Q: I want to keep my kids’ reading momentum going after Harry Potter. Any tips?
A: Your children have finished all the Harry Potter books. Possibly they’ve read them several times. They loved them; you’d like to translate that enthusiasm into a love of reading. What to do now?
It’s a tough question, because the Harry Potter books are a unique combination of several genres: fantasy, mystery, adventure, and horror, with an orphaned hero, a British inflection, and a boarding-school setting. No other books cover all of those bases. The trick is to find out what your children liked best about Harry. Then find other books that match that particular aspect. Here are a few to check out at your local library, in several categories.
Fantasy Series with Kids Learning Magic
The Abhorsen Trilogy, by Garth Nix
Age: 12+
Rating: 4 Stars
Starting with the book Sabriel, a girl whose father has trained her to be a wizard must rescue him from the Old Kingdom, where the dead don’t stay dead.
Immortals Series, by Tamora Pierce
Ages: 9-12
Starting with Wild Magic, a young girl born with magic powers may be the salvation of her kingdom.
The Wizard Series, by Diane Duane
Age: 9+
Rating: 3 Stars
Beginning with So You Want to Be a Wizard, Nita and Kit learn the art of sorcery while battling evil in several dimensions. Four books are in the series.
Single Titles about Kids Learning Magic
Matilda, by Roald Dahl
Age: 6+
Rating: 4 Stars
A young girl with awful parents discovers she has telekinetic powers.
Wizard’s Hall, by Jane Yolen
Ages: 7-10
The idea (boy goes off to wizard-training academy and fights evil) is similar to the Harry Potter story line, but the book is much lighter in tone.
Other Fantasy Series
Abarat Series, by Clive Barker
Book 1: Age: 9 Book 2: Age: 10+
Ratings: 4 stars
Starting with Abarat, Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life is forever changed.
