Series Like Harry Potter for Young Fantasy Fans

The merry old land of Oz gets a dark fantasy update in this series based on the classic story, “The Wizard of Oz.” Taking place after the defeat of the wicked witch Aphidina at the hands of Glinda and her friends, the other witches are out for revenge. With the fate of Oz resting on her shoulders, Glinda must find one mysterious teacher to help her reach her full magical potential and become the powerful Sorceress she is destined to be. Meanwhile the fiery Locasta must find a way to destroy Marada, Wicked Warrior of the North. Filled with magic and suspense, this tale is filled with fantasy tropes sure to appeal to your Harry Potter fan. And they may just learn some important lessons along the way.

Shortly after saving the faeries of Skemantis, magician’s apprentice Felix Carmer III and his one-winged faerie companion, Grit encounter a magical flying circus: Rinka Tinka’s Roving Wonder Show. The more time they spend there, the more they realize something isn’t quite right about the circus or its inventor, and it may have something to do with a string of airship disasters plaguing a nearby city. This high-flying thriller will take your kid from one fantasy world to another: including an enchanted circus in the sky, under the sea, through a frightening magical snowstorm and much more.

Recognized as an Amazon Best Book of the Year and Best Book of the Month, as well as being a Zibby Owens Summer Reading Pick on Good Morning America, this adventure-packed tale based on Colombian mythology is wildly popular among young fantasy fans. It takes place in the magical world of Emblem Island, where everyone is born knowing their fate. Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, but he’s determined to choose an alternative path, so he casts a wish for a different gift. But in a surprising turn, he awakens to discover he’s been cursed with only one week to live. In a race against the clock he must travel to the notorious Night Watch to break the curse. Braving a terrifying journey filled with wicked magical creatures he’s only heard of through myth, Tor learns the value of friendship and what it means to change your fate.

Like Harry Potter, young Finley is an ordinary boy with extraordinary abilities—and responsibility. As holder of the scorpion key, he is the Defender of the Emporium, which houses a trove of enchanted objects, in his small town in Scotland. One day, the evil Semueld Askell, concealed by the Cloak of Mirrors, sneaks into Finley’s room to steal the key. Semueld learns, however, that the key can only be taken if it’s given willingly. Finley’s best friend Aiby Lily and brother Doug are taken to an other-worldly place called the passages, and Semueld tells him that if he doesn’t give up the key, they will be lost forever. Finley will now have to use every trick in the book to bring them back.

Remember Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books? Like those fun, interactive stories, this graphic novel series makes your kid the hero in their very own fantasy quest. Drawing them into a steampunk re-imagining of nineteenth-century Paris, it’ll introduce them to a world where magic and machines co-exist with people. Where an almost complete Eiffel Tower is actually a secret weapon forged by magic, and it’s up to the reader to find the missing crystals that give it its power. From choosing their own characters and trajectories, to solving puzzles and casting spells, they can enjoy a seemingly infinite variety of stories by changing their decisions and starting again.

Hop into a land of mystic monsters, lawless leprechauns and fearsome fairy fellows! In this first installment of the magical series, 14-year-old Ronan is a new recruit for the secret group of constables known as the Garda, which are tasked with policing a community of mythical Irish creatures. But Ronan is on a mission to do more than fulfill his policing duty—he’s also determined to prove that his imprisoned parents were framed. Your fantasy fan will get lost in this fast-paced, hilarious story and imagination-rich world.

This New York Times best-selling series is based on an earlier series of the same name. It kicks off as four kids discover special animal bonds that give them powers to take on dark forces that threaten the world of Edras. In a flash of light their spirit animals emerge—wolf, leopard, panda and a falcon—ready to come to their aid as they embark on their quests. Filled with imagination and nonstop action, your kid will want to consume every book in the series.

In a thrilling fantasy novel based on actual folklore, this tale follows the fearless Corinne La Mer as she fights to save her beloved Caribbean island from dark forces. It begins one night when she spots a set of shining yellow eyes following her from the trees in the forest. When she encounters a beautiful stranger in the market the following day she learns that the stranger, named Severine, plans to claim the island for a species of malevolent spirits known as the jumbies. Joined by her friends, Corinne learns to use ancient magic she didn’t know she had to stop them.

In this first book in the New York Times best-selling Sisters Grimm series we meet orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne, who discover they’re related to the famous Brothers Grimm and that their book of fairy tales is actually a history book! What follows is a magical whodunnit in which middle-graders and tweens can follow the sisters as they try to stop a terrorizing giant from rampaging through the town, and find out who set the giant loose in the first place. Was it Mayor Charming (formerly Prince Charming)? The Three Not-So-Little Pigs? Or one of the many other fairytale characters?

This series follows the adventures of a scrappy 12-year-old young girl known as The Magnificent Lizzie Brown who flees her London slum and joins a traveling circus. She befriends a cast of odd-ball performers and discovers she possesses clairvoyant abilities. This makes her a shoe-in for the show’s resident fortune teller, but also burdens her with having to stop bad things that appear in her visions from happening before they come to pass. In this installment, she travels to the hills of Scotland, a beautiful place steeped in legends of mystical creatures in pursuit of a lost orphaned heiress. Did the heiress run away or was she taken by spirits? It’s up to Lizzie and her friends to find out.

This first book in the thrilling Wings of Fire series is a great pick for kids who are into Harry Potter. Seven dragon tribes have been warring for generations over an ancient, lost treasure. With the help of a prophecy a secret group of revolutionaries, the Talons of Peace, work to stop the endless fighting. Five dragonets are captured and raised in a hidden cave to help end the war. But the dragonets escape in search of their homes, and what’s unleashed may be far bigger than what the revolutionaries had planned. If your kid enjoys listening to this book, check out the rest of the Wings of Fire collection on Epic.