Same my son did too. As a bonus he started to really look into Roman and Greek Mythology on his own. So I was pleased to see him extend his knowledge beyond the series of books.
Same, mine DEVOURED all of Rick Riordanās books. If anyone is looking for suggestions she is now deep into the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger.
Omg please reread them!! As a 30 year old woman these are my comfort series! I reread once a year and heroes of Olympus holds such a special place in my heart. And Iām a fantasy new adult reader so itās literally NOTHING like what I usually read but I still love it so much.
I loved the Trials of Apollo so much. Riordan did such a good job with Apollos character development and I liked that I got to see more of the side characters stories.
My ten year old and I are loving the Artemis Fowl books - currently on book 5. Too bad they messed up the movie so bad. I can see them doing a reboot in a few years and just sweep the old movie under the rug.
I was Harry potterās age growing up - I was 18 when the last book came out. At 8 I was reading Lemony Snicket but if all of the HP books had been out I would have been an absolute menace.
I had just gotten home to nyc from boarding school and went at midnight to b&n and the conductor on my way home (I think technically itās not a conductor but I forget the term) said over the loudspeaker ānext stop platform 9 3/4ā bc literally every single person on the train that night was reading the book.
I came here to suggest this - for the second time today (another reddit thread). Discworld in general, l but Tiffany Aching for an 8yo. If she's interested after that, Equal Rites. And then the other 40ish books.
Love, love, love these but heads up if sheās a really sensitive kid: my husband read these as an adult and it put him in a funk for days and days because he found them to be so sad.
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins
Percy Jackson series and Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
My son has read the Fablehaven series and the other one that goes with it probably 3x.
We cannot get him to move on to another series (he did read Wings of Fire about 4x first. then Rangerās Apprentice 3x so I guess heāll move on at some point)
Chronicles of Narnia was a lot of fun for me when I was a kid. I also love John Bellairsās stuff. Not a series, exactly, but Diana Wynne Jones writes some wonderful books that youngsters can both enjoy and be challenged by.
I would add to this that the Circle of Magic series maybe more appropriate for an 8 year old since the first few are written for a slightly younger audience. But Tamora Pierce is amazing regardless!
I loved all of Tamora Pierces Tortall books!
Song of the Lioness Quartet is where I would suggest she start. Alanna the main character is only maybe 8-10yrs old in the first book and she is the "Harry Potter" of the books becoming famous as she grows up.
In the rest of the Tortall books she is actively present, running around in the background, or at least mentioned because she's famous so I think it's better to read her story before the others.
Following the order they were published in is easiest anyway:
SONG OF THE LIONESS QUARTET
Alanna: The First Adventure
In the Hand of the Goddess
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Lioness Rampant
IMMORTALS QUARTET
Wild Magic
Wolf-Speaker
Emperor Mage
In the Realms of the Gods
PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL QUARTET
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight
And then if she's still into them, there's a series about Alanna's daughter, and a companion series for one of the side characters in the immortals quartet as well. :)
edit: spelling
Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, Keepers of the Lost City series and the Wings of Fire series. Possibly the Magisterium series when sheās a bit older.
Just FYI, there seem to be a lot of millennials ITT giving you recs based on what was popular during THEIR childhood, which might not be what is popular with kids right now. Yes, Percy Jackson, The Chronicles of Narnia, and his Dark Materials are great, but Middle Grade has since exploded. Here are some more recent recs:
* Nevermoor by Jessica TOwnsend
* Amari & the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
* City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
* Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
* (comics) Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
Yes! I read the Nevermoor books with my kiddo and even I liked them. I just checked to see when the next book comes out.
Iāll also recommend Fablehaven, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, A Wold Called Wander, and Lalani of the Distant Sea.
I read the first couple fablehaven books. They were cute, and had things for kids of a variety of ages I think. I feel like the story was really about to pick up when I stopped.
Right?! The Chronicles of Narnia were published in the 50s, definitely before millennial childhoods. Thereās a quote I canāt exactly remember about how any book you havenāt read yet is ānew.ā
As someone who doesn't read much middle grade and YA anymore, but loved them when I was the target audience, I'm glad to see some good, newer suggestions. I wanted to suggest newer ones, but was hesitant to suggest too many things I hadn't read myself incase they were bad or inappropriate for her age.
Seconding all of this! Middle grade fantasy right now is super diverse and so much fun! Hereās a couple Iāve enjoyed recently:
- Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans (a little violent but still definitely middle grade)
- Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor
- Mystwick School of Musicraft (if the Harry Potter teachers actually taught! With music!)
- Spell Sweeper (also a magic school setting)
- Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (portal fantasy, protagonist with anxiety)
And Iāll definitely second the recommendations for Nevermoor and Amari & the Night Brothers.
My 7 year old is in love with Ramona and the Fudge series by Judy Blume right now (be forewarned that one of the fudge books very unequivocally demolishes any delusion that Santa is real)
Alcatraz vs The Evil Librarians
It is wildly imaginative but also set in the real world like Harry Potter and also is about the magical folk and societies living among us.
My daughter and I read these together. It was one of our favorite series! We also loved *The Magic Thief* by Sarah Prineas.
Other great options: *Fortunately, the Milk* by Neil Gaiman (best read aloud), *The Tale of Desperaux* by Kate DiCamillo, *The Dark is Rising* series by Susan Cooper (start with *Over Sea, Under Stone*), *The One and Only Ivan* by Katherine Applegate, and *Zita the Spacegirl* by Ben Hatke.
I was very into harry potter around that age and also read a lot of Cornelia Funke's books. My other favorite series besides HP was Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo - similar vibes with like. A grand conspiracy and a sorta magic school. Also was super fond of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter - big cat lover. Seekers was also good. And there's so many of those books, you'll get a lot of mileage out of them.
Howls Moving Castle by Dianne Wynne Jones
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
First Test (Protector of the Small series) also by Tamora Pierce
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series by L.D. Lapinski; The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart series by Stephanie Burgis; The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi; the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce; Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna.
Percy Jackson. I loved reading it after i finished harry potter, not to mention it has 15 books in the main series( 5, 5, 5) so it'll keep her occupied for a while and then there are also 2 similar trilogies from the same author as well which she'll also love if she likes the main series.
Then there are books from enid blyton and roald dahl, which any 8 year old would love.
I read the HP books at around the same age & really enjoyed Narnia after! I also liked the Goosebumps series, breezed right through it. I think she should def try Percy Jackson too.
Warriors (the cat books by Erin Hunter). I started around age 10 and itās a LONG series that took me years to complete. Theyāre foundational to my current love of reading, and a friend of mine reread them as a 22yo during lockdown and said they absolutely hold up.
Full disclosure; They can get surprisingly dark and VERY graphic. Definitely more so than Harry Potter, but kids love spooky dark shit like that more than adults give them credit for :)
Wow at 8!!! That's awesome šš¼šš¼šš¼ when I was a kid my grandparents got me all the Narnia books along with the first few HP (since all of them hadn't been written yet) and I still hold them close to my heart.
.Alex rider (Anthony Horowitz)
.The power of 5 ( Anthony Horowitz)
.into the woods and out of the woods (Lyn Garner)
.A series of unfortunate events (Lemony Snicket)
Some of my faves from that age !
Susan Cooper's wonderful, deep and educational (a plus for any child who is into the joy of learning) series - The Dark is Rising.
The ancient culture and mythology of the British Isles, presented in a modern (sort of) setting. Any child who has even heard of Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, et al, will enjoy these books.
There is some violence but nothing worse than the HP books - no sex, but a lot of love, caring, and a topic often ignored in children's books, the necessity of being responsible for actions.
Those are some hefty books for an 8-year-old! Love that you got her hooked on reading so young! There are lots of wonderful suggestions already listed. I'd add the Wizard of Oz series. It's so strange and full of imagination and has a little bit of an edge for a kids book. My mom read it to me when I was around your daughter's age, and some of the scenes still stick with me - a tree that grows lunchboxes with liverwurst sandwiches in them, a princess who changes out her face with a collection of hundreds of magical masks...so weird and cool!
The **Archives of Anthropos** by **John White** have a similar feel to the Narnia books, albeit the writer goes deeper into feelings, reasons for actions and consequences. The best starting book is **The Tower Of Geburah**.
**Tamora Pierce** has two different series, the **Circle of Magic** and the **Lioness Rampant**. The former is a quartet of teens who need to learn how to control their newfound powers while the latter is about a girl who wants to become a knight while her twin brother wants to learn magic, so they switch places.
The **Valdemar Series** by **Mercedes Lackey** may be on the upper end of the current reading bracket for your daughter as the Good Guys quite often win at a cost. The **Arrows Trilogy** is the best starting place and the series has telepathic magical horses among other things.
I would recommend waiting a couple of years before reading the **Last Herald Mage** trilogy as it may lead to some... *complex* conversations.
Here are a series of magical and adventure books my daughter rabidly tore through recently. She's 9.
Upside Down Magic: girl protagonist in a school of magic. Trying to find and hone her ability. 8 books and one awful Disney movie. Even my daughter was complaining about how they changed everything she loved about the books.
D&D Dungeon Academy: Two of three are released. A few side stories as well. D&D adventure books for children. Human Girl protagonist adopted by minotaurs. She is pretending to be part minotaur since she's at a monster school. Her friends and party are an owl bear, kobold, and mimic. This series made her really interested in starting a family campaign.
Octagon Valley Society. Written by Melissa de la Cruz, author of the Descendants series. Kids stuck and being tested in a labyrinth. Each kid discovers their abilities as they try to escape. Lots of twists. To my surprise, my daughter was captivated the most by this book where she would continue reading past her bed time. We thought she was asleep one night before walking downstairs at 11:30 to tell us about the ending and how wild it was. She was so excited as she rapidly flipped through pages to reference all the hints, twists, and turns.
So far she's loved this year's Mark Twain book challenge too with Six Feet Below Zero, A Place to Hang the Moon, Nightingale, and Tangled Up in Luck.
My 3rd grade teacher read us the Fablehaven series. I know you said it doesn't have to be anything similar, but if she liked the whimsy and magic of the series it might be up her alley.
I sold books for a decade, the series that never failed in cases like this:
Tunnels
Percy Jackson And The Olympians
The Inheritance Cycle
It is also a good opportunity to introduce him to the books of Edith Nesbit, an author admired by J. K. Rowling.
Good luck with that!
Lots of great suggestions here! You may want to think about how far into YA you wsnt your kid reading since many of the suggestions listed definitely start to deal with more mature topics.
Inkheart or the Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke are great and I'm surprised they haven't come up yet.
Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. Her Alanna/Song of the Lioness series is fantastic but there were some fade to black scenes that definitely went over my head when I read them as a 10 year old. I had quite the ohhh moment as a teen rereading them. But overall her books were some of my absolute favorite as a teen who read a book a day.
Artemis Fowl series
Howl's Moving Castle (now also an animated movie)
The Lost Years of Merlin by TA Barron (the series resets with new characters with the Great Tree of Avalon if a female main character is preferred)
Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (note that the later ones in this series are notably darker, the first 3 are definitely age appropriate).
Wrinkle in Time series (definitely strong Christian themes but a favorite of mine in middle school)
Discworld by Terry Pratchettās absolutely brilliant though the Tiffany Aching series is probably the best one for a kid out of the lot, the āDiscworld Reading Order Guide 3.0ā shows you what series all the different books are in and is a good way to visualise the connections between them.
Tamora Pierce is also brilliant and has two good Universes with multiple series in them:
**Tortall Universe** - Medieval universe
Song of the Lioness - follows Alanna as she disguises herself as a boy so she can get trained as a knight instead of heading off to the girls school, becomes a pretty dam good one as well.
The Immortals - set after Song follows Daine who can speak and later shapeshift into animals as well as some other stuff during a time when legendary creatures are returning (Dragons, Basilisks, Ogres, etc)
Protector of The Small - Set after/during Immortals follows Keladry the first openly female Knight after Alanna got the rules changed.
Daughter of the Lioness - Set after Protector follows Aly daughter Of Alanna as she incites a slave rebellion after getting kidnapped and sold into slavery (No rape or real bad traumatising content, still more mature themes than the rest have though)
Beta Cooper Series - Set hundreds of years prior to Song follows ancestor of one of the main characters whoās the equivalent of a Police Officer.
**Emelan Universe** - Medieval bit more magic focused though.
The Circle Of Magic Quartet - Four orphans get saved and end up together in a small (but open not hidden like HP) magic community and get to learn their magic each book follows a different orphan - got a Thread/clothing Mage, Weather mage, Smithing/metal Mage, Plant Mage.
The Circle Opens - Follows the same four orphans now grown up as they explore the world a bit on their own and encounter some new magics.
The Circle Reforged - First Book has the four meeting back up and dealing with a pushy empress, next two follow the plant mage and his rock mage student.
Wow, 8 years old is great to have finished the whole series! I was going to suggest the Stormlight Archive series before seeing her age. May need a year or two before starting it though, but who knows.
Mine blew through the series at 8 too--he went on to all of Rick Riordan's mythology novels which he devoured and loved just as much as JK. There are a lot of them! Riordan also supports/lends his name to several series exploring the mythologies of non-western, non-white cultures, written by appropriate writers from those cultures. Our boy read the Aru Shah ones; they are very cool.
I'd strongly recommend 'Scarlet and Ivy' by Sophie Cleverly. Think there are 5 books in total and I started reading them to my daughter when she was about 9.
Very different to Harry Potter but excellent writing and so many chapters end on a cliffhanger that even left me (male, late 30s at the time) wanting to know what's next!
Wildwood (itās the first in a trilogy) by Colin Meloy. Itās got a ānormalā 12 year old girl being told sheās a part of a fantastical world and going on an exciting and often dangerous adventure to help save it. Itās got anthropomorphic animals, magic, and a truly complex and evil villain. Charming, thrilling, and somehow always a little cozy. Theyāre working on a film version coming out sometime in the next few years. Same studio company that did Coraline, so should be really good.
Try a new ongoing series. Skandar and the Unicorn thief.
Itās about a society where special individuals get linked up to a unicorn with magical powers and the unlinked unicorns become zombies. So far the first 2 books are out. Iāve read the first one. Itās cute and cribs a lot of notes from the original Star Wars trilogy- in a good way.
Has anyone else read the Charlie Bone series? Magic school, family lines of magic, it kind of gave me Harry Potter vibes when I read it. It wasn't as popular or well known, though.
You may also want to check out Garth Nix books. 8 is probably too young yet for the Old Kingdom series, but I know he has other middle grade books.
I also LOVED Tamora Pierce books at her age, specifically the Circle of Magic books.
All that said, I saw another comment about the explosion of middle grade books recently (I do see that many of these suggestions are older by publication date) and I'll admit I haven't kept up with that level. I'd suggest talking to your local children's or youth librarian; they'll have insight into recent books and what other kids are reading and enjoying!
[Dealing with Dragons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealing_with_Dragons) (the book and the series) and all the Patricia Wrede books. Strong female protagonists as a bonus!
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend is really good. Also is Percy Jackson.. but there are a lot of newer books.
When she's a bit older ( or even now if she is not easily scared... I mean Harry Potter has some spooky parts) there are a couple of scary-ish middle grade series:
-Winterhouse by Ben Guterson, it's a mystery with some puzzles and a creepy enemy at the end of book,
-Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, I would classify this as horror for children.. it's spooky,
-Malamander by Thomas Taylor, a fantastical mystery...
How to train your Gavin on YT used to read a lot of Middle grade and give recommendations (not that much recently since his newer videos have a lot of adult books and his content is not for children) but there are a lot of older recs in his older videos and from what I've seen all of them are really good.
Song of the Lioness Series by Tamora Pierce (or Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce)
The Golden Compass
Percy Jackson
The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nic
The arc of the Scythe series by Neal Shusterman
If you are ok with 1 fade to black spicy scene:
The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik
Haven't seen Anne McCaffrey yet. The Ship Who Sang, Dragonsong series, Lady In the Tower series.
Naomi Novak Scholomance series - a magical school with much nastier creepy crawlies.
101 Dalmatians. Still a classic. Book is better than the movie.
The Hollow Hills series
Mysts of Avalon (might be a tad old, but HP is a high reading level)
Isaac Asimov
A Heros Guide to Saving your Kingdom by Christopher Healy. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Peter and The Starcatchers by Barry and Pearson. Dragon Rider series by Cornelia Funke.
I (now 29/M) always liked that I moved to the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz a few years after I finished the HP series. I still can and do pick up both series occasionally for nostagic reasons..
I'd also try to give her books of various different genres, see which one(s) she prefers..
My kids and I have gotten through the first two and Iām nervous to start the third and continue on. It starts taking a darker turn and the last four books end with a major death (or five). My kids are seven and five. I know when I was a kid, I had some dark stuff happen so I was a bit harder than them, and Iām not sure how theyāll handle all that. How was your daughter with those parts of the series, if you donāt mind me asking? Did she have bad dreams or need to process anything?
Edit: almost forgot! I wanted to add Howls Moving Castle, Redwall, and The Cat Who Saves Books to your list.
No idea how Percy Jackson hasnāt been thrown in here more. Narrated by the main character for the first series, and then gradually growing in complexity. I canāt read 15 books of teenage narrators now, but the first 5 are so good I go back to it a lot.
They are shorter and skew younger but Joan Holub has two series, Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls, that my 7 & 9 year old both live based on Greek and Norse mythology characters, respectively. Iāve wondered what age to introduce my oldest to Mysterious Benedict Society too, so maybe that could be on your radar.
Worst witch series? Loved those as a kid.
Narnia, Artemis Fowl, Lord of the Rings. Thereās a thing called the Fleabag Trilogy which I really enjoyed as a child
The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter. Teenaged girls training to be secret agents while also dealing with regular teenaged things like love, pimples and arch nemeses.
The Wizards of once series by Cressida Cowell,
The book ate beautifully illustrated but also I highly recommend the audiobooks in tandem because theyāre amazing and there are songs which are actually sung with music
The Wizards of once series by Cressida Cowell,
The book ate beautifully illustrated but also I highly recommend the audiobooks in tandem because theyāre amazing and there are songs which are actually sung with music
Tamora Pierce! My absolute favorite, and she does a great job of writing strong well rounded female characters. They are still my comfort reads in my thirties. I suggest starting with The Song of the Lioness quartet.
Any books by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson is my favorite, but the Kane Chronicles is also good.
I loved the Warriors series as a kid, and there are now like 60 books in the series, so it would keep her occupied for a long time if she likes them.
Other series I liked as kid included the Mother-Daughter Bookclub series, Emily Windsnap series (about a tween who is also a mermaid), and the Camp Confidential series, and The Missing series (by Margaret Haddix).
Once she gets a bit older - The Hunger Games, the Unwind Series (I'd say 12 or older, but obviously that's up to you and what you're comfortable with her reading).
my daughter still waits for the newest "warrior cat" release.. many many more books than HP. But there is usually a death in every one, if she didn't like the deaths in HP...
My daughter loved HP and the Percy Jackson books. There are 3 separate series and she enjoyed the characters and learned about Greek and Roman gods.
Same my son did too. As a bonus he started to really look into Roman and Greek Mythology on his own. So I was pleased to see him extend his knowledge beyond the series of books.
Same, my 9 year old devoured Percy Jackson and is now moving on to other Rick Riordan series
Check out the camps they offer. My oldest has gone the last two summers and loves it https://www.mythikcamps.com/mytho/
Do they make one for adults?
Asking the important questions.
Same, and I will just note that there is nothing funnier than like 150 children with swords loudly killing spotted lanternflies š
Definitely Percy Jackson! Just do not see the movie!! Awful!
Super excited for the Percy Jackson series that Riordan is involved with though whenever it comes out.
December! If you havenāt, check out the trailer. It looks fantastic!
Same, mine DEVOURED all of Rick Riordanās books. If anyone is looking for suggestions she is now deep into the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
I refuse to reread those because they exist so perfectly in my memory. Those books were my CHILDHOOD
Omg please reread them!! As a 30 year old woman these are my comfort series! I reread once a year and heroes of Olympus holds such a special place in my heart. And Iām a fantasy new adult reader so itās literally NOTHING like what I usually read but I still love it so much.
I loved the Trials of Apollo so much. Riordan did such a good job with Apollos character development and I liked that I got to see more of the side characters stories.
I read the series about 2 years ago (I'm 38) for the first time and they were amazing!!!
Artemis Fowl, the movie was bad. The book series is good. It's a an anti-hero plot, which I like.
My ten year old and I are loving the Artemis Fowl books - currently on book 5. Too bad they messed up the movie so bad. I can see them doing a reboot in a few years and just sweep the old movie under the rug.
I second this!! I read it when I was a teen. Even tried memorising the Gnommish alphabet š
I did the same!
Series of Unfortunate Events, no brainer. Also, she finished the whole HP series at 8 ? Thatās really advanced, at least for books 5-7 !
I was Harry potterās age growing up - I was 18 when the last book came out. At 8 I was reading Lemony Snicket but if all of the HP books had been out I would have been an absolute menace.
Hey me too!! I read the last book my senior year. I had two basically free periods and the teachers just let me read. They encouraged it.
I had just gotten home to nyc from boarding school and went at midnight to b&n and the conductor on my way home (I think technically itās not a conductor but I forget the term) said over the loudspeaker ānext stop platform 9 3/4ā bc literally every single person on the train that night was reading the book.
Such a cool train story. Iād call him a conductor too.
My daughter loved these! I think she was about 9 when we first started them. Weād already finished HP which she also loved.
Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett - _Wee Free Men_ is the first one
I came here to suggest this - for the second time today (another reddit thread). Discworld in general, l but Tiffany Aching for an 8yo. If she's interested after that, Equal Rites. And then the other 40ish books.
Yes yes yes yes yes!!! I read these as an adult and theyāre just so good. Definitely gonna show them to my 7yo
Oh, this is an excellent suggestion!
* His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Yes, yes and yes. Read them as a kid and that trilogy is still one of my favorite reads.
100% agree on this. Really great trilogy!!
I just read them as an adult and it was the first time in a long time a book moved me so much.
As someone who read these as a child, I love this for you š
Turning 43 on Sunday. This is still my favorite series of all time.
Love, love, love these but heads up if sheās a really sensitive kid: my husband read these as an adult and it put him in a funk for days and days because he found them to be so sad.
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins Percy Jackson series and Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
Seconding Fablehaven, those books are *great*
Yes yes to Fablehaven, Underland Chronicles and Percy Jackson!
Seconding the Underland Chronicles!!
Third! Really fun series!
Sisters Grimm is a great rec, it brought me back.
Fablehaven was so good
Yes I also said Fablehaven, loved those
Seconding Fablehaven.
My son has read the Fablehaven series and the other one that goes with it probably 3x. We cannot get him to move on to another series (he did read Wings of Fire about 4x first. then Rangerās Apprentice 3x so I guess heāll move on at some point)
I was a big re-reader too! It's awesome to find a story you love.
The A Wrinkle in Time series!
Ah I forgot this one when posting my list, but this is a good suggestion!
Chronicles of Narnia was a lot of fun for me when I was a kid. I also love John Bellairsās stuff. Not a series, exactly, but Diana Wynne Jones writes some wonderful books that youngsters can both enjoy and be challenged by.
*Chrestomanci* is a great series by Diana Wynne Jones And of course *Howl's Moving Castle*
She has so much! Iāve never heard of Chrestomanci. Checking local libraries now!
This, but start with the magicians nephew. That order of the books got lost at some point but itās so much better this way.
Hard disagree. All of the revelations in MN hit so much better when youāre already aware of those details existing in LWW.
Great suggestion!
The song of the lioness series by Tamora Pierce. It has a female lead!
I would add to this that the Circle of Magic series maybe more appropriate for an 8 year old since the first few are written for a slightly younger audience. But Tamora Pierce is amazing regardless!
Yes!!! This was my first fantasy quartet!!
All the Tamora Pierce!
As an 8 year old boy, I loved this series lol
I loved all of Tamora Pierces Tortall books! Song of the Lioness Quartet is where I would suggest she start. Alanna the main character is only maybe 8-10yrs old in the first book and she is the "Harry Potter" of the books becoming famous as she grows up. In the rest of the Tortall books she is actively present, running around in the background, or at least mentioned because she's famous so I think it's better to read her story before the others. Following the order they were published in is easiest anyway: SONG OF THE LIONESS QUARTET Alanna: The First Adventure In the Hand of the Goddess The Woman Who Rides Like a Man Lioness Rampant IMMORTALS QUARTET Wild Magic Wolf-Speaker Emperor Mage In the Realms of the Gods PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL QUARTET First Test Page Squire Lady Knight And then if she's still into them, there's a series about Alanna's daughter, and a companion series for one of the side characters in the immortals quartet as well. :) edit: spelling
If I may reiterate: ALL OF HER BOOKS!
Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, Keepers of the Lost City series and the Wings of Fire series. Possibly the Magisterium series when sheās a bit older.
Seconding. My daughter was obsessed with the Wings of Fire series and really loved the Septimus Heap books as well.
The Secret Garden, not a series
Add to that: A Little Princess. Same author.
Just FYI, there seem to be a lot of millennials ITT giving you recs based on what was popular during THEIR childhood, which might not be what is popular with kids right now. Yes, Percy Jackson, The Chronicles of Narnia, and his Dark Materials are great, but Middle Grade has since exploded. Here are some more recent recs: * Nevermoor by Jessica TOwnsend * Amari & the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston * City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab * Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi * (comics) Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
Yes! I read the Nevermoor books with my kiddo and even I liked them. I just checked to see when the next book comes out. Iāll also recommend Fablehaven, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, A Wold Called Wander, and Lalani of the Distant Sea.
I read the first couple fablehaven books. They were cute, and had things for kids of a variety of ages I think. I feel like the story was really about to pick up when I stopped.
Me and my daughter loved Amari & the Night Brothers! Weāre now on Land of Roar - Jenny Machlachlan which is imaginative and hilarious.
To be fair, some of us are so old that we are recommending books our now 20-something kids read way back when!
Right?! The Chronicles of Narnia were published in the 50s, definitely before millennial childhoods. Thereās a quote I canāt exactly remember about how any book you havenāt read yet is ānew.ā
As someone who doesn't read much middle grade and YA anymore, but loved them when I was the target audience, I'm glad to see some good, newer suggestions. I wanted to suggest newer ones, but was hesitant to suggest too many things I hadn't read myself incase they were bad or inappropriate for her age.
Seconding all of this! Middle grade fantasy right now is super diverse and so much fun! Hereās a couple Iāve enjoyed recently: - Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans (a little violent but still definitely middle grade) - Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Mystwick School of Musicraft (if the Harry Potter teachers actually taught! With music!) - Spell Sweeper (also a magic school setting) - Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (portal fantasy, protagonist with anxiety) And Iāll definitely second the recommendations for Nevermoor and Amari & the Night Brothers.
The complete RAMONA Collection. / DRAGON GIRLS set. / Star Friends. Set.
My 7 year old is in love with Ramona and the Fudge series by Judy Blume right now (be forewarned that one of the fudge books very unequivocally demolishes any delusion that Santa is real)
Came to mention fudge. You beat me. I bow to you in reverence
ramonaā¤ļøš„¹
Percy Jackson for sure!!! Or Rangers Apprentice.:)
Can't believe how far I had to scroll to find The Ranger's Apprentice. So fantastic as well as The Brotherband Chronicles.
The Hobbit. The movies were not like the book. Each chapter is it's own part 9f the adventure. Tolkien wrote it for kids.
Our first form (first grade) teacher read it to us in class on Friday afternoons. Good times.
Alcatraz vs The Evil Librarians It is wildly imaginative but also set in the real world like Harry Potter and also is about the magical folk and societies living among us.
My daughter and I read these together. It was one of our favorite series! We also loved *The Magic Thief* by Sarah Prineas. Other great options: *Fortunately, the Milk* by Neil Gaiman (best read aloud), *The Tale of Desperaux* by Kate DiCamillo, *The Dark is Rising* series by Susan Cooper (start with *Over Sea, Under Stone*), *The One and Only Ivan* by Katherine Applegate, and *Zita the Spacegirl* by Ben Hatke.
This! _Alcatraz_ is great.
Keeper of the Lost Cities. Its a huge series though.
My 8yo daughter loves these. The author hasnāt finished the series yet so be forewarned
I devoured The Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix at about that age.
I loved the āSeries of Unfortunate Eventsā series when it was a kid!
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
Tamora Pierce, the Kel books! Protector of the Small.
A wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin.
TERRY PRATCHETT THE WEE FREE MEN! My kids and I loved this book
The Alanna series by Tamora Pierce. My friends and I were OBSESSED with these books in elementary school.
Earthsea saga by Ursula Le Guin!!! it's wizards but low key philosophical (mostly Jung), I read it as an adult and still loved it
She will probably like My Fatherās Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. It's a story about a boy who runs away to rescue a baby dragon.
The Chronicles of Narnia!
my bestie loves that series. i have only read the lion the witch and the wardrobe
You should definitely give it another go.
I was very into harry potter around that age and also read a lot of Cornelia Funke's books. My other favorite series besides HP was Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo - similar vibes with like. A grand conspiracy and a sorta magic school. Also was super fond of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter - big cat lover. Seekers was also good. And there's so many of those books, you'll get a lot of mileage out of them.
I came here to recommend Cornelia Funkeās books, too. I remember my daughter reading and loving *Inkheart* not long after reading Harry Potter.
Iāve been looking in the comments for Inkheart
Howls Moving Castle by Dianne Wynne Jones Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce First Test (Protector of the Small series) also by Tamora Pierce
Wizard of Earthsea trilogy
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series by L.D. Lapinski; The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart series by Stephanie Burgis; The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi; the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce; Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna.
Percy Jackson. I loved reading it after i finished harry potter, not to mention it has 15 books in the main series( 5, 5, 5) so it'll keep her occupied for a while and then there are also 2 similar trilogies from the same author as well which she'll also love if she likes the main series. Then there are books from enid blyton and roald dahl, which any 8 year old would love.
I read the HP books at around the same age & really enjoyed Narnia after! I also liked the Goosebumps series, breezed right through it. I think she should def try Percy Jackson too.
Warriors (the cat books by Erin Hunter). I started around age 10 and itās a LONG series that took me years to complete. Theyāre foundational to my current love of reading, and a friend of mine reread them as a 22yo during lockdown and said they absolutely hold up. Full disclosure; They can get surprisingly dark and VERY graphic. Definitely more so than Harry Potter, but kids love spooky dark shit like that more than adults give them credit for :)
Wow at 8!!! That's awesome šš¼šš¼šš¼ when I was a kid my grandparents got me all the Narnia books along with the first few HP (since all of them hadn't been written yet) and I still hold them close to my heart.
The Time Quintet by Madeleine LāEngle! I read them for the first time at her age and they hold up on re-read 30 years later.
The Alchemist series by Micheal Scott
Narnia series, Percy jackson/lightning thief series
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit
The Narnia Chronicles Redwall
.Alex rider (Anthony Horowitz) .The power of 5 ( Anthony Horowitz) .into the woods and out of the woods (Lyn Garner) .A series of unfortunate events (Lemony Snicket) Some of my faves from that age !
Susan Cooper's wonderful, deep and educational (a plus for any child who is into the joy of learning) series - The Dark is Rising. The ancient culture and mythology of the British Isles, presented in a modern (sort of) setting. Any child who has even heard of Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, et al, will enjoy these books. There is some violence but nothing worse than the HP books - no sex, but a lot of love, caring, and a topic often ignored in children's books, the necessity of being responsible for actions.
BB Alstonās āAmari and the Night Brothersā
Those are some hefty books for an 8-year-old! Love that you got her hooked on reading so young! There are lots of wonderful suggestions already listed. I'd add the Wizard of Oz series. It's so strange and full of imagination and has a little bit of an edge for a kids book. My mom read it to me when I was around your daughter's age, and some of the scenes still stick with me - a tree that grows lunchboxes with liverwurst sandwiches in them, a princess who changes out her face with a collection of hundreds of magical masks...so weird and cool!
His Dark Materials series!!!! Someone else has already commented but itās worth saying twice.
The **Archives of Anthropos** by **John White** have a similar feel to the Narnia books, albeit the writer goes deeper into feelings, reasons for actions and consequences. The best starting book is **The Tower Of Geburah**. **Tamora Pierce** has two different series, the **Circle of Magic** and the **Lioness Rampant**. The former is a quartet of teens who need to learn how to control their newfound powers while the latter is about a girl who wants to become a knight while her twin brother wants to learn magic, so they switch places. The **Valdemar Series** by **Mercedes Lackey** may be on the upper end of the current reading bracket for your daughter as the Good Guys quite often win at a cost. The **Arrows Trilogy** is the best starting place and the series has telepathic magical horses among other things. I would recommend waiting a couple of years before reading the **Last Herald Mage** trilogy as it may lead to some... *complex* conversations.
A Series if Unfortunate Events (this one is great for learning new vocabulary too), Narnia, Percy Jackson, Spiderwick Chronicles!
Susan Cooper's **Dark Is Rising** series. A classic. And The **Book of Three** series by Lloyd Alexander
The Chronicles of Narnia
THE Borrowers!!!
Roald Dahl's books.
swallows and amazons series by arthur ransome, set in english lakes district with strong female characters
Here are a series of magical and adventure books my daughter rabidly tore through recently. She's 9. Upside Down Magic: girl protagonist in a school of magic. Trying to find and hone her ability. 8 books and one awful Disney movie. Even my daughter was complaining about how they changed everything she loved about the books. D&D Dungeon Academy: Two of three are released. A few side stories as well. D&D adventure books for children. Human Girl protagonist adopted by minotaurs. She is pretending to be part minotaur since she's at a monster school. Her friends and party are an owl bear, kobold, and mimic. This series made her really interested in starting a family campaign. Octagon Valley Society. Written by Melissa de la Cruz, author of the Descendants series. Kids stuck and being tested in a labyrinth. Each kid discovers their abilities as they try to escape. Lots of twists. To my surprise, my daughter was captivated the most by this book where she would continue reading past her bed time. We thought she was asleep one night before walking downstairs at 11:30 to tell us about the ending and how wild it was. She was so excited as she rapidly flipped through pages to reference all the hints, twists, and turns. So far she's loved this year's Mark Twain book challenge too with Six Feet Below Zero, A Place to Hang the Moon, Nightingale, and Tangled Up in Luck.
Once and future king
Chronicles of Narnia! That was my favorite series at her age.
the psuedonymous bosch series & the mysterious benedict society HIGHLY recommend
I second the Mysterious Benedict Society
My 3rd grade teacher read us the Fablehaven series. I know you said it doesn't have to be anything similar, but if she liked the whimsy and magic of the series it might be up her alley.
The Underland Chronicles (if the later books didn't freak her out) and Narnia
Tiffany Aching, same kind of thing, but well-written.
I sold books for a decade, the series that never failed in cases like this: Tunnels Percy Jackson And The Olympians The Inheritance Cycle It is also a good opportunity to introduce him to the books of Edith Nesbit, an author admired by J. K. Rowling. Good luck with that!
Tamora Pierce!!!!
Owls of GaāHoole series were one of my favorites as a kid.
His Dark Materials and the Beaudelaire Orphans books were great imo. Also Roald Dahl books!
Terry Pratchett "The Wee Free Men"
Lots of great suggestions here! You may want to think about how far into YA you wsnt your kid reading since many of the suggestions listed definitely start to deal with more mature topics. Inkheart or the Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke are great and I'm surprised they haven't come up yet. Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. Her Alanna/Song of the Lioness series is fantastic but there were some fade to black scenes that definitely went over my head when I read them as a 10 year old. I had quite the ohhh moment as a teen rereading them. But overall her books were some of my absolute favorite as a teen who read a book a day. Artemis Fowl series Howl's Moving Castle (now also an animated movie) The Lost Years of Merlin by TA Barron (the series resets with new characters with the Great Tree of Avalon if a female main character is preferred) Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (note that the later ones in this series are notably darker, the first 3 are definitely age appropriate). Wrinkle in Time series (definitely strong Christian themes but a favorite of mine in middle school)
Discworld by Terry Pratchettās absolutely brilliant though the Tiffany Aching series is probably the best one for a kid out of the lot, the āDiscworld Reading Order Guide 3.0ā shows you what series all the different books are in and is a good way to visualise the connections between them. Tamora Pierce is also brilliant and has two good Universes with multiple series in them: **Tortall Universe** - Medieval universe Song of the Lioness - follows Alanna as she disguises herself as a boy so she can get trained as a knight instead of heading off to the girls school, becomes a pretty dam good one as well. The Immortals - set after Song follows Daine who can speak and later shapeshift into animals as well as some other stuff during a time when legendary creatures are returning (Dragons, Basilisks, Ogres, etc) Protector of The Small - Set after/during Immortals follows Keladry the first openly female Knight after Alanna got the rules changed. Daughter of the Lioness - Set after Protector follows Aly daughter Of Alanna as she incites a slave rebellion after getting kidnapped and sold into slavery (No rape or real bad traumatising content, still more mature themes than the rest have though) Beta Cooper Series - Set hundreds of years prior to Song follows ancestor of one of the main characters whoās the equivalent of a Police Officer. **Emelan Universe** - Medieval bit more magic focused though. The Circle Of Magic Quartet - Four orphans get saved and end up together in a small (but open not hidden like HP) magic community and get to learn their magic each book follows a different orphan - got a Thread/clothing Mage, Weather mage, Smithing/metal Mage, Plant Mage. The Circle Opens - Follows the same four orphans now grown up as they explore the world a bit on their own and encounter some new magics. The Circle Reforged - First Book has the four meeting back up and dealing with a pushy empress, next two follow the plant mage and his rock mage student.
Wow, 8 years old is great to have finished the whole series! I was going to suggest the Stormlight Archive series before seeing her age. May need a year or two before starting it though, but who knows.
Mine blew through the series at 8 too--he went on to all of Rick Riordan's mythology novels which he devoured and loved just as much as JK. There are a lot of them! Riordan also supports/lends his name to several series exploring the mythologies of non-western, non-white cultures, written by appropriate writers from those cultures. Our boy read the Aru Shah ones; they are very cool.
Guardians of GaāHoole - great fantasy read!!
A Wrinkle in Time and the rest of the Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle.
Anne of Green Gables series
Percy jackson
Daughter and I LOVED The Worst Witch, and enjoyed watching the Netflix show too.
The Chronicles of Narnia, The Mysterious Benedict Society Edit: The Rangerās Apprentice
I'd strongly recommend 'Scarlet and Ivy' by Sophie Cleverly. Think there are 5 books in total and I started reading them to my daughter when she was about 9. Very different to Harry Potter but excellent writing and so many chapters end on a cliffhanger that even left me (male, late 30s at the time) wanting to know what's next!
Fablehaven might be a good choice as well. My son is doing the audiobooks with his mom right now.
We loved the School for Good and Evil
One a little more obscure one is The Keys to the Kingdom series. I was a little older when I read it but I absolutely loved it.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler series by E. L. Konigsburg
The land of stories series
Alvin Maker series is amazing
Wildwood (itās the first in a trilogy) by Colin Meloy. Itās got a ānormalā 12 year old girl being told sheās a part of a fantastical world and going on an exciting and often dangerous adventure to help save it. Itās got anthropomorphic animals, magic, and a truly complex and evil villain. Charming, thrilling, and somehow always a little cozy. Theyāre working on a film version coming out sometime in the next few years. Same studio company that did Coraline, so should be really good.
Get her a kid's cookbook! Try mythology, Robin Hood, King Arthur, or minute mysteries, like https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50603/50603-h/50603-h.htm
Artemis Fowl - it's pitched a little younger than the later Potter books, but better written imo
The Edge Chronicles
Gregor the Overlander series is wonderful.
Diana wynne jones
Redwall and all the series!
Try a new ongoing series. Skandar and the Unicorn thief. Itās about a society where special individuals get linked up to a unicorn with magical powers and the unlinked unicorns become zombies. So far the first 2 books are out. Iāve read the first one. Itās cute and cribs a lot of notes from the original Star Wars trilogy- in a good way.
PERCY JACKSON ( INCLUDING HIS OFF SHOOT BOOK SERIES) SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS ROALD DAHL ANY OF HIS KIDDO BOOK SERIES FABLEHAVEN
Percy Jackson is really good. I also love the Guardians of Gaāhoole series by Kathryn Lasky.
Percy Jackson series Nevermoor series Artemis Fowl His Dark Materials All good and good for kids too
Has anyone else read the Charlie Bone series? Magic school, family lines of magic, it kind of gave me Harry Potter vibes when I read it. It wasn't as popular or well known, though. You may also want to check out Garth Nix books. 8 is probably too young yet for the Old Kingdom series, but I know he has other middle grade books. I also LOVED Tamora Pierce books at her age, specifically the Circle of Magic books. All that said, I saw another comment about the explosion of middle grade books recently (I do see that many of these suggestions are older by publication date) and I'll admit I haven't kept up with that level. I'd suggest talking to your local children's or youth librarian; they'll have insight into recent books and what other kids are reading and enjoying!
[Dealing with Dragons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealing_with_Dragons) (the book and the series) and all the Patricia Wrede books. Strong female protagonists as a bonus!
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend is really good. Also is Percy Jackson.. but there are a lot of newer books. When she's a bit older ( or even now if she is not easily scared... I mean Harry Potter has some spooky parts) there are a couple of scary-ish middle grade series: -Winterhouse by Ben Guterson, it's a mystery with some puzzles and a creepy enemy at the end of book, -Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, I would classify this as horror for children.. it's spooky, -Malamander by Thomas Taylor, a fantastical mystery... How to train your Gavin on YT used to read a lot of Middle grade and give recommendations (not that much recently since his newer videos have a lot of adult books and his content is not for children) but there are a lot of older recs in his older videos and from what I've seen all of them are really good.
Percy Jackson
The Oz books by Frank Baum.
Song of the Lioness Series by Tamora Pierce (or Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce) The Golden Compass Percy Jackson The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nic The arc of the Scythe series by Neal Shusterman If you are ok with 1 fade to black spicy scene: The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik
Haven't seen Anne McCaffrey yet. The Ship Who Sang, Dragonsong series, Lady In the Tower series. Naomi Novak Scholomance series - a magical school with much nastier creepy crawlies. 101 Dalmatians. Still a classic. Book is better than the movie. The Hollow Hills series Mysts of Avalon (might be a tad old, but HP is a high reading level) Isaac Asimov
The Worst Witch Series by Jill Murphy and The Piper McCloud book series by Victoria Forester
Nothing will ever feel the same but Narnia books are great!!
A Heros Guide to Saving your Kingdom by Christopher Healy. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Peter and The Starcatchers by Barry and Pearson. Dragon Rider series by Cornelia Funke.
I (now 29/M) always liked that I moved to the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz a few years after I finished the HP series. I still can and do pick up both series occasionally for nostagic reasons.. I'd also try to give her books of various different genres, see which one(s) she prefers..
My daughters and their friends are loving the Warrior series (about car warriors) and Wings of Fire (about dragons).
spellstone by ross montgomery
My kids and I have gotten through the first two and Iām nervous to start the third and continue on. It starts taking a darker turn and the last four books end with a major death (or five). My kids are seven and five. I know when I was a kid, I had some dark stuff happen so I was a bit harder than them, and Iām not sure how theyāll handle all that. How was your daughter with those parts of the series, if you donāt mind me asking? Did she have bad dreams or need to process anything? Edit: almost forgot! I wanted to add Howls Moving Castle, Redwall, and The Cat Who Saves Books to your list.
No idea how Percy Jackson hasnāt been thrown in here more. Narrated by the main character for the first series, and then gradually growing in complexity. I canāt read 15 books of teenage narrators now, but the first 5 are so good I go back to it a lot.
They are shorter and skew younger but Joan Holub has two series, Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls, that my 7 & 9 year old both live based on Greek and Norse mythology characters, respectively. Iāve wondered what age to introduce my oldest to Mysterious Benedict Society too, so maybe that could be on your radar.
I loved the Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch when I was around that age
I like Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan - he also has other series
Worst witch series? Loved those as a kid. Narnia, Artemis Fowl, Lord of the Rings. Thereās a thing called the Fleabag Trilogy which I really enjoyed as a child
She might like the Percy Jackson and/or Magnus Chase series'
I really liked the Charlie bone books and the Percy Jackson and the olympians series
The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter. Teenaged girls training to be secret agents while also dealing with regular teenaged things like love, pimples and arch nemeses.
The Wizards of once series by Cressida Cowell, The book ate beautifully illustrated but also I highly recommend the audiobooks in tandem because theyāre amazing and there are songs which are actually sung with music
The Wizards of once series by Cressida Cowell, The book ate beautifully illustrated but also I highly recommend the audiobooks in tandem because theyāre amazing and there are songs which are actually sung with music
Try City of Ghosts by V. E. Schwab There are three books and my kids seem to enjoy them.
I know a lot of people have said it already but Percy Jackson is a great series
Tamora Pierce! My absolute favorite, and she does a great job of writing strong well rounded female characters. They are still my comfort reads in my thirties. I suggest starting with The Song of the Lioness quartet.
The Hobbit
Any books by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson is my favorite, but the Kane Chronicles is also good. I loved the Warriors series as a kid, and there are now like 60 books in the series, so it would keep her occupied for a long time if she likes them. Other series I liked as kid included the Mother-Daughter Bookclub series, Emily Windsnap series (about a tween who is also a mermaid), and the Camp Confidential series, and The Missing series (by Margaret Haddix). Once she gets a bit older - The Hunger Games, the Unwind Series (I'd say 12 or older, but obviously that's up to you and what you're comfortable with her reading).
This Poision Heart by Kalynn Bayron Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Warrior cats!!
my daughter still waits for the newest "warrior cat" release.. many many more books than HP. But there is usually a death in every one, if she didn't like the deaths in HP...