Remember when reading was fun?
Remember the dewey decimal system, book fairs and Scholastic catalogs? Remember when the teacher made you bring your book back and forth to school in a plastic bag?
It’s time to get nostalgic about literature. Here are the top 10 children’s book series from the 2000s.
Note: Even though some these books were published before the 2000s, they are still the books that I and many reading this article remember growing up with.
10. Jigsaw Jones
Who didn’t love a good whodunit when they were younger?
While Jigsaw Jones may have been a knock-off of Encyclopedia Brown, the stories about adventures of the titular second-grade detective and his friend, Mila, were still amusing enough for kids.
Jigsaw Jones was a more popular series than people remember. There were a ton of books released in this series — nearly 40, if you count the “Super Special” stories. It’s not as many as Magic Tree House, but you get the idea.
9. Mike Lupica Books
Chances are, if you ever read a sports chapter book as a child, it was written by Mike Lupica.
While he never published a series with a continuous storyline, each of his books had a similar style and tone. They’re close enough to be clustered together for the ninth spot on this list.
Heat and Million-Dollar Throw were two of the titles that came to mind when thinking about old Mike Lupica books. Travel Team was another popular Lupica story about a basketball team comprised of misfit players cut from other teams. I wonder why the latter was never adopted for a Disney Channel Original Movie.
8. The Spiderwick Chronicles
Ahh, The Spiderwick Chronicles. What a weird little series.
The books were about a family who moved into a rickety old mansion where the kids discovered a fantasy world of fairies, goblins and other mythical creatures. In retrospect, this series sort of ripped off The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, but it was just odd enough to set itself apart and grab the eighth spot.
Like other popular children’s book series, The Spiderwick Chronicles received a live action film adaptation starring Freddie Highmore produced by Nickelodeon Movies in 2008.
7. Frog and Toad
There were a lot of easy-to-read children’s books that could have been on this list, like Amelia Bedelia and Mr. Putter and Tabby, but the spot has to go to Frog and Toad.
These humble stories were about the misadventures and friendship of the two title characters. Frog was the more carefree of the duo, while Toad was more uptight and worrisome. Sometimes they’d go on a bike ride, sometimes they’d fly a kite. The books were simple but effective at conveying themes of friendship and kindness.
Here’s a fun fact: In 2003, Frog and Toad was the subject of the Tony-nominated musical, A Year Without Frog and Toad.
6. Captain Underpants
This series needs no introduction. Just look at him. The polar opposite of Frog and Toad, Captain Underpants was the Howard Stern of children’s books: edgy, raunchy and remarkably immature. One of the books was literally titled Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants. Eww.
The most memorable recurring jokes from the Captain Underpants series were when kids in the book used to rearrange the letters on the marquees. They’d change a sign that said “Pick Your Own Roses” to “Pick Our Noses.” Ha-ha. Remember when stuff like this was actually funny? Children’s humor is so overrated.
Fans of Captain Underpants can look forward to an animated movie featuring the voices of Ed Helms and Kevin Hart set to be released at the end of the year.
5. Junie B. Jones
If you were a child in the 2000s and don’t remember reading the lines “My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that’s all,” it’s time to come out from under that rock.
Even though the main character was a younger girl, everyone enjoyed reading about Junie B. and her many issues, so her series claims the fifth spot. The kids in my first grade class were partial to the first book in series, Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus because getting to say “stupid” without getting in trouble was both devilish and entertaining. Again, children’s humor is so overrated.
4. A Series of Unfortunate Events
Who doesn’t remember the black comedy series that followed the Baudelaire orphans as they dealt with their sinister and mysterious guardian, Count Olaf. Besides being notorious for its dark tone and memorable characters, A Series of Unfortunate Events was also known for having a “fake” author, Lemony Snicket, which is the pseudonym of writer Daniel Handler.
Besides the new Netflix Original Series, there’s also a Nickelodeon movie starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf released in 2004. You can catch our take on the Netflix show here.
3. Goosebumps
Before A Series of Unfortunate Events came along, the only popular children’s series that was darker was Goosebumps. While many of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps novels were published in the '90s, they achieved tremendous popularity during the 2000s, enough to grab the third spot on this list. In fact, the Goosebumps series remains the second-best selling book series of all time, behind another popular book series that may or may not be about a certain boy who lived. For kids who loved being frightened and creeped out but whose parents wouldn’t let them watch horror movies, Goosebumps was the real deal.
One of the most memorable novels in the series was Welcome to Camp Nightmare, where a bunch of kids go to a terrifying summer camp where children disappear and never come back. Besides spawning a TV show that aired during the late '90s, Goosebumps also served as the inspiration and namesake for a 2015 horror-comedy film.
2. Magic Tree House
Every kid who grew up during the 2000s has likely read a book from the Magic Tree House series at some point. The time-traveling adventures of Jack and Annie always made for breezy, exciting reads. The sheer popularity and nostalgic value of Magic Tree House was enough to vault the series into the second spot.
One of the dumbest things about Magic Tree House, though, were the “research guide” books that were sold alongside the chapter books. Did anyone actually read those? No kid ever wanted to read a “research guide.” They just wanted a fun story.
It may shock you to know that there are still Magic Tree House books being released regularly. The 54th book in the series, Balto of the Blue Dawn, was released earlier this month. Apparently, Lionsgate is also producing a live-action film based on the series, so fans have that to look forward to as well.
1. Harry Potter
Could anything else be number one? Sure, the other entries on this list are wonderful and nostalgic, but the Harry Potter series has transcended pages. Immediately after the release of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, it became an international cultural phenomenon. J.K. Rowling didn’t just create a series. She created a universe.
Harry Potter was one of the only “children’s” book series to garner that much popularity. I use the term “children’s” loosely, because it was just as popular among adults as kids. Harry Potter was everywhere: games, movies, posters, Halloween costumes. You name it. Barnes and Noble and Borders (Yeah, remember them?) used to have midnight release events. People literally waited in line for hours to get a book.
To this day, Harry Potter remains the bestselling selling book series of all time. It’s firmly cemented in 2000s pop culture, and its fanbase only keeps growing. It is, without a shadow of doubt, the greatest book series of the 2000s.
