This is a master list of all the books on this site by the intended age level.
Picture Books
These are books with little text, where the pictures are emphasized. They are usually for the youngest readers, although some can be for older children.
The Adventures of Lucy the Cow-Dog: The Journey Begins by Christine M. B. Smith, illustrated by Nidhom, 2020.
Lucy is a wiggily little dog who sets out on a journey to calm her wiggles.
All-Of-A-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, 2018.
The sisters in the All-of-a-Kind Family are getting ready for Hanukkah, but Gertie, the youngest, is hurt because she’s too little to help.
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, pictures by Christian Robinson, 2015.
CJ and his grandmother have somewhere special to go after church, and CJ comes to appreciate their connection to the community.
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins, 2018.
Penelope is a young T-Rex who joins a class of human children and has trouble resisting the urge to eat them.
Winter Is Coming by Tony Johnston, Illustrated by Jim LaMarche, 2014.
A girl observes the countryside and the habits of animals as the seasons change.
Beginning Chapter Books
These are short chapter books for children who are just beginning to read beyond picture books, typically for children in early elementary school (around the 1st or 2nd grade in US elementary schools).
Middle Grade Books
There are for readers aged about 8-12 (roughly 3rd grade to 6th grade in US elementary schools). Sometimes, they are generically called just “chapter books.”
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee, 2014.
Ophelia meets an enchanted boy imprisoned in a strange museum and must help him to defeat the evil Snow Queen.
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson, 2018.
Elizabeth is sent to a mysterious hotel for Christmas, where she learns the secrets of the the family who owns the hotel and her own past.
Series
Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle, living in 1890s England, has a precocious interest in forensic sciences and investigating murder cases. By Elizabeth C. Bunce.
Middle School Books
These are harder, more complex books with more sophisticated subject matter (also some darker, more serious topics) that are still about one level below young adult literature, aimed at kids in their late tweens or early teens (about age 12 to 14, around 6th to 8th grade in the US system). It’s sort of between Middle Grade and Young Adult, although it’s a little subjective, and there is some overlap. Some books that I count as Middle School level could be either Middle Grade or Young Adult. I frequently put them here because I think they fit into a good transition point.
The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox, 2016.
An old Scottish castle is turned into a boarding school for children evacuated from London during WWII. However, strange things are happening there, and soon, children start disappearing.
Greenglass House by Kate Milford, 2014.
A boy investigates the strange people who have unexpectedly come for Christmas at the smuggler’s inn his parents run in a mysterious old mansion and the thefts that occur there.
The Halloween Moon by Joseph Fink, 2021.
Esther and her friends find themselves trapped in a Halloween that may never end.
The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel, 2019.
A girl is sent to a boarding school in England, where she discovers that her father, who disappeared years before, was involved with a secret society. By Julia Nobel.
The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry, 2014.
When someone poisons their headmistress, the girls at a Victorian boarding school try to cover up their headmistress’s death while they investigate the crime. By Julie Berry.
Series
Aggie Morton is a twelve-year-old girl living in Torquay, England in the early 1900s and investigates mysteries with her friend, a Belgian boy named Hector Perot, she investigates murders. By Marthe Jocelyn.
Young Adult Books
These books are only a little below adult books in difficulty, and they deal with complex subject matter. These are for teens and older.
Jestress's Children's Shelf 