Secondhand Chapter Book (Age 8-12) Bargain Book Box SP4020

Secondhand Chapter Book (Age 8-12) Bargain Book Box SP4020

Two Percy Jacksons, two Darren Shans, two Dork Diaries, two Middle Schools, Roald Dahl, Walliams, Morpurgo and Horowitz: a box of the series that nine-to-twelve-year-olds actually ask for by name. Twenty-one books. 

1. Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli and Snake Hill — James Patterson & Chris Tebbetts — Rafe goes to summer camp and finds it’s run like a prison. Cartoons every page, and the Wimpy Kid reader’s natural next step.
2. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator — Roald Dahl — The elevator goes into orbit, Grandma Georgina takes too much Wonka-Vite and ends up minus two, and the Vermicious Knids attack. Wilder than the first book.
3. The Witches — Roald Dahl — A boy and his grandmother at a seaside hotel, a convention of witches, and a plan to turn every child in England into a mouse. The boy doesn’t get turned back. Dahl’s bravest ending.
4. Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian — Rick Riordan — Kronos marches on Manhattan, the gods are busy elsewhere, and the prophecy about Percy’s sixteenth birthday comes due. The series finale, and the biggest battle in it.
5. The Saga of Darren Shan: Vampire Mountain — Darren Shan — Darren and Mr Crepsley trek to the vampire council through snow and wolves. Book four, where the world opens up.
6. The Saga of Darren Shan: The Vampire Prince — Darren Shan — Darren fails his trials and must escape the mountain, then return to expose a traitor. Book six, and the end of the first big arc.
7. The Falcon’s Malteser — Anthony Horowitz — Thirteen-year-old Nick Diamond and his hopeless private-eye brother are handed a box of Maltesers worth millions. Horowitz’s spoof of The Maltese Falcon, and the funniest thing he’s written.
8. Ratburger — David Walliams — Zoe’s only friend is a rat, and a man called Burt turns up with a burger van and a plan. Walliams’ darkest and, for many, his funniest.
9. The Serpent’s Shadow — Rick Riordan — Carter and Sadie Kane’s last stand against Apophis, with the whole Egyptian pantheon in play. Kane Chronicles book three.
10. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters — Rick Riordan — The tree guarding Camp Half-Blood is poisoned, the cure is the Golden Fleece, and Percy’s new half-brother is a Cyclops. Book two, faster than the first.
11. Shadow — Michael Morpurgo — An Afghan boy, a British Army sniffer dog that walks into his village, and a journey that ends in a detention centre in England. Morpurgo on a modern war.
12. Quidditch Through the Ages — J.K. Rowling — The Hogwarts library copy, complete with Harry and Ron’s annotations and a history of the Golden Snitch. For a Potter reader this is world-building and jokes in one.
13. The BFG — Roald Dahl — Sophie snatched by the only giant that doesn’t eat children, and a plan involving the Queen.
14. Warriors: The New Prophecy — Starlight — Erin Hunter — The Clans reach their new home by the lake and start fighting over it. Book four of the second arc; Warriors fans will know exactly where it sits.
15. The Naughtiest Girl in the School — Enid Blyton — Elizabeth is sent to boarding school and sets out to be expelled. The first book, where she’s at her most horrible and most likeable.
16. An Elephant in the Garden — Michael Morpurgo — Dresden, 1945: a zookeeper’s family flees the firebombing with an elephant. Based on a true story, and Morpurgo’s kindest war book.
17. The Valley of Adventure — Enid Blyton — The children stow away on a plane and land in a hidden valley with wartime treasure and two very bad men. Blyton’s best adventure plot.
18. Nature Stories — Enid Blyton — Thirty short stories about hedgehogs, robins and the garden. For reading aloud a bit at a time.
19. Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! — James Patterson & Chris Tebbetts — Rafe starts at an art school in the city and immediately gets into trouble. Book two.
20. Dork Diaries 3½: How to Dork Your Diary — Rachel Renée Russell — Nikki’s guide to keeping a diary, with fill-in pages. A half-book for the fan who’s read the rest.
21. Dork Diaries: TV Star — Rachel Renée Russell — Nikki’s band lands a reality TV show and MacKenzie sabotages it. Book seven.