20 of the best books that will encourage your elementary age kids to become readers

The days are ticking by. There is a countdown going. We have barely a month to squeeze every bit of fun out of this summer that we can. In no time, the kids will be heading back to school and I will start substitute teaching again.

Last year, I started subbing at the kids schools and I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite parts of being in the classroom is reading. I love reading and have since I was quite young. I love being able to encourage that love of reading in the kids that I work with. Part of being able to do that, is knowing what books are kids favorites. Having success with a good book usually encourages that kiddo to seek out more books and that my friends, is how you get a kid to develop a love of reading.  Kids also love series. If they read one book by an author and love it, chances are, they will read everything by that author. I have created a list of the top 20 favorite books for the kids that I work with the most...elementary aged children.  I promise you, these books are kid approved and are sure to become favorites of your children.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Double Fudge by Judy Blume Frindle by Andrew Clemente The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Pilkey The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne The Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis The Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold The Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary Holes by Louis Sachar Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Roirdan Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald Wonder by RJ Palacio The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner Charlotte's Web by EB White I promise you, these are books you are going to want to keep in your collection. These are books to build a library by. There are easy and fun books like the Fly Guy series, there are classics that maybe you read when you were a child like Charlotte's Web and there are some fantastic new books like Wonder and The One and Only Ivan that are so great, they are sure to become classics. 

It only takes one good book for a child to discover their love of reading. 

Don't forget to pin the book image collage above and print out the book and author title list so that when your kids tell you they have nothing to read, you can select a book from the list.  I promise you, they are all kid approved and {substitute} teacher recommended!