10 Books To Read If You Like Harry Potter

Harry Potter is at its core two-parts hero’s journey, one-part whodunnit. That literary recipe for success is also at work in actor Neil Patrick Harris’s middle-grade debut novel, The Magic Misfits. When orphaned street magician Carter flees from his con-artist uncle he finds himself in a seemingly quaint town which soon becomes overrun with a scheming carney and his no-good Frown Clowns. Harry Potter fans who long for more adventures with young Harry, Ron and Hermione will love the eccentric, ragtag band of friends Carter joins to save the town!

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Craving an escape to another magical school like Hogwarts? Hop a broom to Miss Cackle’s Academy! Penned back in 1974 Jill Murphy’s charming novella The Worst Witch introduced readers to Mildred Hubble, an accident-prone witch in training at Miss Cackle’s Academy. Along with her best friends bookish Maud, prankster Enid, and her skittish cat Tabby– Mildred bumbles her way through the academy while also managing to save it from danger more than once! This feminist seven-book series features strong female friendships and inspired J.K. Rowling to write Harry Potter!

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What’s a Potterhead to do when the inevitable dilemma strikes– what to read after finishing the entire Harry Potter series for the 394th time? (+10 points to your Hogwarts house if you get that reference!) How about the first four Harry Potter books in vibrant full-color illustrated form?! Artist Jim Kay conjures up a magical new reading experience with the illustrated editions of The Sorcerers Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and now The Goblet of Fire! This coffee-table-sized book is an especially brilliant collectible too!

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Epic battles of good vs evil, fantastic beasts capable of human speech, and a seemingly ordinary wardrobe that’s a portal to a most extraordinary and enchanting realm. C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of the most beloved and iconic fantasy novels in the world. Even better? It’s one of eight books in Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series! Readers who love the magic and fantastical wizarding world in Harry Potter will be captivated by the heroic characters and Narnia with all of its extraordinary inhabitants.

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Craving more darkness with your fantasy? Tim Burton meets Harry Potter in Ransom Rigg’s contemporary supernatural fantasy series Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Told through a series of eerie vintage photographs collected by the author, this chilling trilogy follows Jacob, a grief-stricken teen who Twilight Zone-style crosses over to another time– a world inhabited by man-eating monsters and a group of orphaned children born with fantastical powers, or, Peculiarities, fighting for survival. Written for a slightly older audience this haunting page-turner examines what it means to be the other.

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Talking cats, hidden realms, and magic passed down through the generations. Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Harry Potter in Emma Steinkellner’s graphic novel The Okay Witch. When Moth, a plucky witch-loving teen, has an odd encounter on Halloween the unthinkable happens– her mom reveals she and Moth are real witches. Seeking answers to her powers Moth unearths an enchanted diary that sets her on a life-changing adventure. The gorgeous illustrations, fast-paced plot, and real historical details about New England witch trials make this an unforgettable tale of adventure and friendship.

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Ever envied the antiquated Tales of Beedle the Bard Dumbledore left Hermione Granger in his last will and testament? Well, grab your wand, because now you can accio a copy of your own Tales of Beedle the Bard with this whimsically illustrated version of the beloved book. This collectible contains all of the quintessential wizarding world fairytales like “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” and most famously, “The Tale of the Three Brothers” which is told in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 film via silhouette puppets! 

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Fairies, Griffins, and Hobgoblins, oh my! If you loved the exciting Care of Magical Creatures classes in the Harry Potter series you’re in for a treat with Holly Black’s The Spiderwick Chronicles series. This five-volume middle-grade fantasy series follows twin brothers, Jared and Simon Grace as they move into their eccentric great-aunt’s spooky mansion. They find a mysterious book written by their long-dead ancestor Arthur Spiderwick which reveals the unthinkable: magical creatures exist and they’re everywhere. This partially-illustrated series follows the mischief and mayhem of the brothers and the creatures! 

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Molly Knox Ostertag’s all-ages graphic novel The Witch Boy follows shy and sensitive 13-year-old Aster. Born into a supernaturally gifted family, Aster bravely defies his family’s male shapeshifting tradition to become a witch in a world where only women are permitted to do so. Although there’s no Hogwarts castle here, this empowering urban fantasy features friendships as deep and fierce as the ones shared by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. With its diverse cast of characters including non-white and openly-queer characters The Witch Boy reimagines magic as accessible to all readers.

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Is Neville Longbottom your favorite character in the Harry Potter series? Then the next middle-grade fantasy novel you need to read is Hoodoo by Ronald Smith! Set in rural Alabama this spooky story follows 12-year-old Hoodoo Hatcher–a boy born into a family gifted at practicing the African American folk arts of Hoodoo (yes really!)–who can’t cast even simple spells. When a stranger comes to town threatening black magic will Hoodoo muster the magic to save the day? Diverse, thrilling, and a little menacing this spiritually-charged novel is a must-read.

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