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Topic: Branching Out: Harry Potter

books for fans of harry potterIf you like Harry Potter, try these…

The Harry Potter stories have undeniably charmed millions of readers who enjoy stories sparkling with magic, fantasy and adventure. The award-winning series has sold over 500 million copies worldwide and has been turned into eight hugely successful Hollywood films.

We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of Harry PotterFans of magic and spellbinding adventures will find solace in the exciting worlds of Nevermoor or Skandar and the Unicorn Thief. Readers looking to hop on board to magical lands should try  The Secret of Platform 13 or sail away to the fantasy islands of Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures. Meanwhile, those who enjoy reading about young heroes fighting dark forces and fantastical beasts should try Percy Jackson or The Wizards of Once. If you’re looking for an immersive series set in mysteriously selective schools and colleges, we recommend Amari and the Night Brothers or Crookhaven.

Browse the full list below of books for children looking for what to read next after Harry Potter…

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Chapter book

This is the story of a young boy Wizard and a young girl Warrior who have been taught since birth to hate each other like poison; and the thrilling tale of what happens when their two worlds collide.

Perfect for boys and girls who love fantasy adventure…

Once there was Magic, and the Magic lived in the dark forests. Until the Warriors came…

Xar is a Wizard boy who has no Magic, and will do anything to get it. Wish is a Warrior girl, but she owns a banned Magical Object, and she will do anything to conceal it.

In this whirlwind adventure, Xar and Wish must forget their differences if they’re going to make it to the dungeons at Warrior Fort.

Where something that has been sleeping for hundreds of years is stirring…

Chapter book

Sisters, secrets and spellbinding adventure . . . Discover the bestselling Pinch of Magic adventures from Michelle Harrison. Pre-order A Storm of Sisters now!

The Widdershins sisters, Betty, Fliss and Charlie are trapped, prevented from leaving their home on Crowstone by an ancient family curse. When they inherit three magical objects with the power to change their fate, adventure beckons. But are they being led into even greater danger?

Join the Widdershins sisters and break the family curse in the first Pinch of Magic Adventure, shortlisted for the 2020 British Book Awards. Continue the adventures in A Sprinkle of Sorcery, A Tangle of Spells and A Storm of Sisters.

Chapter book

Winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Award 2016 and the Scottish Children’s Book Award 2016, and the North East Book Award 2015.

When the mysterious Nowhere Emporium arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes stumbles upon it quite by accident. Before long, the ‘shop from nowhere’ — and its owner, Mr Silver — draw Daniel into a breathtaking world of magic and enchantment.

Recruited as Mr Silver’s apprentice, Daniel learns the secrets of the Emporium’s vast labyrinth of passageways and rooms — rooms that contain wonders beyond anything Daniel has ever imagined.

But when Mr Silver disappears, and a shadow from the past threatens everything, the Emporium and all its wonders begin to crumble.

Can Daniel save his home, and his new friends, before the Nowhere Emporium is destroyed forever?

Ross MacKenzie unleashes a riot of imagination, colour and fantasy in this astonishing adventure, perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Cornelia Funke and Neil Gaiman.

Chapter book

It is midnight in Crackledawn – a midnight full of magic. Sea dragons stir in the depths of the ocean, silver whales surface beneath the moon and sand goblins line the shores. Everyone is waiting for the phoenix, the guardian of the kingdom’s magic, to rise up from the forests of Everdark .

But there is no sign of the phoenix tonight. Something else surges up out of Everdark instead: a harpy bent on stealing Crackledawn’s magic.

It is up to an eleven-year-old girl called Smudge and a grumpy monkey called Bartholomew to set sail beyond the legendary Northswirl and stop the harpy before it’s too late.

So, grab your compass and roll down your sail – the first adventure in THE UNMAPPED CHRONICLES is about to begin . . .

Chapter book

Under Platform 13 at King’s Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island . . .

It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before.

But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn’t understand magic and is determined not to be rescued.

The Secret of Platform 13 is an exciting magical adventure from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea, in a special edition illustrated by Beatriz Castro. Discover more of the magical world with Sibeal Pounder’s exciting adventure sequel, Beyond Platform 13, based on characters from Eva’s original.

Chapter book

All aboard for the first journey in the bestselling Train to Impossible Places Adventures, with magic at every stop.

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award and the IBW Book Awards, with dazzling illustrations from Flavia Sorrentino, join Suzy on this magical adventure, where the journey will never, ever take you where you expect it to.

When Suzy hears a strange noise in the middle of the night, she creeps downstairs to find a train roaring through her house. But this is no ordinary train. This is the magical delivery express for The Union of Impossible Places.

Whisked onboard by a troll-boy, Suzy’s world is turned upside down when she’s asked to deliver a cursed package to a fearsome sorceress. And quite suddenly, Suzy realizes the fate of the Impossible Places is in her hands…

Chapter book

Enter the Wundrous world of Morrigan Crow and Nevermoor – the start of a fantastical children’s series. Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks – and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart – an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests – or she’ll have to leave the city and confront her deadly fate once and for all. Perfect for fans of the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials, this series takes readers into an extraordinary world, setting hope and imagination alive.

Chapter book

The first book in a spellbinding children’s fantasy series, with beautiful black-and-white inside illustrations by Sarah Warburton.

Willow Moss, the youngest and least powerful sister in a family of witches, has a magical ability for finding lost things – like keys, or socks, or spectacles. Useful, but not exactly exciting …

Then the most powerful witch in the world of Starfell turns up at Willow’s door and asks for her help. A whole day – last Tuesday to be precise – has gone missing. Completely. And without it the whole universe could unravel.

Now Willow holds the fate of Starfell in her rather unremarkable hands… Can she save the day – by finding the lost one?

Step into Starfell, a world crackling with warmth, wit and magic, perfect for readers aged 8-12.

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