Some of our favorite adventure stories for school-age children.
Have An Adventure
Younger Elementary
Humphrey, the classroom hamster, has adventures going to the library, learning about the ocean, and sailing across a pond on a sailboat.
When Akimbo and his park ranger father unintentionally capture a lion cub near an African game park, Akimbo tries to keep the cub. (Part of the Akimbo series.)
When Mom issues a no-gum rule, Gabby Gomez sneaks a piece of special bubble gum that turns her into a superhero.
Eight-year-old Jack and his younger sister Annie find a magic treehouse, which whisks them back to an ancient time zone where they see live dinosaurs. (First in the Magic Tree House series.)
When Dodsworth sets out for adventure inNew York Cityhe does not expect a crazy duck to stow away in this suitcase and lead him on a merry chase. Look for more Dodsworth titles.
When Geronimo Stilton, an adventurous mouse reporter, vacations in Australia, he encounters sharks, poisonous snakes, crocodiles, and ends up lost in the outback.
With a little courage and a lot of practice, Little Rat overcomes her fear of sailing and has a wonderful adventure. Look for more Little Rat titles.
Hoping to escape the attention brought on by the accident that flattened Stanley, the Lambchop family drives to South Dakota, where they become involved in a wild west adventure at Mt. Rushmore.
Separated from his parents and older brother, twelve-year-old Zac, a secret agent of the Government Investigation Bureau, must rely on his own skills to obtain the formula for Dr. Drastic's secret Solution X.
Older Elementary
Flora the pig ditches the sedentary life on the farm for an adventure in Antarctica, where she escapes the knife and lives her dream of pulling a sled with a team of dogs.
In the late 19th century, when Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king, he is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and forced to mine for diamonds while he plans a daring escape from Little Saltee prison by way of a flying machine of his own invention.
Eleven-year-old Alanna, who aspires to be a knight even though she is a girl, disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page and learns many hard lessons along her path to high adventure.
In 1910, Audacity Jones is an eleven-year-old orphan living a monotonous life at Miss Maisie's School for Wayward Girls, and wondering why nothing exciting ever happens--but when the mysterious Commodore Crutchfield whisks her away to Washington D.C., she finds herself involved in a sinister and dangerous plot against the president of the United States.
Bullied and marginalized because of the hump on his back and his tendency to talk to animals, Boy is engaged as a servant to a shadowy pilgrim who takes him on an expedition across Europe to steal seven religious artifacts from dangerous enemies.
Follows the adventures of a group of neighborhood children who make costumes from cardboard and use their imagination to create adventures with knights, robots, and monsters.
During the Civil War, orphan Magdalys Roca is just trying to survive, but when she receives a letter telling her that her brother Montez is wounded, she is determined to reach him and her ability to communicate telepathically with dinosaurs may help.
As part of a group of young climbers trying to climb Mount Everest, the reader must make decisions that will ensure survival and success in reaching the summit.
While fleeing from Mozambiqueto, Zimbabweto to escape an unwanted marriage, Nhamo, an eleven-year-old Shona girl, struggles to escape drowning and starvation and in so doing comes close to the luminous world of the African spirits.
Swept away to a hidden academy for training budding evil geniuses, Otto, a brilliant orphan, Wing, a sensitive warrior, Laura, a shy computer specialist, and Shelby, an infamous jewel thief, plot to beat the odds and escape the prison known as H.I.V.E.
Never a conventional princess, Harriet becomes an adventurer after learning she is cursed to fall into a deep sleep on her twelfth birthday, but after two years of slaying ogres, cliff-diving, and more with her riding quail, Mumfrey, things go awry at home and she must seek a prince to set things right.
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother. Look for the sequel entitled The River.
During the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, one boy struggles to escape. Can he survive the most devastating disaster of ancient times?
Crossing paths at an inn, thirteenth-century travelers impart the tales of a monastery oblate, a Jewish refugee, and a psychic peasant girl with a loyal greyhound, the three of whom join forces on a chase through France to escape persecution.
An Eskimo girl must survive with the help of a wolf pack on the forbidding North Slope of Alaska. (First in the Julie of the Wolves trilogy.)
On a cross-country vacation with their parents, twins Coke and Pepsi, soon to be thirteen, fend off strange assassins as they try to come to terms with their being part of a top-secret government organization known as The Genius Files.
Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.
After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. Look for more Mysterious Benedict Society titles.
Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters.
In 1871 Wisconsin, thirteen-year-old Georgia sets out to find her sister Agatha, presumed dead when remains are found with the dress she was last seen wearing. Before the end of the year, Gerogia gains fame as a sharpshooter and foiler of counterfeiters.
Twelve-year-old Fisher Bas, a science-loving bully magnet, clones himself, only to discover that his double is infinitely cooler than himself. (First in The Clone Chronicles series.)
In this Old West retelling, Rapunzel uses her hair as a lasso to take on outlaws.
The peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the evil rat Cluny. Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find a legendary sword, which will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.
Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Native Americans teach him their skills.
The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess and devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads them to a pirate's fortune as well as great danger.
Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.