The Only Gift Guide for a 9-Year-Old You’ll Ever Need

The Ollyball is designed to absorb impact so kids can hit and kick it with full force without worrying about breaking windows or causing injuries. Within the ball’s Tyvek exterior is a reinflatable bladder that helps it float slowly through the air even after being utterly whacked.This is the original Ollyball, but thebrand also makes a spookyglow-in-the-dark ball,amegasize globe, and avolleyball.

Puzzles are an easy gift to make personal, because they come in hundreds of designs, from animals to sports. They’re also a fun way to connect as a family. “We do some really big puzzles — 500 to 1,000 pieces — especially when we have a long weekend,” says Kelly Harris Smith, a parent of two tweens and the founder of children’s art space Minni. She recommends Galison puzzles for their high quality.

We first heard about this temporary hair chalk from podcast host and parent Zibby Owens; at the time, it was a favorite of her 12- and 6-year-old daughters. Since then, I have heard from a handful of other parents who recommend it as gift. The crayons are fun and risk free since the colors are vibrant but wash out in the shower.

Harris Smith countsPlus-Plusas one of her personal favorite toys because the possibilities to create both 2-D and 3-D shapes are endless.“My kids love them because they get to build without limits and can easily take them on the go,” she notes, adding that Plus Plus is made in Denmark in a 100 percent wind-generated factory.

Senior editor Winnie Yang just bought one of these colorful clipboards for her 9.5-year-old daughter to bring tosummer camp. The main part of the clipboard opens like a book to hold loose sheets of paper or a notebook, and there’s storage for a handful of pens or pencils at the bottom. Yang’s daughter has hers all set up with supplies for letter writing and drawing while she’s away.

Whether they’re drawing, journaling, or just color-coding their school assignments, this set of pastel dual-tip markers will add some flair to their work.One end has a fine point for precise detailing, and the other has a bold chisel tip for filling in large areas and creating thicker lines.

Wrangler global creative concept director Sean Gormley told me that, for artsy 9-year-olds like his daughter, Olivia, books that teach realistic drawing techniques are a creative gold mine. This one from eeboo shows young artists the basics of animal anatomy with tips and tricks for sketching different species.

Here’s an upgrade to the classic black scratch paper we included in our guide to thebest stocking stuffers. The kit contains four van Gogh–inspired cards with basic outlines to guide you, a scratch tool, and instructions. Once finished, kids can display their unique pre-Fauvist illustrations.

Anya Kamenetz, mother of two and author ofThe Art of Screen Time, says her kids love the gameThrow Throw Burritofor its combination of goofiness and strategy. The fast-paced, card-based game only takes 15 minutes to play and is suitable for two to six players. Toy blogger and reviewer Lori Jepsen ofToysenberryis also a fan. “It’s a fun way to get tweens moving around,” she says, and older brothers and sisters and parents can enjoy it too. “I mean, what’s not to love about throwing burritos at your siblings or parents or spouse?”

School-aged Swifties will appreciate this book of Taylor Swift–themed Mad Libs, especially as part of the activities for their sleepover birthday party.

Yang’s daughter just got this how-to book that teaches kids how to make lanyards, keychains, and bracelets using a variety of stitches such as the box stitch, the barrel stitch, and the butterfly stitch. It comes with eight colors of cord, pony beads, metal clips, key rings, and charms so young crafters can get started right away.

While strolling the massive aisles at theToy Fairthis spring, I was particularly transfixed by this exaggerated but realistic remote-control fly that can climb walls and cling to ceilings thanks to a strong suction mechanism — though you can also switch it to floor mode and use it like a regular remote-control toy. It will definitely appeal 9-year-olds who are obsessed with gross stuff like bugs, disease, and bodily functions.

Kids this age have big emotions that can be tricky to regulate. Natalie Williams, director of education at the Miami Children’s Museum, says activities like painting can help relax and redirect their emotional energy. “Art, water, and paint bring a sense of relaxation and allow you to open up.” The meditative and virtually mess-free Buddha Board sets up in under a minute: all you have to do is fill the reservoir with water, dip in the bamboo paintbrush, and create whatever comes to mind on the painting board. After a few seconds, the picture gently fades away, so your young artist can start all over again.

Maya Smart, a mom and author ofReading for Our Lives,says this dice game combines rapid number recognition with “silly competitiveness” to make learning fun: “For 9-year-olds, numerous variations on the game can build in meaningful math practice without the boredom of worksheets.” To start the game, each player grabs a set of ten dice and everyone rolls their whole set at once. The objective is for all of your dice to eventually land on the same number. Kids will have to quickly identify the number they want to keep rolling and try to be the first player to get a matched set of ten.

Yang recently bought this “levers, linkages, and structures” kit as well as abridge-building kitfrom the same brand as birthday gifts for her daughter’s friends. The kit is a wonderful entry point to learning about physics and includes instructions on how to build a seesaw, a catapult, a wheelbarrow, a parking gate, a crane, and a swing.

Gormley’s daughter enjoys using her Lego builds to set the stage for complex narratives. “She uses LEGO figures, and sometimes Barbies, for imaginative world-building with lots of commentary and conversation, taking on the accents and demeanors of different characters,” he says. This set of six Minifigures blind-box packs would make a fantastic gift for one big-time Lego fan. It’s also a nice idea for party favors.

Cohen says the graphic novels in his classroom library are always the most popular. And while the best graphic novels for 9-year-olds will depend on their individual reading level, he universally recommends the newly adaptedBabysitters Clubgraphic novels andInvesti Gators, aNew York Times-bestselling series about a pair of crime fighting sewer gators, as they get the most traffic with his students.

When Williams’s son was approaching 9 years old, she says he loved to pull out their family’s African drums and instruments during their annual Kwanzaa celebration. Outside of the holidays, Williams says that music exploration will “never go out of style”; this beginner set of bongos can introduce a unique-sounding instrument that kids can freestyle on as they improve their playing skills.

In the same vein as the LEGO sets above, this 825-piece building set yields a jumbo, pose-able Eevee that willPokémonfans will love. It’s designed for kids around 9 years old, but if your child is ready to level up to a more challenging build, the brand also makes more intricatemotorizedPokémon designs that have over 1,000 pieces.

As more and more universities addpickleballto their official lineups the sport has become popular with school-aged kids too. This net can be set up in a backyard, on a driveway, or in a playroom and includes two balls and two racquets. There’s also a more expensiveLED editionthat comes with a light-up net, paddles, and balls.

While ride-on toys may come off as babyish to most 9-year-olds, thisEV go-cartis sleeker and much faster. It can go up to 11 mph, making it a thrilling and enviable gift. It runs on a 36-volt rechargeable battery and has grippy front wheels but slick back wheels, making it easy to drift. And should it be shared among siblings or friends, parents can lock in slower speeds for younger kids. Just don’t forget thehelmet.

By age 9, children can read fiction and nonfiction and often begin to read independently: “They have a better grasp of grammar, contain higher vocabulary, and can formulate longer sentences,” says Sachs. The Kids Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof and lets kids carry a whole library in their backpacks — even though what you’re giving them just feels like a fun toy. The kids’ version also has extra features like a parent dashboard that lets you track reading progress and add books to your child’s library. It comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, which includes access to thousands of titles.

“This is such a great beginner’s guitar. It’s beautifully made, and if your kid is into music, it’s the real deal,” says Maria Dueñas Jacobs, founder of Super Smalls and a mom of three, including 9-year-old twins. Jacobs loves watching her daughters learn to play songs and, more recently, write their own.