Hook Your Young Reader on 9 Fun New Series This Summer

Good Dog, McTavish, by Meg Rosoff
Betty’s family has always been a bit chaotic, but when her mother takes a break from looking after them all to practice her yoga, the household falls apart. Her father and two older siblings aren’t used to doing any of the chores, so the laundry piles up, supper isn’t cooked, and everyone’s late for school. Adding a rescue dog to the mix might seem like a bad idea, but Betty is determined to bring McTavish into their home. He is no ordinary dog, and he sets about training his new family to look after him, and themselves, properly. It’s delightful fun for younger middle grade readers (8-9 years old), and might even inspire them to pick up a bit more after themselves! The fun continues in McTavish Goes Wild, coming next year.

Dragons in a Bag, by Zetta Elliott
Here’s a great new urban fantasy series for kids on the younger side of middle grade. When Jaxon’s mom needs to go to court to keep them being evicted from their Brooklyn apartment, she leaves him with an old woman he’s never met before. She happens to be a witch who needs a helper with her magical work. Today’s job is to deliver a clutch of baby dragons to a magical world where they can thrive. They can’t be let out of the bag, or they’ll imprint on humans, and they can’t eat anything sweet, or they’ll grow. Needless to say, things don’t go smoothly. Jaxon, the witch, and the dragons end up back in time during the age of dinosaurs by mistake, and that’s just the first problem! It’s a warm, wild adventure that will delight young dragon lovers. Look for the next book, The Dragon Thief, this October.

Rise of the Dragons, by Angie Sage
Once dragons and the humans who bonded with them were a force for good. But then one faction of dragons and riders, the Raptors, turned evil, and their world became a place where dragons were feared. Now the Raptors are seeking a new hunting ground—our own modern world. In the dragon home world, two brave kids and their dragons are fighting back against the Raptors, and in our world, where dragons are a myth, a girl who still believes in them is about to be caught up in a violent struggle when the way between the worlds opens once again…This series will be written by different authors in turn; book 2, The Lost Lands, by Jessica Khoury, will be out in the spring of 2020. As a bonus, there’s a fun card game tied to the series included in each book.

Cogheart, by Peter Bunzel
Here’s a fun Victorian adventure steampunk series, which pits two brave kids and a very helpful mechanical fox against murderous thugs. Lily’s the daughter of an inventor, killed in an airship crash, and Robert’s the son of a clockmaker. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have been friends. But when the two very creepy bad guys begin to hunt for Lily, fate and the fox bring the two together. And when a daring aviatrix takes them aboard her zeppelin, a wild chase through the sky ensues. As the danger gets more intense, their path leads to the heart of the mystery—Lily’s father’s greatest invention, the Cogheart… The second book in the series, Moonlocket, comes out in August, 2019.

The North Star, by Kat Shepherd
The Gemini Detective Agency (twins Zack and Evie Mamuya and their friend Vishal Desai) finally get a case worthy of their talents when a priceless diamond necklace is stolen at a gala fundraiser at the home of a wealthy classmate, Sophie. The necklace, an heirloom of Sophie’s family, was to be auctioned off to support Sophie’s passion, helping the gibbons at the local zoo. The Gemini Detectives tag along with the twins’ reporter mother to the crime scene, and joined by Sophie, they soon start to find clues that suggest there’s more to the case than meets the eyes of the police. Any kid who loves young detectives cracking the case will enjoy this lots! The second book in the series, The Cat’s Paw, comes out in early December, 2019.

Ruff Vs Fluff, by Spencer Quinn
Queenie the cat and Arthur the dog live with twins Bro and Harmony and their mom in an inn in Vermont. When a guest is found murdered out in the snow, the bumbling local sheriff arrests their mom’s cousin with no real evidence. The twins (mostly Harmony) take time from ice hockey practice to search for clues and start tying the murder back to the town’s history during Prohibition, but in the end it’s the arrival of the real bad guy that makes the case crack. The animals, though they narrate the story, play only a peripheral role in the plot, but still young fans of furry friends will find the antagonism between cat (smart and beautiful) and dog (bumbling but well meaning) entertaining. The violence is a bit graphic (another man dies as well as the murder victim), but nothing extreme. Queenie and Arthur’s next adventure, Paws vs Claws, will be out this September.

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez
The newest series from Rick Riordan Presents introduces Sal Vidon, new kid at school and a masterful young magician, whose sleight-of-hand is complimented by his ability to twist the fabric of the universe. This is what allows him to plant a raw chicken in another student’s locker, which in turn attracts the attention of Gabi Real, editor of the school newspaper, who’s always looking for a good story. And from there it’s a wild ride of interdimensional shenanigans that is funny and heartfelt as all get out, as Sal and Gabi frantically rush to solve the problem of having maybe broken the universe. Look for Sal and Gabi fix the Universe in March of 2020.

The Strangers, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Margaret Peterson Haddix is the queen of fantastical middle grade series, and her fans will be thrilled to begin another twisty journey. Three ordinary kids find that almost everything they knew about their family was a lie when three kids living in a different state, with the very same names and birthdays, are kidnapped. And then their mother leaves on a mysterious work trip, leaving them with a virtual stranger. Chase, the oldest and the protector, Emma, the math whiz, and Finn, the cute little one, find clues left behind by their mother that lead them to coded messages, hidden rooms, and an astonishing discovery (of a science fiction sort) that upends their world. The kids are appealing characters, the mystery is intriguing, and the twist when they find out where their mother has gone is one that will leave young readers eagerly awaiting book two, The Deceivers, coming in April of 2020.

The Revenge of Magic, by James Riley
James Riley is well-known to many middle grade fantasy fans as the author of the Stories Thieves and Half Upon a Time books. His new series is darker, though still lots of fun. The year Fort was born, ancient books of magic, clutched in the skeletal hands of ancient humans riding dragon-like beasts, were found…and Fort’s life went on as normal. Thirteen years later, monsters emerge from the ground at the National Mall in Washington D.C., and drag Fort’s father underground. Now he must deal with a new normal of ancient evil barely kept at bay. When he’s taken by the government to a special training school where books of magic are taught, he thinks that maybe he can master the magic, and get revenge. It’s not that easy. Fort has a lot to learn, and there are dark secrets being kept from him. The monsters are waiting…and they are very powerful. Fortunately, there’s not too long to wait for The Last Dragon, out in October 2019.