by Alexis Whaley

Created on: August 03, 2009

For years, this was the number one question asked of children's librarians: what should my child read next after reading Harry Potter? The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, and the Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, are classics that are frequently recommended. Here are some other great series that may not be as well-known but are original, fun, and suspenseful.

The Inkheart trilogy, by Cornelia Funke, tells the story of Meggie and her father, a bookmender. When Meggie's father reads a book out loud, he inadvertently brings characters from the book into their world, some good, and some bad. They all search for Meggie and her father, some to have him read them back into their true story, others to stop him from sending them back and to destroy the last copies of the book. Meggie and her father must not only save their own lives, but save their world from the evildoers.

Full of unusual characters, such as firestarters, magicians, kings, princes, jugglers, healers, a storyteller, and a cadre of evil criminals, the reader becomes immersed in this original and exciting story and can't put the book down.

These books are on the long side, but the reader enjoys every page. The vivid descriptions make it easy to picture the action and it is more like watching a movie than reading a book. Chapters are short and switch between different parts of the story, making it flow even faster. There is a character for everyone to identify with, from young readers to adults. Readers will lament the fact that there are only three books.

So You Want to be a Wizard, by Diane Duane, is the first in a series of seven books. When Nita finds a book called So You Want to be a Wizard, a manual of instructions to become a wizard, life becomes much more interesting. And when she meets Kit, another would-be wizard, they get swept up into a quest to defeat an evil force determined to destroy the world. Suddenly becoming a wizard is not just a fun idea, but of life-risking importance.

In each book Nita and Kit must face different challenges, and they also develop their skills. The pages turn quickly as the suspenseful stories unfold with breathtaking speed. Readers will enjoy everywhere Nita and Kit go on their adventures, from under the ocean, a young boy's mind, to Ireland, and even to Mars.

This series, popular in the 1980s, has been reintroduced in new formats for today's readers. A tiny bit dated when computers are mentioned, the stories still hold together and modern readers

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>