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100 Best Books: 9-11 year olds

The Adventures of Tintin

Take a look at our pick of the best books for 9-11 year olds from the last 100 years.

See our best books for other age groups

  • Flour Babies

    Flour Babies

    Anne Fine
    Penguin

    As part of a Child Development project, each boy in Class 4C is given a 'flour baby', a sack of flour which must be looked after for three weeks, ensuring it does not get lost or dirty.

  • Private Peaceful

    Private Peaceful

    Michael Morpurgo
    HarperCollins

    Set during World War I, Private Peaceful charts eight hours in the life of Tommo, a young soldier at the Front.

  • Journey to the River Sea

    Journey to the River Sea

    Eva Ibbotson
    Macmillan Children's Books

    Orphan Maia is thrilled to learn she is to live with relatives in South America and cannot wait to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the Amazon.

  • Millions

    Millions

    Frank Cottrell Boyce
    Pan Macmillan

    One night, a bag containing £229,370 falls from the sky and flattens the hermitage. Damian is convinced it is a gift from God.

  • Matilda

    Matilda

    Roald Dahl, Illustrator: Quentin Blake
    Puffin

    This modern fairy-tale with a brilliantly inspiring young heroine is one of Roald Dahl's best loved stories.

  • Once

    Once

    Morris Gleitzman
    Penguin

    Morris Gleitzman brings heart and humour to the difficult subject of the Holocaust in this ground-breaking children's book.

  • The Story of Tracy Beaker

    The Story of Tracy Beaker

    Jacqueline Wilson, Illustrated by Nick Sharratt
    Random House

    Tracy lives in a children's home but constantly hopes that her absent, glamorous Mum will come and take her away.

  • Skellig

    Skellig

    David Almond
    Hodder Children's Books

    Exploring a ramshackle garage with his new-found friend, Mina, Michael discovers a strange, magical creature.

  • Artemis Fowl

    Artemis Fowl

    Eoin Colfer
    Penguin

    Twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl hatches an ingenious plot to steal all the gold in fairy land.

  • Carrie's War

    Carrie's War

    Nina Bawden
    Puffin

    During World War II, Carrie and her younger brother Nick are evacuated to Wales and billeted with the fierce old Mr Evans and his mousy sister, Louise.

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    J K Rowling
    Bloomsbury Children's Books

    After the misery of life with his ghastly aunt and uncle, Harry Potter is delighted to have the chance to embark on an exciting new life at the Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.

  • Goodnight Mister Tom

    Goodnight Mister Tom

    Michelle Magorian
    Puffin

    Willie Beech, a lonely and deprived child, is evacuated to a tiny English village just before the  Second World War, and finds himself living with reclusive widower Thomas Oakley.

  • The Borrowers

    The Borrowers

    Mary Norton
    Puffin

    The Borrowers are tiny people who live in the secret places of old houses - behind the mantlepiece, inside the harpsichord, under the kitchen clock.

  • The Hobbit

    The Hobbit

    JRR Tolkien
    HarperCollins Children's

    This well-loved fantasy story has delighed readers ever since its first publication in 1937.

  • Stig of the Dump

    Stig of the Dump

    Clive King
    Puffin

    Exploring an old chalk pit, Barney meets a strange boy who wears a rabbit skin and speaks in grunts.

  • The Adventures of Tintin

    The Adventures of Tintin

    Hergé Translated by Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper
    Egmont

    Resourceful junior reporter Tintin embarks on a series of exciting international adventures, accompanied by his faithful dog Snowy, in this favourite series.

  • Swallows and Amazons

    Swallows and Amazons

    Arthur Ransome
    Red Fox

    It's the summer holidays, and the Walker children are excited to set sail on their boat Swallow and camp on Wild Cat Island.

  • Ballet Shoes

    Ballet Shoes

    Noel Streatfeild
    Penguin

    First published in the 1930s, this classic story of three very different girls who work hard to master their talents has captivated children's imaginations for decades

  • The Little Prince

    The Little Prince

    Antoine de Saint-Exupery Translated by Katherine Woods
    Egmont

    An air pilot makes a forced landing deep in the Sahara Desert. There, he makes a mysterious Little Prince, who tells him a series of wise and enchanting stories.

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

    The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

    C S Lewis
    HarperCollins Children's

    When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - step through a wardrobe door in the strange country house where they are staying, they find themselves in the land of Narnia.

  • The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

    The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

    Joan Aiken

    There are wolves outside the walls of Willoughby Chase, but for cousins Bonnie and Sylvia, the real danger lies inside.

  • The Witches

    The Witches

    Roald Dahl Illustrated by Quentin Blake
    Puffin

    Real witches disguise themselves as lovely ladies, when secretly they want to squish and squelch all the wretched children they despise.

  • Truckers

    Truckers

    Terry Pratchett
    Random House

    The first title in the Bromeliad trilogy, this is an enchanting fantasy from favourite author Terry Pratchett.

  • Holes

    Holes

    Louis Sachar
    Bloomsbury

    Stanley Yelnats' family has a history of bad luck, so he is not entirely surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to the Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre

  • A Monster Calls

    A Monster Calls

    Patrick Ness From an idea by Siobhan Dowd Illustrated by Jim Kay
    Walker Books Ltd

    Connor's mum has cancer and life is changing. There is the nightmare, then there is school, where people avoid him, or persecute him. And then there is the immense, mythic Monster.