The Best Books of 2023 for Upper Elementary!

Stand-out books of 2023 for 8-10 year olds.

Some of my favorite books of 2023 for 8-10 year olds are from literary giants, and one newcomer, Beth Lincoln. Peter Brown, Katherine Applegate, Jennifer Choldenko, Rebecca Stead, and Wendy Mass are five of the premiere children’s authors to grace our time. How lucky are we that all of them wrote books in 2023!

Let’s begin with award-winning Peter Brown. Peter has written the third book in the Wild Robot series, The Wild Robot Protects. If your child hasn’t read the first two books, then PLEASE get them the entire series! The series is about Roz, a robot that finds themselves on a remote wild island. In the third installment, Roz must help the other inhabitants of the island save themselves as dangerous waters begin to surround the island and resources become scarce. I am also excited about the upcoming Dreamworks animated movie that has recently been announced is in the works! 

Our one newcomer, Beth Lincoln, provides us with a gem of a story, The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels. Think The Addams Family in the middle of an Agatha Christie story, told by Agatha as a teenager! It’s quirky. It’s a mystery. It’s wordplay at its finest. And, most of all, it is a story about family, love, and acceptance. 

Katherine Applegate has two books on my list for 2023! The first is the third installment in her “One and Only” series. I hope everyone has already read The One and Only Ivan and The One and Only Bob. They are truly classics. However, it isn’t necessary to read either book before reading The One and Only Ruby. The One and Only Ruby tells us the life story of our favorite baby elephant, Ruby. We learn how she was captured and what happens to her after she leaves Ivan and Bob. 

Katharine Applegate’s second book on the list was a collaboration with Gennifer Choldenko (Al Capone Does My Shirts series.) Dogtown is the first book in a series. I loved this book. It is told from the point of view of Chance, a dog that has been rescued and placed in a shelter. We learn all about the shelter, friendship, how Chance came to be in the shelter, and if he will ever get out of the shelter. This is a heart-warming page-turner that should be added to your child’s “must-read” list.

My last selection for this year is The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. These two award-winning authors tell us the story of a town, their lost library, and the new “little library” that is guarded by a cat. The story is a great mystery with an unexpected, tender ending. There is WAY more to this story than its small stature implies. 

I have provided the links to these books on Amazon. Feel free to read a more in-depth summary of each book there. Also, I encourage you to buy from your local, independent bookseller whenever possible! 

*Please be aware: I am an Amazon Affiliate and will earn a small commission if you purchase using one of the links below.