Reading levels and needs
What to read after Harry Potter: 14 books and series
Children who finish Harry Potter ask for more magic schools, quests and friendship. These fourteen suit ages 8 to 12 and avoid pushing too fast into teen novels.
Titles, authors and publication details were checked against Open Library in October 2026. Age ranges and content notes are editorial judgment based on publisher and library guidance, so preview anything sensitive for your own child. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan · Ages 9-12
A twelve-year-old finds that he is the son of Poseidon and sets out across America to prevent a war between the gods. A fast read that opens up Greek myths.
Watch for: Monsters and fights; mild peril.
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Wings of Fire
Tui T. Sutherland · Ages 8-12
Dragon tribes at war across more than twenty books and graphic novels. Start with The Dragonet Prophecy.
Watch for: Dragon battles with death.
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The Mysterious Benedict Society
Trenton Lee Stewart · Ages 9-13
Four gifted children answer a newspaper ad and are sent to infiltrate a boarding school. Puzzles and code run through the book.
Watch for: Villains are menacing; a brief scene of children being hurt.
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The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien · Ages 9-13
Bilbo Baggins joins a company of dwarves to retake a mountain from a dragon. Dense vocabulary and long descriptive passages, so best for advanced readers or reading together.
Watch for: Battle, deaths of main characters in the last chapters.
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis · Ages 8-12
Four children step through a wardrobe into Narnia, a land under a winter spell. Best read first by publication order, though many series editions renumber it.
Watch for: Christian allegory; a battle and the death of Aslan.
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Nevermoor
Jessica Townsend · Ages 9-13
A cursed girl is saved from death and given a place in a magical city. Starts with The Trials of Morrigan Crow.
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Keeper of the Lost Cities
Shannon Messenger · Ages 9-13
Sophie Foster, an elf. Sophie Foster, a girl who learns she is an elf, starts at a school for gifted elves. A long series.
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Kelly Barnhill · Ages 9-13
A witch raises a baby she rescued from the forest and accidentally fills her with magic. Several threads come together; a 2017 Newbery winner.
Watch for: A baby is left in the forest as a sacrifice; a witch and a grieving mother appear; a few tense scenes.
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Fablehaven
Brandon Mull · Ages 9-13
Siblings discover that their grandparents' estate is a sanctuary for magical creatures. Five books.
Watch for: Dark magic.
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The Sisters Grimm
Michael Buckley · Ages 8-12
Two sisters find that they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm and that fairy-tale characters are real.
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A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'Engle · Ages 9-13
Meg and her brother travel through space to rescue their father with help from three strange women. Big ideas about conformity and love.
Watch for: Dark, abstract and scary in places; a few sections confuse younger readers.
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The Land of Stories
Chris Colfer · Ages 8-12
Twins fall into a world of fairy tales. A long series of six books.
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Greenglass House
Kate Milford · Ages 9-13
A boy in a smuggler's inn at Christmas joins a role-playing game that turns into a mystery. A cozy snowed-in adventure.
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Howl's Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones · Ages 10-14
Sophie is turned into an old woman by a witch and takes refuge in a wizard's castle. Funnier and more tangled than the film.
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