I don’t think Amazon’s age-appropriate suggestions are so bad. You could plug in “10” or “11” if you think she is very sophisticated.

Judy Blume is great. Also, the “Half Magic” books, and “Harriet the Spy”.

When I was a 9-year-old girl, I really loved The Chronicles of Narnia and A Series of Unforunate Events. Neil Gaiman has written some great children’s books.

i wouldn’t worry about Judy Blume being outdated. Good literature (regardless of genre) lasts. I started on Louisa may Alcott when I was 9 or 10, and loved it.

Ooh, and The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder was wonderful.

I know I have odd tastes, but I remember loving A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Again, maybe a bit out dated, but I remember liking the Anne of Green Gables series when I was young.

Pynkie Pie by Eleanor Estes is a favortie of mine girls.

The Egypt Game was fantastic when I was that age. I also remember loving the Bunnicula series, “Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal-Snogging”...let’s see…The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is fantastic (it’s a story about a boy being raised in a graveyard).

Can’t go wrong with Harry Potter, either.

At 9 my kids made me read Harry Potter to them. Just sayin’.

I gave my niece a copy of the Grimm’s Fairy tales(the origonal, not Disney sanitized). She loved it.

@Amorphous_Blob I loved the Edward Eager Half Magic books!

Judy Blume, Narnia, Beverley Cleary are all still read as far as I know. How about Little Women? Also, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and the Encyclopedia Brown books.

Junie B. Jones books! They are hysterical! Author:Barbara Parks. The Magic School Bus Series is a good one too. Also the A to Z Mysteries series. I also agree with what others have said about Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary.

I loved the Ramona books personally, and the Little House on the Prairie books immensely.

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper is wonderful and one of my all time favorites. Also seconding the recommendations for the Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie books.

I agree with The Dark is Risng – one of my all-time favorites too.

Thank you for the suggestions! (Keep ‘em coming, please.) I am going to start researching right now.

I started my oldest on the Laura Ingalls Series when she was eight. My younger daughter isn’t into reading or I’d do the same for her. There is also a semi cool series called The Secret Unicorn.

The Laura Ingalls books are great.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
Cats Eye by Andre Norton

I got my daughter a book called “Whats Happening to My Body” when she was around her age. That girl wore that book put! When it came to sex ed in school she was correcting the teacher on anatomy questions.

I also really liked Christina’s Ghost by Betty Ren Wright.

I grew up on The Adventures of Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables.

My wife found a local librarian’s blog that has given us lots of suggestions. Go to www.goodreads.com, and look for Chris Koppenhaver. He has reviewed 300+ books.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
I really loved that book when I was little. Also, Harry Potter! Series of Unfortunate Events! This one called Steal Away Home, which sticks out in my mind for some reason..

Hmm…Roald Dahl, maybe? Matilda might strike a chord with the young lady.

Also, if she likes unicorns, Bruce Coville’s Unicorn Chronicles are excellent. The first book is “Into the Land of the Unicorns”. (Bruce Coville’s other books are also good…Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and Juliet Dove, Queen of Love come to mind.)

The American Girls have a new girl from 1914, if you’d like to go that route.

The Spiderwick Chronicles are popular, too.

She might appreciate the Artemis Fowl series, if she’s read and enjoyed HP, but the series is more pre- and early-teen than 9-year-old.

If you want to get her something that is nonfiction, there are a handful of kid’s cooking books that she might like. American Girl (the same press as the American Girls) had one, but I have no idea if it’s still in print. (I still use mine, and it’s 10+ years old!) There’s also a fairy cook book (Scholastic, I believe) that she might like.

Speaking of fairies, have you considered the Disney Fairies series? They are very popular with girls her age. So are the fairy books by Daisy Meadows.

Hope this helps!

Diary of a Wimpy kid series; my 9 year old daughter loved them!

Have you tried something that was not in the Fiction section? Something that might stimulate the mind while keeping her eyes on the page? Right now I don’t know any off the top of my head, but I’m sure that someone might have a recommendation.

Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Webb, The Trumpet of The Swan, all by E.B. White.

I’m a huge E.B. White fan.

The People Could Fly anthology of African folk tales by Virginia Hamilton

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.H.M. by Robert C. O’Brien

And an rare-ish, 60s title, but a good book about breaking out of one’s shell, The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I actually bought that one again on Amazon for a couple of dollars and reread it this year. Still a very affecting and wise book.

I just had to add those on to the other great titles you all have listed here. Harriet the Spy was a special favourite of mine. I also read books about sharks, hurricanes and other natural disasters, and books about British history.

Some great suggestions already, but remember the classics. A Christmas Carol might be one she would like. Alice in Wonderland can thrill kids from 9 to 99, maybe beyond.

Olive’s Ocean, Flipped,

Oh, here’s a good book called Next To Mexico. I like it! It’s about an 10 year old girl who stands up for what she believes is right at her school, learns how to develop close friendships and doesn’t hide her intelligence.