Books for 6-8 year olds. Books for elementary age children.

If your child is six to eight years old, you probably find him/her waffling between picture books and chapter books. The reality is, there is no reason to choose one type of book and stick to it. Here are 20 quintessential books for your 6-8 year old to read. These are great books to add to your home library. We love to give books as gifts, so every Easter, Birthday, and Christmas, each of our children get a book.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Elliot

Paddington by Michael Bond

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Penny and her Marble by Kevin Henkes

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

Betsy-Tacy book 1 by Maud Hart Lovelace

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1) by Holly Black

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

A Lighthouse Family Series by Cynthia Rylant

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

See these other great book lists:

22 Chapter Books for PreTeens {Ages 8-12}

Ah the Tween years. The preteens. Most children in this age group can read chapter books easily on their own, and your hope is to really get them hooked on books during this phase. You need good, quality books that are entertaining and keep your child coming back for more, but you also want clean language, pure content, and storylines that won't keep him up at night.

These are some of our favorite books for this age group. All of these books are books that my preteens have read and loved. Most are books we had to own because they are liked so much. You can find more great suggestions in my 15 Chapter Books for Girls post and my Chapter Books for Boys post. These books are in no particular order. This post contains affiliate links.

Wonder by R. J. Placio
Kaitlyn declares this book the best book ever written.

Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland
Kaitlyn and McKenna are both completely obsessed with this series right now.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
If your child handles this book well, have him/her move on to the Lord of The Rings series as he/she gets on the older half of the preteen age.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

This is Brayden's current favorite.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Huge hit in my house, and a huge hit among all fourth graders at our school right now.

Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
A great follow-up for the Percy Jackson fans.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
One of the best books ever written. Save it for an older preteen age range--10-12.

Five Kingdoms by Brandon Mull

Five Kingdoms by Toby Neighbors
I accidentally found this book when searching for the Five Kingdoms above. It has come to be a favorite of Brayden and my husband.