Looking for books for 7 year olds and not sure where to start? There are hundreds on this page, so I’ve pulled out eight that I’d go to first.
Seven can be a tricky age for books. Some 7 year olds are still very happy with a picture book at bedtime, and some are racing through a chapter book. And some are somewhere in between (and might switch between the two depending on the day or mood).
So this shelf has a bit of everything. If it’s specifically chapter books they can read on their own, I’ve also written a whole piece on chapter books for 7 year olds.
Funny books for 7 year olds
Izzy and her friends are off on a school trip with an overnight train ride. The bunk beds are TINY, everything is STRANGE, and then their teacher Miss Jones disappears. The Great Crisp Robbery is one of our free books too.
The Great Crisp Robbery
Ra the Mighty is a royal cat in ancient Egypt with a very high opinion of himself. When a jewel thief strikes, he takes on the case with a dung beetle as his sidekick.
I know that Horrid Henry can be a firm favourite at this age and this is great if you’re wondering what age Horrid Henry is for.
Magical and spooky books for 7 year olds
Bea Black moves to Little Spellshire and her dad accidentally enrols her at the local witch school. Now she has a grumpy class frog to look after and a Halloween Ball coming up. And to make matters worse her dad can’t find out about any of it. That’s Diary of an Accidental Witch by Honor and Perdita Cargill.
Diary of an Accidental Witch
If they’ve already met Mildred Hubble, here’s a whole list of books like The Worst Witch too.
In Dial a Ghost by Eva Ibbotson, Fulton Snodde-Brittle wants to hire the most terrifying ghosts to frighten his nephew Oliver. A mix-up sends the kind Wilkinson ghosts instead, and they end up on Oliver’s side. One thing worth knowing is that the uncle’s plan is to scare Oliver to death so it is a little dark in places…
Dial a Ghost
Ted Hughes wrote The Iron Woman, and it’s probably more of a read-aloud and discuss book as the tone is a little serious. The rivers and seas have been polluted, the water creatures are dying painful deaths, and the Iron Woman has come for revenge. Lucy wants to save the creatures and her town, so she calls on Hogarth and the Iron Man.
The Iron Woman
Animal books for 7 year olds
Babe is an orphaned piglet won at a fair by Farmer Hogget and taken under the wing of Fly the sheepdog. He knows he can’t be a sheepdog. But maybe he could be a sheep-pig. (Yes, The Sheep-Pig is the book the film Babe came from.)
The Sheep-Pig
Jasmine’s mum is a large-animal vet, and when a lonely llama follows Jasmine home she decides he’d make a brilliant guard llama for the newborn lambs. Then a fox turns up. A Llama Called Lightning is another one of our free books.
A Llama Called Lightning
Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve sends Oliver off to find his missing parents with a grumpy albatross, a short-sighted mermaid and a friendly island called Cliff. Lovely and uplifting with some beautiful illustrations too.
Oliver and the Seawigs
More books for 7 year olds
These eight are probably just a starting point, but the full shelf is just below. Every book on it has been hand-picked.
For bedtime, there’s a list of short chapter books for bedtime. And if a book just isn’t working out, I’ve written about whether a child should finish every book they start.
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