Good Books for Catholic 8 to 9 year olds 

The Ordinary Princess is the perfect princess story to teach ordinary girls that they can still be princesses. Her royal highness Princess Amethyst, or Amy as she prefers to be called, leaps from the pages, brown haired, freckled, and determined to go play in the woods rather than settle down to sewing tapestries. Amy learns about hard work, perseverance, simple pleasures and even finds true love with a prince as unusual as she is. The ordinary princess turns out to be an extraordinary person. Every little girl should read this book!

Prince Martin Wins His Sword is the first in an exciting adventure series that follows Prince Martin as he learns virtues, slays dragons, and protects the innocent. Read my full review here! We’ve read the first 6 books in this series and all are wonderful.

Freddy the Detective is a funny mystery featuring Freddy the Pig, the hero of a whole series of once popular and sadly forgotten children books. Freddy is inspired by Sherlock Holmes to attempt solving crimes, but finds the justice process more complex than he anticipated. This book introduces children to the concepts of justice, trials, and even jurisprudence. A wonderful read aloud, it is also possible for an 8 to 10 year old to read on their own. If you love Freddy, the literate pig, read more about him in Freddy Plays Football.

The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, by the wonderful Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, is the story of funny, spunky, unnaturally. strong Pippi and her very normal friends Tommy and Anneka. Pippi is an orphan who lives alone and does just as she pleases, which is an interesting idea to a child, but behind the fun and adventures, Lindgren is careful to show how Pippi misses her parents and struggles to live a normal life without them. Their are also great themes of friendship, loyalty, generosity, cheerfulness, and kindness in these books.

A lesser known but in my opinion even more enjoyable series by Lindgren is The Children of Noisy Village. Nine year old Lisa will captivate your child with her stories of life in her tiny Swedish village. A great introduction to the country of Sweden and exposure to Swedish customs, and overall just a fun read. There are two further books about Noisy Village: Happy Times in Noisy Village and Christmas in Noisy Village .

Sixty Saints for Girls is the Catholic saint version of princess tales for little girls. Joan Windham does not strive for historical accuracy, but rather to share legends and the essence of sainthood, which is serving God through heroic virtue. Girls will be inspired by these stories of female saints throughout the ages.

Sixty Saints for Boys is the boy equivalent of Windham’s book for girls. Again, talk to your children about how these stories are not meant to be taken as historically accurate in every detail, but rather as inspiring legends based on the facts of the saints holy lives.

Catechism of the Seven Sacraments is a great option for boys who are a bit resistant to sitting down and reading heavy theology! My son loves this comic book style version of the Catechism. This book is jam-packed full of gems of theology such as the Four Cups, Divine Mercy, and so much more! If you have a child who loves this type of Catholic comic, check out my list of Catholic comic books and graphic novels.

An Extraordinary Friend: The Adventures of Jamie and Bella is the first in a series of exciting adventure stories written by a Catholic priest. They are fun to read, yet offer a Catholic perspective on every day events. Each book has thought-provoking questions at the end for your child to think about or discuss with a parent.

Loyola Kids Book of Heroes: Stories of Catholic Heroes and Saints throughout History is a wonderful book by Amy Welborn that will inspire your children with stories about modern saints and blesseds. For even more saints stories, check out its companion book Loyola Kids Book of Saints.

Sid Fleischman’s The Whipping Boy was clearly inspired by Mark Twain’s The Prince and Pauper. It is a hilarious story of traded identities, unlikely friendship, and loyalty.

McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm: Three Tall Tales offers more hilarity from Sid Fleischman. McBroom and his large family find happiness in farm life on one miraculously fertile acre. Fanciful and fun, the cheerfulness and teamwork make these tall tales worthwhile reading.

Saint Brendan And The Voyage Before Columbus is a short book with the interesting tale of Saint Brendan, who legend says voyaged to America before Columbus. The moral is that all adventures can bring us closer to God.

Did you know that Ian Fleming of James Bond fame wrote one children’s book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car? This fanciful adventure story about a car that can talk, fly, and sail and its mission to stop a gang of robbers is quite different than the storyline of the popular old movie with the same title, but I enjoyed the book more! This is a classic adventure of good versus evil, justice being achieved, and friendship.

The Betsy-Tacy Treasury: The First Four Betsy-Tacy Books are charming stories about the friendship and adventures of three little girls. These books follow Betsy, Tacy, and Tib from age 5 up through adulthood, so I would only recommend these first four books for 8 to 9 year olds.

A Lion to Guard Us is War for Independence (Revolutionary War) era historical fiction about three children venturing across the Atlantic Ocean in search of their father. Many good themes about perseverance, courage, and responsibility can be gleaned.

The Secret Valley is not just an interesting historical fiction story about the California gold rush. More importantly, it is a story about greed versus need, and wishes coming true in unexpected ways.

Lion in the Box by the wonderful Marguerite De Angeli, is a Christmas story about a poor family struggling to make ends meet. A good reminder for children that some people live in poverty, but still a happy ending thanks to an unexpected gift.

Another thought provoking book by Marguerite de Angeli, The Door in the Wall tells the story of Robin, a boy in the fourteenth century who loses the use of his legs. A monk rescues the boy and teaches him that life can still be meaningful for a cripple. This gem has so many good lessons about patience, courage, compassion, and hard work.

Almost everything by Marguerite de Angeli is worth reading, but I will limit my list to one more of her works. Skippack School tells about the life of a German immigrant boy starting school in America. As always with de Angeli, you get lovely illustrations and many good themes about hard work, patience, perseverance, and kindness.

The Family from One End Street is a collection of stories about the seven children of a large family living in small town America in the 1930’s. The family is very poor, but the lesson that money does not determine happiness shines forth in these funny, touching stories of large family life.

A Life of Our Lord for Children is a wonderful book by Marigold Hunt which will invite your child to meditate on the life of Christ. This book offers explanations of confusing parts of the Gospels, and is written in a friendly, conversational style.

Lost in Peter’s Tomb is the first in a series of books by Catholic author Dianne Ahern that feature Sister Philomena, both nun and special investigator for the pope. Although I don’t love Ahern’s use of the present tense in her books, she does offer a wealth of information about Rome, the pope, Assisi, Siena, and many other Catholic tidbits that your child will not learn or retain as easily elsewhere. So, I consider these fun little mysteries worthwhile reading.

Beverly Cleary’s books have delighted children for a few generations now. There are a lot of titles, but Henry and Ribsy is one of my favorites because it is told from the dog’s perspective. Any animal lover is sure to love reading the touching story of Ribsy’s scrapes and delights. I do not recommend investing in all of Cleary’s books since I find her characters do not consistently show growth in virtue, but this book is worth reading.

“B” Is for Betsy is the first in a series of books written by Carolyn Haywood in the 1940’s but still relatable and enjoyable today. Children will connect with Betsy’s struggles and victories in starting school, making friends, and growing up. The children in these books show kindness, compassion, and friendship.

Carolyn Haywood also wrote a series featuring a boy, Penny, so nicknamed because his hair is red as a penny. Here’s a Penny is the first in this series about the adventures and struggles of this adopted boy. Again, you get children who show kindness and true friendship in these sweet stories.

Alice Dagleish wrote two wonderful books about the nature of courage, one featuring a boy and one a girl. The Courage of Sarah Noble is the story of little Sarah’s journey through the forest with her father to find a new home, and her gradual discovery that courage is not a lack of fear, but rather bravery in the midst of fear.

Boys will particularly identify with Jonathan in Dagleish’s The Bears on Hemlock Mountain as he sets out alone across the mountain to fetch a pot from his aunts house. He shows courage and perseverance on his trek and proves that there are indeed bears on hemlock mountain.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle understands children because she likes them! She is the grandma-figure extraordinaire whose house is children’s heaven, and always has sage advice for overwhelmed parents. Tucked in these humorous tales are morals children will glean: don’t be a picky eater, listen to your parents, clean up your room, and so on.

The Happy Hollisters is the first in a long series of mysteries featuring the Hollister family. Each book features the large Hollister family who exemplify cheerfulness and teamwork as they help others by solving mysteries. I strongly believe mysteries are important for children to read because they instill a strong thirst for justice and interest in problem solving. Check out my full review of this series here!

The Boxcar Children Books 1-4 are fun, easy to read mysteries about four siblings, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Bennie. The later books in the series fall off greatly in quality, but the original books by Gertrude Warner from the 1940s are enjoyable classic children’s stories of a simpler life in the first half of the twentieth century before computers and cell phones. There are good lessons about responsibility, perseverance, resourcefulness, and kindness. Prepare to be amazed at the ingenuity of four children making a home in an old boxcar. Journey with the Aldens to Surprise Island for a unique tropical vacation and find a castaway. These were my very favorite books at this age!

The Bobbsey Twins In and Out and its sequels are fun mystery stories featuring two sets of twins. They provide a picture of middle class life in the first half of the twentieth century, complete with African American servants, so a gentle discussion about that subject would be appropriate before handing this over for your children to enjoy.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins is an American classic about Mr. Popper, a housepainter, and the escapades of his penguins. Funny and touching both, this is a book about dreams coming true, showing both the good and bad consequences.