Like magic tree house but at a higher reading level

[macmacmoo]

I have been partner reading the Magic Tree House books with my eight year old. We enjoyed that it covered all sorts of topics but there was the common thread of kids. He went from really struggling to get through them to being able to read them solo with ease. Is there any other book series that covers different topics with a high reading level for us to partner read? 

[alysee]

I just discovered the Secret Adventurers Series. It looks great but for my 5yo it's above her level but could be good for your 8yo. 

 

[kirstenhill]

A couple other series that cover different events in history would be the "I Survived" and the "We Were There" series (this second one has only had a few titles republished by Dover books, but there are older vintage copies available of other books in the series).  "I Survived" is a bit easier reading level than "We Were There".  These both share in common with Magic Treehouse that they feature different historical events (more focused on disasters/battles in the case of "I Survived"). 

If you are looking for a series with the same kids present throughout (but missing the historical fiction aspect), the old A to Z mysteries series is pretty similar in reading level to magic treehouse or maybe just a bit higher.  The Boxcar Children series would be just a step up from Magic Treehouse in terms of difficulty.  Both of those would be the same characters through the series, but more focused on solving different mysteries, not historical fiction content.

[kirstenhill]

Another series to look at might be Childhood of Famous Americans:  https://www.simonandschuster.com/series/Childhood-of-Famous-Americans

There are a ton of these, especially when you consider older titles that aren't in print but are still available used.  This is technically a non-fiction series, but I would call it "lightly fictionalized", as it is covering childhood stories from the lives of people who later became famous (in all sorts of areas - politics, sports, media, business, etc), and there is still dialog.  They read more like a fiction book.  It's definitely a step-up from Magic Treehouse, but might be something like a 3rd-4th grade reading level.

[LauraClark]

We enjoy Time Warp Trio-there are a handful of those. Boxcar Children is another series-probably similar reading level to Magic Tree House. Ranger in Time is good too.

Edited June 16, 2023 by LauraClark

[Malam]

Many of the later Magic Tree House books (Merlin Missions) are at a higher reading level and intended for older readers