wermer:

• She just finished third grade. 
• She has a perfect cat named Matzo Ball. 
• She doesn’t always tell the truth. 
• She is very happy to be spending summer vacation away from home and her mom and dad and all the wonderful things she had been planning all year.

Okay, maybe that last one isn’t entirely the truth.

Of course, there’s nothing Harriet doesn’t like about Marble Island, the small island off the coast of California where her nanu runs a cozy little bed and breakfast. And nobody doesn’t love Moneypenny, Nanu’s old basset hound. But Harriet doesn’t like the fact that Dad made this decision without even asking her.

When Harriet arrives on Marble Island, however, she discovers that it’s full of surprises, and even a mystery. One that seems to involve her Dad, back when he was a young boy living on Marble Island. One that Harriet is absolutely going to solve. And that’s the truth.

Lightfall by Tim Probert

Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world.

All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard.

But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light.

Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?

Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Ani Bushry

Marya’s eighth birthday is coming up in a week, and all she wants is an over-the-top birthday party just like the ones Alexa, her rich neighbor, always throws. When Alexa parades into school with fancy invitations, Marya can’t help herself—she claims that she’s having the most epic henna party ever. Now she has to convince her family to make it happen.

Enter Operation Help the Khans! Marya’s siblings clearly need help with their projects. Maybe she could cook dinner for her parents, or clean her grandmother’s room? Except everything Marya does seems to end in disaster. Will Marya and her family be able pull it together and throw the best party ever?!

Search for a Giant Squid by Amy Seto Forrester, illustrated by Andy Chou Musser

This series starter takes emerging readers on an expedition to the ocean’s twilight zone in search of a giant squid. But giant squids are hard to find. Readers will need to join the expedition and help make choices along the way.

First they’ll pick their submersible. And then their pilot and dive site. They’ll need to be careful—not every path leads where it seems, but whatever path they pick, they’ll see and learn amazing things!

Third Grade Angels by Jerry Spinelli

George, aka “Suds,” has just entered third grade, and he’s heard the rhyme about “first grade babies/second grade cats/third grade angels/fourth grade rats,” but what does this mean for his school year? It means that his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every month to see which student deserves to be awarded “the halo” – which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect. Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but he’s finding the challenge of always being good to be more stressful than he had anticipated. Does he have to be good even outside of school? (Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister?) And if Mrs. Simms doesn’t actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.