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If You Like Harry Potter....
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Magical books, creatures, and transportation.
Magic school, young wizards, group quests, and even big weird buildings like number twelve Grimmauld Place.

The books below share many of these qualities with the Harry Potter novels.
Ask library staff for help in locating these and other wonderful books!

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Alexander, Lloyd - The Book of Three. (The Chronicles of Prydain, #1)
Taran, the assistant pig-keeper, longs to be a hero. He begins his journey to heroism with a strange assortment of companions on a dangerous mission to save his beloved homeland, Prydain. (Juv Fic SF  Alexander)

Avi - The Book Without Words: a Fable of Medieval Magic.
Thorston, an alchemist who has spent his life trying to decipher the secret to immortality contained in the Book Without Words, is on the brink of realizing his dream when he drops dead, leaving Odo, a talking raven, and Sybil, a servant who was about to be sacrificed to Thorston's plan, to reap the rewards of his work. (Juv Fic SF  Avi)

Barron, T. A. - The Lost Years of Merlin. (The Lost Years of Merlin, #1)
A young boy who has no identity nor memory of his past washes ashore on the coast of Wales and finds his true name after a series of fantastic adventures. (Juv Fic SF  Barron)

Bell, Hilari - The Wizard Test.
Since wizards are considered to be disloyal deceivers who believe in nothing, 14 year-old Dayven is devastated when he learns he has wizard powers until he undergoes wizard training and discovers a new way of looking at the world that will change his values, friendships, and future. (Juv Fic SF  Bell)

Bellairs, John - The House with a Clock in Its Walls.
A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday. (Juv Fic M  Bellairs)

Chetwin, Grace - Gom on Windy Mountain
Gom, the son of a poor woodcutter and his wife, grows up with his father after his mother leaves home and his siblings go to stay with townsfolk and discovers he has unusual abilities which bring him trouble, yet lead him to envision a different sort of life for himself. (Juv Fic SF  Chetwin)

Chima, Cinda Williams - The Warrior Heir. (The Heir series, #1)
After learning about his magical ancestry and his own warrior powers, sixteen-year-old Jack embarks on a training program to fight enemy wizards. (Juv Fic SF  Chima)

Cooper, Susan - The Boggart.
Emily returns home from a visit to a castle in Scotland that her family has just inherited, only to find that she has accidentally brought home with her a boggart, a mysterious and invisible spirit with a fondness for practical jokes. (Juv Fic SF  Cooper)

Cooper, Susan - Over Sea, Under Stone. (The Dark is Rising, #1)
Three children on a holiday in Cornwall find an ancient manuscript which sends them on a dangerous quest for a grail that would reveal the true story of King Arthur. (Juv Fic SF  Cooper)

Coville, Bruce - Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
When Jeremy stumbles into Mr. Elives' Magic Shop, he's forced to choose between Chinese rings, the Skull of Truth and a dragon's egg. (Juv Fic SF  Coville)

Dahl, Roald - Matilda .
Matilda uses her unusual mental powers to rid her school of the evil, child-hating headmistress. (Juv Fic  Dahl)

Dale, Anna - Whispering to Witches.
On his way to spend Christmas at his mother's house in Canterbury, Joe meets a young witch named Twiggy and becomes part of a mystery involving a missing page from an ancient book of magic. (Juv Fic SF  Dale)

Delaney, Joseph - Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice, #1)
Young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, starts work as an apprentice for the village spook, whose job is to protect ordinary folk from "ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties." (YA Fic M  Delaney)

Downer, Ann - Hatching Magic
When a thirteenth-century wizard confronts twenty-first century Boston while seeking his pet dragon, he is followed by a rival wizard and a very unhappy demon. (Juv Fic SF  Downer)

Drake, Emily - The Magickers. (The Magickers, #1)
11-year-old Jason is spared a boring summer at his grandmother's when his teacher announces he has won the opportunity to attend a camp for creative and imaginative kids, but he arrives to find that the camp is really a training ground for new magicians who are needed to battle the Dark Hand of Brennard. (Juv Fic SF  Drake)

Duane, Diane - So You Want to Be a Wizard. (Young Wizards Series, #1)
13-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won't fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension. (Juv Fic SF  Duane)

Eager, Edward - Knight's Castle.
Roger is pretty sure that modern science has done away with magic - until his grandfather's battered toy soldier transports him back to the days of Robin Hood and Ivanhoe. (Juv Fic SF  Eager)

Flanagan, John - The Ruins of Gorlan. (The Ranger's Apprentice, #1)
When 15-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger. (Juv Fic SF  Flanagan)

Furlong, Monica - Wise Child.
Abandoned by both her parents, 9-year-old Wise Child goes to live with the witch woman Juniper, who begins to train her in the ways of herbs and magic. (Juv Fic SF  Furlong)

Gardner, Alan - Elidor.
While exploring a church that is being razed in a Manchester slum, four English children are drawn into another world where they are compelled to combat the evil power which grips most of the land. (Juv Fic SF  Gardner)

Gliori, Debi - Pure Dead Magic. (Pure, Dead series, #1)
When their father is kidnapped and danger looms, the Strega-Borgia children, their mysterious new nanny, and a giant tarantula use magic and actual trips through the Internet to bring peace to their Scottish castle. (Juv Fic SF  Gliori)

Ibbotson, Eva - The Secret of Platform 13
A secret doorway leading from an abandoned railway platform to a magical kingdom is only open for nine days every nine years. (Juv Fic SF  Ibbotson)

Jones, Diana Wynne - Charmed Life (Chrestomanci Book, #1.)
Gwendolen Chant and her brother Cat find the Chrestomanci Castle family's magic powers difficult to counter with the inferior powers of the Coven Street witches. (Juv Fic SF  Jones)

Jones, Diana Wynne - Dark Lord of Derkholm
Derk, an unconventional wizard, and his magical family become involved in a plan to put a stop to the devastating tours of their world arranged by the tyrannical Mr. Chesney. Followed by Year of the Griffin. (Juv Fic SF  Jones)

Jones, Diana Wynne - Howl's Moving Castle
The eldest of three sisters in a land where that is considered a misfortune, Sophie is resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of the dreaded Wizard Howl. (Juv Fic SF  Jones)

Lake, A. J. - The Coming of Dragons. (Darkest Age, #1)
Edmund and Elspeth, both 11 years old, discover they have been given fantastic gifts to use against the ancient and evil forces that have been awakened by powerful magic during the Dark Ages in Great Britain. (Juv Fic SF  Lake)

Le Guin, Ursula - A Wizard of Earthsea. (Earthsea, #1)
Sparrowhawk grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master wizard. (Juv Fic SF  Le Guin)

Lubar, David - Wizards of the Game
Mercer, whose passion is the fantasy role-playing game Wizards of the Warrior World, hopes to use a fundraiser to bring a gaming convention to his middle school, but instead he attracts four genuine wizards who are trapped on Earth and want his help in returning to their own world. (Juv Fic SF  Lubar)

Luckett, Dave - The Girl, the Dragon, and the Wild Magic. (The Rhianna Chronicles, #1)
On the brink of failing magic school, Rhianna discovers she is a Wild talent, in possession of a pure form of magic, and her skills at controlling her abilities are put to the test when a dragon comes to town. (Juv Fic SF  Luckett)

McMullan, Kate - The New Kid at School. (Dragon Slayers' Academy, #1)
Told that his destiny is to be a hero, Wiglaf is in for a first day of school that he'll never forget! (Juv Fic SF  McMullan)

Mazer, Anne - The Accidental Witch.
When 10-year-old Phoebe's life-long dream of becoming a witch comes true, she finds her powers work in unexpectedly disastrous ways. (Juv Fic SF  Mazer)

Murphy, Jill - The Worst Witch. (The Worst Witch series, #1)
Mildred Hubble is making an awful mess of her first year at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. (Juv Fic SF  Murphy)

Nicholson, William - The Wind Singer. (The Wind on Fire trilogy, #1)
After Kestrel Hath rebels against the stifling rules of Amaranth society and is forced to flee, she, along with her twin brother and a tagalong classmate, follow an ancient map in quest of the legendary silver voice of the wind singer, in an attempt to heal Amaranth and its people. (Juv Fic SF  Nicholson)

Nimmo, Jenny - Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King, #1)
Charlie Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic change when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking. (Juv Fic SF  Nimmo)

Pierce, Tamora - Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic, #1)
Four young misfits find themselves living in a strictly disciplined community where they become friends as they learn to use their magical powers. (Juv Fic SF  Pierce)

Pratchett, Terry - The Wee Free Men. (Tiffany Aching Adventure, #1)
A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland. (Juv Fic SF  Pratchett)

Roberts, Willo Davis - The Magic Book
When Alex looks inside the odd old book that seemed to follow him around the used book sale, he discovers that his name is in it and that it appears to be a book of magic spells. (Juv Fic  Roberts)

Rodda, Emily - Rowan of Rin. (Rowan of Rin series, #1)
Because he can read the magical map, young, weak, and timid Rowan joins six other villagers to climb a mountain and try to restore their water supply, as fears of a dragon and other horrors threaten to drive them back. (Juv Fic SF  Rodda)

Rubinstein, Gillian - Under the Cat's Eye.
Jai and his friends at a boarding school join forces with shape-shifters in their attempt to defeat the headmaster who steals the souls and futures of the students. (Juv Fic SF  Rubinstein)

Sage, Angie - Magyk. (Septimus Heap, #1)
After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety by the Extraordinary Wizard, those she always believed were her father and brother, and a young guard known only as Boy 412 - pursued by agents of those who killed her mother ten years earlier. (Juv Fic SF  Sage)

Smith, Sherwood - Wren to the Rescue.
With the help of a prince and an apprentice wizard, Wren strives to rescue her best friend, a princess named Tess, from the fortress of a wicked King. (Juv Fic SF  Smith) Followed by Wren's Quest and Wren's War.

Somtow, S.P. - The Wizard's Apprentice
Aaron Maguire, a rich Hollywood teenager, is recruited by a wizard and finds his life turned upside down.(Juv Fic SF  Somtow)

Stroud, Jonathan - The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus trilogy, #1)
Magician's apprentice Nathaniel summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from a powerful magician. (Juv Fic SF  Stroud)

Vande Velde, Vivian - A Hidden Magic
It's up to a thoroughly nice, rather plain princess to rescue her handsome prince when he falls under an evil witch's spell. (Juv Fic SF  Vande Velde)

Vande Velde, Vivian - A Well-Timed Enchantment
Deanna's watch has fallen through a magical gateway in time and is now lost in medieval France. If she can't rescue it within 24 hours, the world as she knows it will cease to exist. (Juv Fic SF  Vande Velde)

Vande Velde, Vivian - Wizard at Work
A young wizard, who runs a school to teach wizards, looks forward to a quiet summer off but is drawn into adventures with princesses, unicorns, and ghosts instead. (Juv Fic SF  Vande Velde)

Wrede, Patricia - Dealing With Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)
Bored with the life of a princess, Cimorene runs away to find some excitement. (Juv Fic SF  Wrede)

Yolen, Jane - Wizard's Hall
After just one day at wizard school, Henry is sure that his only talent is making disasters out of the simplest spells. (Juv Fic SF  Yolen)

Zambreno, Mary Frances - A Plague of Sorcerers
When a magic plague begins to take its toll of wizards in the Empire, Jermyn, a newly-apprenticed wizard, and his skunk familiar must find a way to stop it. (Juv Fic SF  Zambreno) Followed by Journeyman Wizard


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Booklists for Kids

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7/21/08
Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802

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