The Best Action & Adventure Kids' Books 2026

1. My Life As A Torpedo Test Target (Wally MaDoogle, Bk. 6)

My Life As A Torpedo Test Target (Wally MaDoogle, Bk. 6)

• Author: Bill Myers • ISBN:9780849935381 • Format:Paperback • Publication Date:1994-05-11

2. Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle: My Life as a Human Hockey Puck (Paperback)

Wally McDoogle has stumbled his way into sports stardom. But only Wally could end up playing hockey goalie against the monstrous Mad Dog Miller while being trapped in a chicken suit. Before his misadventures end, Wally finally learns the real dangers of jealousy and envy, and the true value of aspirin.

• Author: Bill Myers • ISBN:9780849936012 • Format:Paperback • Publication Date:1994-11-07

3. Dorothy of Oz (Hardcover)

Enjoy this new Oz story, founded on and continuing the famous Oz stories of L. Frank Baum and written by his great-grandson! There is trouble in Oz, and Dorothy is needed. With Glinda's help, she and Toto return to Oz. Joined by her old friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion, Dorothy sets out on a perilous jounrey to stop the crafty Jester from using the power of the Wicked Witch of the West's Wand to turn the people of Oz into dolls. But that seems to be the least of Dorothy's problems as her travels lead her into a treacherous maze, a cave of very hungry dragons, an evil spell that could destroy the Yellow Brick Road--and the daunting knowledge that it's up to her to stop the Jester's terrible plan. "Dorothy is called back to Oz by Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, because the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion need help. The great-grandson of L. Frank Baum here adds to the Oz canon with a story that is true to the originals. Oz fans will welcome this new adventure."--Booklist With 50 charming illustrations by Elizabeth Miles. Afterword by Peter Glassman.

Dorothy of Oz (Hardcover)

4. Jim Ugly (Hardcover) 9780688108861

ISBN: 9780688108861 ISBN10: 0688108865 Contributors: Fleischman, Sid, Smith, Jos. A.,

Part timber wolf, Jim Ugly is a proud and aloof one-man dog. And that man is Jake's father, an actor in the raffish world of the frontier West. When he suddenly disappears, the boy and the dog are thrown into an uneasy alliance on a wild, helter-skelter journey to the Sierra Nevada mountains and San Francisco. Here is Newbery winner Fleischman at his finest, in a book full of comic surprises and swift adventure.

5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, (Hardcover)

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg's beloved classic and Newbery Medal--winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler! When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because be was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too. The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her--well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, (Hardcover) Author: Atheneum Books for Young Readers ISBN: 9780689205866 Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 1970-11-01 Page Count: 176

6. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett, (Hardcover)

On the day she is born this amazing baby proudly announces she can out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky. Within a few years Sally is off the frontier, where she stuns a hungry grizzly bear, makes a lasso out of six rattlesnakes, and is more than a match for the mighty Mike Fink. And when Sally Ann rescues Davy Crockett from a pair of ferocious eagles, even her hornet's-nest bonnet and skunk perfume don't stop him from proposing marriage.

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett, (Hardcover) Author: HarperCollins ISBN: 9780688140427 Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 1995-09-27 Page Count: 48

7. Commander Toad and the Voyage Home (Paperback)

"A funny space adventure that spoofs Star Wars while providing an easy-to-read story." --Booklist After many long days in the dark of space, the crew of the Star Warts is thinking longingly of home. But when Mr. Hop sets a course for HOME, the spaceship zeroes in on an uncharted planet. The intrepid crew sets out to explore, and Commander Toad stumbles into an extraordinary discovery -- one that gives a new meaning to home. Join these much-loved characters in a toadally new adventure, full of groan-worthy puns and visual jokes. Fans of DK Readers: LEGO Star Wars, Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda, and silliness will toad-ally love Commander Toad!

Commander Toad Commander Toad and the Voyage Home, Book 7, (Paperback) Author: Puffin Books ISBN: 9780698116023 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1998-10-26 Page Count: 64

8. Twenty-One Balloons

Details Coming Soon

A Newbery Medal Winner and timeless classic Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. “William Pene du Bois combines his rich imagination, scientific tastes, and brilliant artistry to tell a story that has no age limit.”—The Horn Book

9. Nine Man Tree

A spellbinding adventure and nostalgic coming-of-age novel from the author of the bestselling classic "A Day No Pigs Would Die". When his father disappears, young Yoolee must protect his home and family from a voracious wild boar stalking the swamplands of their tiny, Depression-era Florida settlement.

From the author of the best-selling classic A Day No Pigs Would Die In Depression-era Florida, twelve-year-old Yoolee's main concern in life is protecting his little sister, Havilah, and his long-suffering mother, Ruth Ann, from the violent rages of his alcoholic father. Then another horror enters their lives when the tiny swampland settlement is stalked by an enormous--and voracious--wild boar. When Yoolee's father disappears on a drunken binge, it's up to Yoolee to protect his family once again. In this spellbinding adventure and compelling coming-of-age novel, Robert Newton Peck continues his tradition of providing fine literature for young adult readers.

10. Busytown Boat Race (Other) 9780689809927

Every young child feels right at home in Busytown with Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Hilda Hippo, and Mr. Frumble. And the gang's all here in the two new adventures, each based on an episode from The Busy World of Richard Scarry "TM", which airs on both Nickleodeon "RM" and Showtime "RM" . Everyone in Busytown is looking forward to the big boat race, especially Huckle and Lowly, who are entering their freshly painted boat. But when Mr. Frumble starts to sink the competition, the two pals have to think fast to stay afloat. ISBN: 9780689809927 ISBN10: 0689809921 Contributors: Scarry, Richard,

Everyone in busytown is looking forward to the big boat race, especially Huckle and Lowly, who are entering their freshly painted boat. But when Mr. Frumble starts to sink the competition, the two pals have to think fast to stay afloat. Based on an episode from "The Busy World of Richard Scarry"", which airs on"Showtime" and Nickleodeon". Full color.