If You Like Harry Potter . . .

This year is the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter book -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Harry Potter is one of the most requested series in the library.  However, what do you read when you've finished the series?  Here's are some of my favorite Harry Potter read-alikes for teens . . . .

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Eldest of three sisters in a land where it is considered to be a misfortune, Sophie is resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of the greatly feared wizard Howl.

Elemental by Antony John
In a dystopian colony of the United States where everyone is born with powers of the elements, water, wind, earth, and fire, sixteen-year-old Thomas, the first and only child born without an element seems powerless, but is he?

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey
After her family is killed, Spirit White is taken to Oakhurst Academy, a combination orphanage and school for those with magical powers, where she and her new friends investigate when students start mysteriously disappearing.

Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell
During his last year at Watford School of Magicks, Simon Snow, the Chosen One, faces a magic-eating monster wearing his face, a break-up, and a missing nemesis.

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
Fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, find themselves caught up in the deadly struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient book that holds the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.


More Harry Potter Read-Alikes --
The Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst
Convergence by Stan Lee
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
The Novice by Taran Matharu
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins
Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin


Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through August 4, 2017.
Also, visit the library to participate in our Harry Potter activities July 25-31, 2017.

If You Liked Harry Potter . . .

With the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them recently coming out, I have once again been struck with Harry Potter fever.  However, what should you read if you've already gone through all the Harry Potter books.  Here are some of my favorite Harry Potter read-alikes for kids . . . .

Hollow Earth by John Barrowman
Possessing extraordinary powers, including the ability to bring artwork to life, twelve-year-old twins Matt and Emily are sought by villains trying to access the terrors of Hollow Earth, a place where demons and mythological beasts lie trapped for eternity.

Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer
Ten-year-old Frederick, who is surreptitiously watched over by a household elf, is plucked from a London orphanage to be a servant to a wealthy wizard,  and eventually his uncanny abilities lead him to become the wizard's apprentice.

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo
Gifts from Gwyn's grandmother on his ninth birthday open up a whole new world to him, as he discovers he has magical powers that help him heal the breach with his father that has existed ever since his sister's mysterious disappearance four years before.

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones (volumes 1-3)
Adventures of the Chrestomanci, an enchanter with nine lives, whose job is to control the practice of magic in the infinite parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds.

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.


More Great Harry Potter Read-Alikes --
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein
The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler
Half Upon a Time by James Riley
Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson
The Magician's Boy by Susan Cooper
The Magickers by Emily Drake
Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through December 22, 2016.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore . . .

I love The Wizard of Oz -- the fantastical setting, the frightening witch and her minions, the quest to find their way home.  Here are some more books that feature elements from The Wizard of Oz . . .

The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
On his eleventh birthday Will Stanton discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, destined to seek the six magical Signs that will enable the Old Ones to triumph over the evil forces of the Dark.

The Great Good Thing by Rod Townley
Twelve-year-old Princess Sylvie's storybook kingdom really is a storybook, where nothing ever changes, even the character's mad scramble to reach their places whenever the book is opened, until Sylvie discovers she can enter new worlds with the Reader, and find new adventures.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A little girl falls down a rabbit hole and discovers a world of nonsensical and amusing characters.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving humans, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.