Books by genre
Top 10 spy books for kids
Spy books appeal to kids who like codes, gadgets and secrets. The best have clever characters rather than only action. Some of the older picks are classics, and some of the newer ones are series starters.
Titles were chosen from award winners, ALSC notable lists and long-running library favorites, then each title and author was checked against Open Library in Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
Harriet the Spy
Louise Fitzhugh · Ages 9-12
Harriet writes honest notes about her neighbors in a notebook, and trouble follows. A classic about the hazards of honesty.
Watch for: Harriet is cruel in places.
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The Search for the Sunken Treasure
Elizabeth Singer Hunt · Ages 6-9
From the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series: a young agent hunts a treasure. Easy chapter-book spy fun.
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Spy School
Stuart Gibbs · Ages 9-12
Ben Ripley is recruited to the CIA's junior school. Funny and quick, with a long series.
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Stormbreaker
Anthony Horowitz · Ages 10-14
A fourteen-year-old is recruited by MI6. First of the Alex Rider series.
Watch for: Action violence.
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Look into My Eyes
Lauren Child · Ages 9-12
Ruby Redfort book 1: a young codebreaker joins a secret agency. From the creator of Charlie and Lola.
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I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Ally Carter · Ages 12-16
Cammie attends a boarding school that is a spy academy. First of the Gallagher Girls.
Watch for: Mild romance.
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One Dead Spy
Nathan Hale · Ages 8-12
Book 1 of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: the Revolutionary War spy as a graphic novel.
Watch for: Hale is hanged.
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George Washington's Spy
Elvira Woodruff · Ages 8-11
A boy in the Revolutionary War gets pulled into spying through a time-travel framing.
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The Real Spy's Guide to Becoming a Spy
Peter Earnest · Ages 10-14
A former CIA officer explains tradecraft with the International Spy Museum. Nonfiction.
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Spies of Mississippi
Rick Bowers · Ages 11-16
The true story of the state agency that spied on civil-rights workers in the 1960s. Nonfiction.
Watch for: Racism.
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