Some tried and true, some brand new – these were the chapter books that got check out the most in 2022. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
Bad Kitty Gets a Phone
by Nick Bruel
Kitty has everything any cat could want–a warm bed, plenty of fresh litter, a machine that dispenses food whenever she wants! But Kitty isn’t satisfied. She has her eye on something that will make her the happiest, most grateful cat in town. Something all the other cats have but that her owners refuse to get her! Something she desperately needs! Kitty wants…a cell phone. And she can have one if she does all her chores with zero complaints. But can she handle the responsibility? What do you think?
The School for Good and Evil
by Soman Chainani
Best friends Sophie and Agatha’s destinies seem to reverse as they head to the School for Good and Evil and are swept into the Endless Woods and then dropped in front of the entrances of Evil and Good.
Tales from Deckawoo Drive: Francine Poulet and the Ghost Raccoon
by Kate DiCamillo
Francine, an animal control officer, is never scared– that is until she faces a screaming raccoon that she must contend with to protect the folks on Deckawoo Drive. Is she up to the task?
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
by Kate DiCamillo
After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor.
Spy School: Secret Service
by Stuart Gibbs
Thirteen-year-old Ben Ripley is assigned to protect the president from an assassination attempt in his first solo mission, but he may be in over his head.
The Princess in Black series
by Shannon Hale
Princess Magnolia is the picture of a perfect princess in her fluffy pink dress and sparkly tiara, but when monsters attack her kingdom, she is always ready don her mask, trade her delicate glass slippers for monster-kicking black boots, and become the Princess in Black.
Twelfth
by Janet Key
Twelve-year-old Maren hesitantly enters summer theater camp and finds clues of a mystery about the camp’s founding, linking back to the Lavender Scare in Hollywood.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
by Jeff Kinney
Greg Heffley records his experiences as he navigates middle school and family life trying (and often failing) to fit in. The books, written in a journal format, feature hand-written notes and black and white drawings of Greg’s daily adventures with his family, friends and classmates.
Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid
by Megan McDonald
The shortest kid in the second grade, James Moody, also known as Stink, learns all about the shortest president of the United States, James Madison, when they celebrate Presidents’ Day at school.
The Unwanteds
by Lisa McMann
In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic.
Keeper of the Lost Cities series
by Shannon Messenger
At age twelve, Sophie learns that the remarkable abilities that have always caused her to stand out identify her as an elf, and after being brought to Eternalia to hone her skills, discovers that she has secrets buried in her memory for which some would kill.
Fergus and Zeke series
by Kate Messner
Fergus, the pet mouse in Miss Maxwell’s classroom, stows away in a backpack on a field trip to the museum. He makes a new friend, Zeke, another mouse, who shows Fergus many interesting exhibits, but now he wonders how to get back to school.
Big Nate series
by Franklin Peirce
Unflappable Nate Wright attends middle school with a particular gusto, going in and out of detention. His neverending supply of mischievous stunts normally revolve around achieving more greatness. He fights and makes up with friends regularly and uses sarcasm to great effect.
Max and the Midknights series
by Franklin Peirce
Aspiring knight Max teams up with a band of brave adventurers, the Midknights, on a madcap quest to save a kidnapped relative from a cruel king who is driving all the happiness out of the realm of Byjovia.
Daughter of the Deep
by Rick Riordan
In this story inspired by Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” Ana Dakkar, a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world, makes astounding discoveries about her heritage and puts her leadership skills to the test against deadly enemies from a rival school.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter, a neglected orphan, learns that he is actually a wizard and is invited to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His life changes dramatically as he learns of his fame in the wizarding world for surviving a killing curse placed on him by the dark wizard Voldemort, whose fate is connected with Potter’s.
The Yeti Files: Monsters on the Run
by Kevin Sherry Yeti
Blizz Richards and his gang of cryptids set out to find a friend for Vanessa, the Loch Ness Monster, even though it means traveling back in time to the dangerous age of the Cretaceous looking for plesiosaurs–unfortunately Vanessa proves to be rather timid about meeting other dinosaurs.
Stick Dog Craves Candy
by Tom Watson
Stick Dog and the gang are on their usual hunt for food, but there is something unusual going on. Little humans are dressed up as creepy witches and spooky ghosts, all carrying big orange buckets!
Sinister Summer: Wretched Waterpark
by Kiersten White
While staying with their Aunt Saffronia, the Sinister-Winterbottom siblings visit the Fathoms of Fun waterpark where they find themselves submerged in a mystery when people start disappearing and a suspicious goo bubbles to the surface, among other eerie events.
