Books Like Harry Potter: 10 Fantasy Series Your Kid Will Actually Finish
Find the best books like Harry Potter for kids. Explore 10 fantasy series your child will love with KidsBookCheck ratings and parent reviews.
The Post-Harry Potter Dilemma
Your kid just finished the final page of the Deathly Hallows. They closed the book with a satisfied sigh—but then came the question that probably brings you here right now: “What should I read next?”
This isn’t a small thing. Harry Potter isn’t just a book series; it’s a childhood landmark. For many kids, it’s the moment they went from reading books to being readers. And when something captures their imagination that completely, finding books like Harry Potter that hit the same emotional note is harder than it looks.
Here’s what we know from years of working with parents and teachers: kids who loved Harry Potter aren’t looking for just any fantasy book. They’re looking for that specific alchemy of wonder, humor, friendship, and stakes. They want to care about characters the way they cared about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They want a world that feels real enough to live in and magical enough to escape into.
The good news? That book exists. Actually, several exist.
At KidsBookCheck, we’ve rated thousands of children’s books using input from kids themselves, parents, and educators. We scored our recommendations across what actually matters: kid engagement, parent confidence, and educational value. We’re not guessing—we’re working with real feedback from real families. So when we say we’ve found books like Harry Potter that kids will actually finish, we mean it.
Let’s dig in.
Why “Books Like Harry Potter” Is Such a Common Search
Before we get to the list, let’s acknowledge something: the quest for books like Harry Potter is real and it’s urgent. A 2024 study found that kids who finish one complex series are significantly more likely to maintain reading habits long-term. But only if the next book hooks them equally. One bad recommendation? That’s sometimes the difference between a kid who reads and a kid who drifts toward screens.
You’re not asking for a book. You’re asking for a lifeline to keep reading alive in your house. That matters.
The 10 Best Books Like Harry Potter
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters: If They Loved the Humor and Mythology
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 66.8/100 (Kid 74 | Parent 56 | Teacher 68)
Percy Jackson is the closest cousin to Harry Potter most kids will find. Like Harry, Percy is a kid who discovers he’s not who he thought—except instead of being a wizard, he’s a demigod. The world-building carries that same sense of hidden magic running parallel to everyday life. The jokes land, the action sequences keep pages turning, and the found-family dynamic (Percy, Annabeth, Grover) mirrors Harry’s bond with Ron and Hermione.
The main difference? Percy Jackson swings harder on humor. Rick Riordan has a gift for making mythology accessible through comedy, which means you’ll catch references that make parents laugh even if kids don’t always get them. The stakes feel slightly lower than Voldemort-level evil, which some kids prefer—less nightmare fuel, more adventure.
Best age fit: 8-12 (though many kids ages 6-7 can manage it with a read-aloud)
Parent verdict: “If your kid likes mythology even a little, this is the gateway drug to a five-book series that actually ends well.”
Find Percy Jackson on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy: If They Want Dragons and Pure Adventure
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 64.9/100 (Kid 76 | Parent 50 | Teacher 65)
Wings of Fire is the dark horse on this list, and kids love it. It follows five dragons who discover they’re hatched to fulfill a prophecy. No humans. No magic schools. Just dragons learning who they are against the backdrop of an ancient war.
This series lives in a slightly different tone than Harry Potter—it’s more visceral, more focused on survival and identity. The writing is cleaner and snappier, which appeals to kids who find Harry Potter’s later books a bit dense. The dragon lore is intricate without being difficult, and the friendship dynamics between the five main characters rivals the Harry/Ron/Hermione trio.
The catch? Some parents are initially skeptical because “it’s about dragons” sounds young. But the best readers often gravitate toward Wings of Fire—the thirteen-book series presents genuine challenges and character growth that keep engagement high.
Best age fit: 7-11 (reluctant older readers often connect powerfully)
Parent verdict: “This is the series that got my non-reader daughter through third grade. She’s now on book eight.”
Find Wings of Fire on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
Keeper of the Lost Cities: If They Love Intricate Worldbuilding
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 70.6/100 (Kid 79 | Parent 63 | Teacher 67)
Keeper of the Lost Cities is what happens when someone writes a love letter to complex fantasy worldbuilding specifically for kids who found Harry Potter’s intricacy not intricate enough. Sophie Foster discovers she’s part of an entirely hidden civilization with multiple species, elemental powers, and magic schools more elaborate than Hogwarts.
The book respects kid intelligence. There are multiple magic systems at play, numerous factions with competing interests, and a mystery that unfolds across the series. Shannon Messenger clearly spent time thinking about how her world functions on a granular level. It appeals to kids who make spreadsheets of Harry Potter theories—which is to say, kids with analytical minds who want rewards for paying close attention.
The difference from Harry Potter? Keeper leans harder into sparkly aesthetics and has a slightly wider age range (it skews toward older middle-grade and early YA). Also, there’s less darkness; the tone is closer to “magical adventure” than “coming-of-age amid danger.”
Best age fit: 9-13 (can work for advanced 8-year-olds)
Parent verdict: “This is what my gifted reader picks first at the library now. The worldbuilding details are genuinely clever.”
Find Keeper of the Lost Cities on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
The Hobbit: If They Want Classic Fantasy with Serious Stakes
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 71.0/100 (Kid 71 | Parent 70 | Teacher 72)
You might be surprised to see The Hobbit here—after all, Tolkien predates Harry Potter by decades. But that’s exactly why it belongs on this list. If your kid loved the worldbuilding scope of Harry Potter and is ready for something that plays in an even grander sandbox, The Hobbit is the bridge text.
Bilbo’s journey has that same “ordinary kid thrust into an extraordinary world” DNA that makes Harry Potter work. The dragon. The mountains. The sense that Middle-earth is a fully realized world with history and languages and depth. What makes The Hobbit different is that it’s meant to feel like a fairy tale—it’s more whimsical in tone, and the adventure is genuinely about the journey, not about dark wizard wars.
Fair warning: The Hobbit is longer and reads differently than modern middle-grade fantasy. Tolkien’s prose is denser. But kids who find Harry Potter’s world-scope limiting often find The Hobbit transcendent.
Best age fit: 10-14 (advanced 9-year-olds often manage it)
Parent verdict: “My kid wasn’t sure about Tolkien until page forty. Then she didn’t put it down. She’s now waiting to start Lord of the Rings.”
Find The Hobbit on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
Matilda: If They Missed Roald Dahl and Love Smart Protagonists
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 76.7/100 (Kid 77 | Parent 77 | Teacher 76)
Matilda feels like the odd one out on a list of fantasy series. It’s not fantasy—it’s magical realism in the hands of a master. Roald Dahl’s greatest superpower was understanding why kids felt powerless and then writing characters who clawed their way to agency.
Matilda Wormwood is every kid who felt too smart for their circumstances. The book respects her intelligence, celebrates her reading habit, and gives her a story where being bookish literally saves the day. The humor is darker and more sophisticated than Harry Potter—Dahl doesn’t soften the edges of the adults around his characters. The writing is tighter, punchier, with a rhythm that feels good to read aloud.
Why include it? Because kids who love Harry Potter often love the reading as much as the plot. They love the escape, the cleverness, the feeling of being part of a secret world. Matilda offers all of that without the fantasy setting.
Best age fit: 7-11 (but genuinely works for older reluctant readers too)
Parent verdict: “If your kid likes smart characters and books that make them laugh out loud, Roald Dahl is non-negotiable.”
Find Matilda on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
A Wrinkle in Time: If They Love Cosmic Adventure and Complex Themes
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 71.5/100 (Kid 70 | Parent 72 | Teacher 73)
A Wrinkle in Time is the OG book for kids who think big. Madeleine L’Engle’s story of Meg Murry traveling through dimensions to save her father combines adventure with genuinely challenging ideas. Love. Identity. Good versus evil. The book doesn’t talk down to kids about these things—it explores them.
The writing is lush and imaginative. The world-hopping has that same sense of entering a hidden universe that makes Harry Potter compelling. But the tone is notably different: it’s more philosophical, more psychologically complex. There’s less humor and more earnestness. Some readers find this transcendent. Others find it slower-paced.
If your kid loved the mystery and higher-concept elements of Harry Potter’s later books, this is gold. If they mostly want broomstick action and funny dialogue, they might need another year or two.
Best age fit: 9-13 (advanced 8-year-olds often thrive; some 7-year-olds need a read-aloud)
Parent verdict: “This book made my kid ask deeper questions about identity and good versus evil. It’s dense but worth it.”
Find A Wrinkle in Time on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
Coraline: If They’re Ready for Something Darker and More Unsettling
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 76.5/100 (Kid 72 | Parent 78 | Teacher 81)
Coraline is a masterclass in knowing your audience. Neil Gaiman wrote this for kids who’d outgrown the cheerful and wanted something with genuine creep factor—without crossing into horror that keeps them up at night. It’s that perfect calibration.
Coraline’s parallel-world premise has echoes of Harry Potter’s hidden magical layer, but where Harry Potter feels welcoming and wonderful, Coraline’s secret world feels increasingly wrong. The book is genuinely unsettling in a way that appeals to smart kids who want to feel like they can handle “grown-up” darkness. The protagonist is resourceful and brave, which gives kids a way to process the scariness.
The key difference? This is a slim, tightly written novel, not an epic series. It’s a palate cleanser, an elegant story that ends satisfyingly. Some kids are hungry for that after a long series.
Best age fit: 9-12 (mature 8-year-olds often respond powerfully; some kids need to wait until 10)
Parent verdict: “My kid thought she outgrew spooky stories. This reminded her why they’re actually important. Genuinely well-written.”
Find Coraline on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
Amari and the Night Brothers: If They Love Diverse Casts and Contemporary Magic
KidsBookCheck Composite Score: 65.8/100 (Kid 70 | Parent 62 | Teacher 64)
Amari and the Night Brothers is the newest book on this list, and it’s here because it does something important: it shows Black kids in magical worlds as the protagonists, unapologetically. Kwame Mbalia has written a book with the adventure-forward pace of Percy Jackson and the magical-world-discovery of Harry Potter, but with contemporary voices and a cast that actually reflects the real world.
The book moves fast. There’s a magical detective agency. There are supernatural crimes to solve. There’s humor that lands. The worldbuilding is fun without demanding your full attention the way Keeper of the Lost Cities does.
Why mention diversity specifically? Because representation matters, and because it’s genuinely another reason this book works: kids of color reading themselves as the hero of an adventure story, not the sidekick. That’s powerful.
Best age fit: 8-12
Parent verdict: “My kid loved this. Said it felt like Percy Jackson for him. That should tell you everything.”
Find Amari and the Night Brothers on Amazon | Read the full KidsBookCheck review
Honorable Mentions: Two More Series Worth Considering
The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) — If your kid is 8+, hasn’t read these yet, and likes Harry Potter, Narnia is essential. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe especially delivers that “step through a portal into another world” magic that never gets old. Fair warning: the prose is older, and some thematic elements feel dated to contemporary readers. But the core adventure and the comfort of return reads are genuine.
The Land of Stories (Chris Colfer) — This six-book series sits at the intersection of Harry Potter, Narnia, and fairy tales. It’s colorful, plot-heavy, and explicitly designed for kids who loved HP’s length and emotional scope. It’s also a solid gateway to his later work. Some educators find it a bit too plot-driven and light on character development, but engagement-wise? Kids finish this series.
The Numbers: How We Rate Books Like Harry Potter
When we’re evaluating books like Harry Potter at KidsBookCheck, we’re not just asking “Is this a good book?” We’re asking:
- Does it hold a kid’s attention? (Kid score)
- Will parents feel confident putting this in their hands? (Parent score)
- Does it serve educational goals around literacy, empathy, and critical thinking? (Teacher score)
Each book on this list scored highly across all three areas. That’s not an accident. The books that hook kids and reassure parents and serve real literacy development are the ones worth your attention.
Quick Comparison: All 8 Series at a Glance
| Series | Best For | KidsBookCheck Score | Age Range | Series Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Jackson | Humor + Mythology | 66.8 | 8-12 | 5 books |
| Wings of Fire | Dragons + Adventure | 64.9 | 7-11 | 13+ books |
| Keeper of the Lost Cities | Intricate Worldbuilding | 70.6 | 9-13 | 9+ books |
| The Hobbit | Classic Fantasy Scope | 71.0 | 10-14 | 1 book |
| Matilda | Smart Protagonists | 76.7 | 7-11 | 1 book |
| A Wrinkle in Time | Cosmic Themes | 71.5 | 9-13 | 1 book |
| Coraline | Sophisticated Creep | 76.5 | 9-12 | 1 book |
| Amari and the Night Brothers | Diverse Adventures | 65.8 | 8-12 | 2+ books |
The Emotional Reality: Why This Question Matters
Before we get to the FAQ, let’s be real for a moment: the search for books like Harry Potter is partly about logistics. Your kid finished the series and you need the next thing. But it’s also emotional.
Harry Potter was your kid’s world for months or maybe years. They lived in that universe. They cared about those characters. They maybe even became Harry in some sense—the part of them that felt like an outsider found a home in his story.
When kids finish a series that big, something else finishes too. They’ve grown. They’ve read their way through a genuinely complex narrative. They’ve learned that a book can mean something to them beyond distraction. And now you’re tasked with finding something that honors that growth while also delivering the same magic.
That’s a high bar. No wonder you’re being careful about the next choice.
Here’s what we’ve learned: it’s not about finding the perfect replica of Harry Potter. There isn’t one. It’s about finding books that respect what your kid learned from Harry Potter and offer something new to grow into. The books on this list do that.
FAQ: Answering Your Real Questions About Books Like Harry Potter
How do I know if my kid is ready for the next series?
Simple test: They finished Harry Potter and asked for the next thing themselves, or they’re re-reading it. When kids finish a book and immediately want more reading, they’re signaling readiness. If you’ve finished reading it to them and they’re asking when the next book comes, you’re good. Start with Percy Jackson or Wings of Fire.
Should I worry if my kid doesn’t like the “next” book immediately?
Not necessarily. It takes 30-50 pages for a new series to feel normal. Percy Jackson’s first book spends a good chunk in the real world before New York gets weird. That slow setup can feel boring to kids used to Hogwarts starting immediately. Encourage three chapters before making a decision.
My kid loved Harry Potter but seems to be losing interest in reading generally. What now?
This is important: the issue may not be the books, it may be the format. Try audiobooks. Or try something categorically different—graphic novels, poetry, magazines. The goal is sustaining the reading habit, not forcing the fantasy genre. (Though we’d try our quiz first—it’s designed to match readers with books across genres that specifically appeal to their specific interests.)
Should I buy the whole series at once, or take it one book at a time?
One at a time. Kids are fickle, and series are investments. If they love book one of Wings of Fire, great—now you know they’ll probably finish the series. But if they bounce off it, you’ve learned something important about what their brain is hungry for.
Is there anything my kid should read between Harry Potter and these recommendations?
Not necessarily, but short books can be great breathers. Coraline or Matilda work perfectly as palate cleansers. Some kids like to spend a month with graphic novels or a standalone novel before diving into the next lengthy series.
What if my kid has already read several of these?
You’re ahead of the game. Try KidsBookCheck’s quiz to discover series or books outside the obvious recommendations. The goal is matching readers with books that specifically appeal to their tastes, not just books that are “like Harry Potter.”
Your Next Step
Finding books like Harry Potter that your kid will actually finish takes intention. It’s not just about grabbing the bestseller or the obvious sequel. It’s about understanding what specifically your child loved about Harry Potter and then matching them with a book that delivers in that specific way.
Not all kids who love Harry Potter are the same reader. The one who wants dragons might bounce off Coraline. The one hungry for mythology won’t care about The Hobbit. The one who loves spooky atmospheres needs something totally different than the one seeking pure adventure.
That’s why KidsBookCheck created a quiz. It takes what you actually know about your kid’s reading taste and uses our database of detailed ratings to surface recommendations you’d actually have made if you had time to think this through. It’s five minutes and it beats random guessing.
Because the next series your kid reads might be the one that keeps reading alive in your house for the next five years. That’s worth getting right.
Related Reading
- How KidsBookCheck Ratings Work
- Best Fantasy Books for Kids
- How to Get Reluctant Readers to Actually Finish Books
