Some of our favorite adventure stories for school-age children.
Have An Adventure
Compiled by:
Children's Services Staff
Younger Elementary
(Juvenile Fiction - J Steig)
Castaway on an uninhabited island, Abel, a very civilized mouse, finds his resourcefulness and endurance tested to the limit as he struggles to survive and return to his home.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Birney)
Series: Humphrey adventures: book 5
Humphrey, the classroom hamster, has adventures going to the library, learning about the ocean, and sailing across a pond on a sailboat.
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Mccall)
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.)
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Montijo)
Series: Montijo, Rhode. Gumazing gum girl!
When Mom issues a no-gum rule, Gabby Gomez sneaks a piece of special bubble gum that turns her into a superhero.
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Larry)
Series: Zac Power: book 2
Zac sets out on his first solo mission as a spy for the Government Investigation Bureau, piloting an amphibious submersible in hopes of preventing enemies from accessing a top-secret transmitter 4,000 feet below the ocean's surface.
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Osborne)
Series: Magic tree house series: book 1
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.)
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Egan)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Geronim)
Series: Geronimo Stilton: book 29
When Geronimo Stilton, an adventurous mouse reporter, vacations in Australia, he encounters sharks, poisonous snakes, crocodiles, and ends up lost in the outback.
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Ba)
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.
(Juvenile First Chapter Books - J Flat Pen)
Series: Flat Stanley's worldwide adventures: book 1
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Gardine)
Willie hopes to pay the back taxes on his grandfather's farm with the purse from a dog sled race he enters.
Older Elementary
(Juvenile Fiction - J Kurtz)
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.
(Juvenile Graphic Novels - J Herge)
Classic graphic novel adventure stories of the young reporter Tintin and his dog, Snowy. Look for more Tintin titles.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Colfer)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Larson)
Series: Larson, Kirby. Audacity Jones ; 1.
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Murdock)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Smith)
Captain Meriwether Lewis's dog Seaman describes his experiences as he accompanies his master on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the uncharted western wilderness.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Bradley)
Series: Bradley, F. T. Double vision ; 2.
For his second mission with Pandora, Linc Baker must go deep undercover in Washington, DC, using American spy history to catch a government mole bent on taking out the president. (Second in the Double Vision series.)
(Juvenile Fiction - J Older)
Series: Dactyl Hill Squad; 1
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Doyle)
Series: Worst-case scenario ultimate adventure
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Farmer)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Waldren)
Series: H.I.V.E. : Higher Institute of Villainous Education: book 1
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Vernon)
Series: Hamster Princess; 1
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Pa)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Tarshis)
Series: I survived
During the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, one boy struggles to escape. Can he survive the most devastating disaster of ancient times?
(Juvenile Fiction - J Gidwitz)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J George)
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.)
(Juvenile Fiction - J Gutman)
Series: Genius Files: book 1
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Philbri)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Stewart)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Vanderp)
Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Timberl)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Castle)
Series: Castle, M. E. Clone chronicles ; 1.
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.)
(Juvenile Graphic Novels - J Hale)
In this Old West retelling, Rapunzel uses her hair as a lasso to take on outlaws.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Ja)
Series: Redwall saga: book 1
The peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the evil ratCluny. Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find a legendary sword, which will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Speare)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Dicamil)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Weiner)
Series: Weiner, Ellis. Templeton twins ; 1.
Abigail and John, the Templeton twins, and their dog Cassie, foil a pair of inept kidnappers intent on stealing one of their father's newest inventions.
(Juvenile Classics - J Stevens)
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.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Brown)
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.