We hold book one of every series here, and at least two more after it. A few of them start sadder or scarier than the covers let on, so I’ve said which ones to watch out for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How I chose these book series for 9 year olds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I wanted five that feel nothing like each other. There’s a magic shop, a family of hat makers, a very dry detective, a boat that flips over and a school full of robots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All five sit at age 9 in the app. Each one comes with the book to start on, how many more we have, and anything I’d want to know before handing it over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve left the full running order off this page. It’s on each author’s page, which is linked from the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five book series for 9 year olds<\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1661169102919-195x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>The Nowhere Emporium<\/p>
Ross MacKenzie<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Mystery<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nA magic shop that turns up overnight, and the darkest start of the five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Holmes is running through Glasgow’s Saturday shoppers with Spud Harper and his gang behind him. He dives through the nearest door and finds clocks, mirrors, rusty swords and a stuffed polar bear keeping watch in the corner. Behind the desk sits a small man in a dusty suit, with a battered book that shivers as if something in it wants out. When Daniel comes back the next day he remembers the shop, which nobody is supposed to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three books, and The Elsewhere Emporium<\/a> is the next one. Daniel is an orphan and the book doesn’t soften it. The bullying in the first quarter is real too, so the opening is heavier going than a magic shop sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1672136447425-198x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>The Hatmakers<\/p>
Tamzin Merchant<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Fantasy<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nA cosy one about a family who make magic with their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cordelia Hatmaker is eleven. Her family make hats out of weather, feathers and whatever their ships bring home. One stormy night Lord Witloof hammers on the door to say her father’s ship went onto the rocks and nobody survived. Cordelia refuses to accept it. Lost is not the same as gone, she decides, so she seals a note in a tiny bottle and sends it off on the leg of a Quest Pigeon called Agatha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three books, with The Mapmakers<\/a> next. Hatmaker House has a hearthrug that trips you deliberately and a floorboard that is ticklish. Her father is lost at sea in chapter two and her mother’s death is told early on, so it’s a sad start to a warm book.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWho Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ebookupload-1661254045311-216x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>Who Could That Be at This Hour?<\/p>
Lemony Snicket<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Mystery<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nThe dry one, where not one adult is any use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lemony Snicket is nearly thirteen and saying goodbye to his parents in a tearoom when a woman drops a note in his lap. Climb out of the bathroom window. Green roadster. Five minutes. He goes, because he has already hidden a folding ladder behind the toilet. His new chaperone drives him to Stain’d-by-the-Sea, a town where somebody has drained the sea away, and there is a statue missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the first of the four All the Wrong Questions books and we have all four. When Did You See Her Last?<\/a> picks up immediately after, so these do need reading in order. Nobody gets comforted in them, and some children find that bleak. If they haven’t met the Baudelaires yet, my books like A Series of Unfortunate Events<\/a> list starts there.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSurvivor Diaries: Overboard! by Terry Lynn Johnson<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1674475781534-201x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>Survivor Diaries 1 – Overboard!<\/p>
Terry Lynn Johnson<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nDanger that feels real, told by someone who still makes it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis is eleven and on a whale-watching boat in Washington State, in a bulky red survival suit his mum made him wear. While nearly everyone is crowded on one side watching orcas, a huge wave hits and the boat flips over. He comes up in the water a long way from the life raft with Marina, the captain’s daughter, whose wrist is broken. All they’ve got is a piece of plywood to cling to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four books, and each one is a different disaster with different children, so they can go in any order. Avalanche!<\/a> is twins on a ski trip in Wyoming. Every story is told to a reporter afterwards, which takes the edge off. For a big chunk of this one, though, Travis doesn’t know if his family reached the raft, which is tough for a sensitive reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTom Swift Inventors’ Academy: The Drone Pursuit by Victor Appleton<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ebookupload-1704379283775-202x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>Tom Swift Inventors’ Academy 1 – The Drone Pursuit<\/p>
<\/div>The Nowhere Emporium<\/p>
A magic shop that turns up overnight, and the darkest start of the five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Holmes is running through Glasgow’s Saturday shoppers with Spud Harper and his gang behind him. He dives through the nearest door and finds clocks, mirrors, rusty swords and a stuffed polar bear keeping watch in the corner. Behind the desk sits a small man in a dusty suit, with a battered book that shivers as if something in it wants out. When Daniel comes back the next day he remembers the shop, which nobody is supposed to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three books, and The Elsewhere Emporium<\/a> is the next one. Daniel is an orphan and the book doesn’t soften it. The bullying in the first quarter is real too, so the opening is heavier going than a magic shop sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hatmakers<\/p> A cosy one about a family who make magic with their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cordelia Hatmaker is eleven. Her family make hats out of weather, feathers and whatever their ships bring home. One stormy night Lord Witloof hammers on the door to say her father’s ship went onto the rocks and nobody survived. Cordelia refuses to accept it. Lost is not the same as gone, she decides, so she seals a note in a tiny bottle and sends it off on the leg of a Quest Pigeon called Agatha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three books, with The Mapmakers<\/a> next. Hatmaker House has a hearthrug that trips you deliberately and a floorboard that is ticklish. Her father is lost at sea in chapter two and her mother’s death is told early on, so it’s a sad start to a warm book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who Could That Be at This Hour?<\/p> The dry one, where not one adult is any use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lemony Snicket is nearly thirteen and saying goodbye to his parents in a tearoom when a woman drops a note in his lap. Climb out of the bathroom window. Green roadster. Five minutes. He goes, because he has already hidden a folding ladder behind the toilet. His new chaperone drives him to Stain’d-by-the-Sea, a town where somebody has drained the sea away, and there is a statue missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the first of the four All the Wrong Questions books and we have all four. When Did You See Her Last?<\/a> picks up immediately after, so these do need reading in order. Nobody gets comforted in them, and some children find that bleak. If they haven’t met the Baudelaires yet, my books like A Series of Unfortunate Events<\/a> list starts there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Survivor Diaries 1 – Overboard!<\/p> Danger that feels real, told by someone who still makes it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis is eleven and on a whale-watching boat in Washington State, in a bulky red survival suit his mum made him wear. While nearly everyone is crowded on one side watching orcas, a huge wave hits and the boat flips over. He comes up in the water a long way from the life raft with Marina, the captain’s daughter, whose wrist is broken. All they’ve got is a piece of plywood to cling to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four books, and each one is a different disaster with different children, so they can go in any order. Avalanche!<\/a> is twins on a ski trip in Wyoming. Every story is told to a reporter afterwards, which takes the edge off. For a big chunk of this one, though, Travis doesn’t know if his family reached the raft, which is tough for a sensitive reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom Swift Inventors’ Academy 1 – The Drone Pursuit<\/p>The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>Survivor Diaries: Overboard! by Terry Lynn Johnson<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>Tom Swift Inventors’ Academy: The Drone Pursuit by Victor Appleton<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>