26 of the Very Best Adventure Books for Kids

Adventure books for kids are brilliant. We can all remember the first time we got into a really good adventure story – whether we navigated The Hunger Games with Katniss Everdeen, dared to leave the Shire with Bilbo Baggins, or crossed the Great Lake to Hogwarts in a rowboat. Early reading experiences help shape who we become as adults.

The importance of reading for the development of a young mind really can’t be overstated. It expands a child’s vocabulary, boosts their creativity, and gives them a chance to view the world through the eyes of others, which, in turn, builds empathy – a crucial social skill many adults struggle with.

What’s more, in modern times, reading gives children and young adults invaluable time away from their phones and other electronic devices – too much of which can be detrimental to their development and mental health.

Whether you’re looking for a good story to read to the young’uns or something they can pick up and read themselves, the list of adventure books for kids below will give you an excellent place to start. We’ve divided it into age-appropriate sections, so you can find a fitting reading experience (always wise to double-check ahead of purchasing, however!).

ADVENTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

The Magic Key by Roderick Hunt

Excellent for readers aged four to nine, The Magic Key series of short books follows the lives of a group of children as they discover a magic key that transports them to different times, countries, and even worlds.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

When a misbehaving young boy called Max is sent to bed without supper, he finds his bedroom transformed and goes on an adventure with the creatures he finds in a strange land, who call themselves the Wild Things. It’s a fun story for young children, with themes of common moods experienced by kids – frustration, fear, and boredom – topped off with a healthy dose of love.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Perfect for young readers, Michael Rosen’s most famous children’s book tells the story of four siblings, their baby sister, and their dog, who set out on a bear hunt, bravely soldiering on through various scary terrains – until they meet the bear, that is, and run all the way home to hide beneath their duvet.

The BFG by Roald Dahl

One night, while looking out of the window of her orphanage, eight-year-old Sophie witnesses a giant with a trumpet walking down the street. This giant, named the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), lives in a strange land and catches dreams with his instrument. Together, they set out on an adventure involving frobscottle, snozzcumbers, whizzpopping, and the Queen of England.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince in the original French) tells the story of an aviator who crash-lands in the Sahara Desert. There, the pilot meets a golden-haired boy who claims to be a prince from another planet. The boy recounts his travels across different worlds and the strange people he has met along the way. Loved by children and adults alike, The Little Prince is imaginative and moving, with poignant reflections on life and adulthood.

ADVENTURE BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

One of the most well-known adventure books for kids ever written, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is written in simple English, although, due to its age (it was written in 1876), some readers may find it challenging. The book focuses on fun-loving Tom Sawyer as he gets up to mischief in the American South. Many scenes have become classic literary tropes, including haunted houses, caves, pirates, and nighttime graveyards.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Imagine a James Bond villain. Now, shrink that Bond villain down to twelve years old, and you have Artemis Fowl. In a children’s novel described by its author as “Die Hard with fairies”, criminal mastermind Fowl discovers that fairies are real and decides to kidnap one. What follows is a globe-hopping game of cat and mouse that bends the laws of physics.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

When twelve-year-old Aru Shah lights a magic lamp in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, she accidentally releases the Sleeper – a demon whose sole intent is to awaken the God of Destruction. The only way to fix it? To find the protagonists of an ancient Indian poem and travel with them through the Kingdom of Death.

Dragon Mountain by Katie and Kevin Tsang

In Dragon Mountain, Billy Chan’s parents send him to a summer camp in remote China, where he and his friends discover an ancient secret: trapped in the earth beneath the camp are four dragons, imprisoned there for centuries. Together, the children and their new winged allies must stop a dangerous enemy.

The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton, who also wrote the Famous Five series, created this enchanting tale set in a magical wood, home to a tree so tall it reaches the clouds, with houses built into its trunk. Three children who live nearby discover the tree and, to their delight, find that a different world awaits them each time they climb to the top.

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

The first novel in the His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights, is set in a world where a person’s soul exists outside their body in a physical form called a dæmon. The plot follows Lyra, an orphan from a parallel universe, as she and her dæmon unravel a mystery involving a substance called Dust – a mystery that leads them to the North Pole, where armoured bears live. It’s rich, mind-bending stuff.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings novels may be more famous, but they’re not exactly easy reads – particularly the final instalment. The Hobbit, on the other hand, was written as a children’s novel, with simpler prose and a manageable length. A classic fantasy adventure involving wizards, trolls, dragons, and great armies, countless adventure stories today owe their inspiration to The Hobbit.

Holes by Louis Sachar

Teenager Stanley Yelnats’s family is cursed with bad luck, dating back generations. So, when he’s wrongly accused of stealing and sent to a boot camp in the desert, it comes as no surprise. Along with other young offenders, he’s forced to dig holes every day in the baking heat. It isn’t long before Stanley begins to suspect the evil camp wardens are searching for something connected to his family’s curse.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Before it became a beloved Studio Ghibli film, Howl’s Moving Castle began as a novel. The story follows Sophie, a girl transformed by a witch into an old woman. In an attempt to lift the curse, she sets out on an adventure to a castle in the mountains owned by the mysterious and feared wizard, Howl.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Everybody loves an adventure through a dystopian future. In a USA divided into totalitarian districts, Katniss Everdeen, a teenager from District 12, is forced to compete in the Hunger Games – a yearly event in which teenagers from each district battle to the death in a giant artificial forest. To survive, alliances must be made, rules bent, and lives taken. Not since the Brothers Grimm has children’s entertainment been so dark!

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The first novel in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, chronicles the adventures of the four Pevensie children as they discover a magical world hidden inside a wardrobe – a world full of fauns, minotaurs, evil ice witches, Turkish Delight, and the talking lion Aslan. A favourite for generations of young adventurers.

The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis

Question: Is there any clearer sign of impending adventure than a pirate ship? Answer: absolutely not. In this fun, fast-paced novel, schoolgirl Marrill is accidentally transported to the Pirate Stream, a magical waterway that connects all worlds. Together with Fin, a thief from the pirate world of Khaznot Quay, she searches for the one thing that can lead them home again – the Map to Everywhere.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief is the first book in this series, telling the story of Percy, a young boy tasked with travelling across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen Zeus’s lightning bolt. All manner of mythological beasties stand in his way, and time is of the essence. As well as being a fast-paced read, it’s a great way to get young readers interested in the Classics.

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

All her life, Sophie has been told she was orphaned in a shipwreck. However, she’s convinced her mother survived. On the run from the Welfare Agency, which wants to put her in an orphanage, Sophie takes to the rooftops of Paris, where she meets Matteo and his band of tightrope-running, sky-dwelling scallywags. Together, they endeavour to find Sophie’s mother once and for all.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Remember what we said about The Hunger Games being dark? Scratch that. A Series of Unfortunate Events consists of thirteen novels following the three Baudelaire orphans as they try to escape the clutches of the evil, fortune-seeking Count Olaf. Darkly funny, morally ambiguous, and spookily Gothic, the series has a tone unlike any other.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant is a detective. Unlike most detectives, however, he’s a skeleton held together solely by his desire for vengeance against the man who killed him four hundred years ago. After he saves the life of Stephanie Edgley, a young girl with mysterious powers of her own, the pair set out to save the world from an evil sorcerer, encountering a host of weird and wonderful characters along the way.

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

Three siblings – Jared, Simon, and Mallory – discover a mysterious handwritten field guide while exploring their new home, a run-down old mansion. The guide, written by the mansion’s previous owner, reveals a huge secret: another world exists parallel to our own – one filled with magic and danger.

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

If you prefer your adventure stories set in the real world – not ones inhabited by monsters and magic – Swallows and Amazons is just the ticket. Set in 1929 in the Lake District, the book tells the story of a group of children who spend their days sailing dinghies to islands in the lakes, where they play make-believe and have adventures. They divide into two teams – the Swallows and the Amazons – and unite to battle against their grumpy uncle. It’s charming, wholesome stuff, and one of the all-time classic adventure books for kids.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island is one of the most famous adventure stories ever written. While the writing style may feel old-fashioned to modern readers – it was first published in 1883 – with some patience and adult guidance, it’s a hugely rewarding read. Stevenson summarised the book perfectly in a letter to a friend:

Hopefully, there are plenty of books on this list that will make the perfect next adventure story for your kids. If you’d like their adventures to continue off the page too, why not join the Army Cadets? From orienteering and skiing to rafting and parachuting, hundreds of childhood-defining adventures await. All you need to do to get started is العثور على مفرزة.