What to Read After Harry Potter

They were magical, weren’t they? Every single book in the Harry Potter series was a feat of great writing, character development and emotional investment. We adored reading them to our kids and felt bereft when the last tear-soaked page was read. We’re also super indebted to the love of reading the books sparked in our little ones. So where do we go from here? There are other books that possess that same magical quality and we’re not talking about wizarding. Here are six more books — most that are even series — to keep up the passion of reading after you say goodbye to Hogwarts.

Gregor the Overlander (Suzanne Collins)

Before writing the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins created Gregor the Overlander, a fantasy series complete with talking gigantic bats, rats and cockroaches (they’re all lovable, to some degree), perilous quests, love and loss. More appropriate for the younger set than Hunger Games, yet similar to Harry Potter since there is some sadness as a couple of major characters are killed off. But the writing is fabulous, the fantasy world epic and the characters will live on in your hearts long after the fifth book is complete.

Holes (Louise Sachar)

Part mystery, folklore, history and social injustice, Holes is beautifully written and will have even the adult readers riveted. The story unfolds in explanation to why Stanley has been sent to a desert lake to dig holes with other boys as part of the consequences for misbehaviour. What happens is emotional and gratifying and very funny.

Bruno and Boots series (Gordon Korman)

If the kids liked the boarding school antics of Fred and George in Harry Potter, they’ll appreciate the schemes that Bruno and Boots get up to in the MacDonald Hall series by Canadian author Gordon Korman. There’s no magic involved but there are lots of great pranks, campaigns and friendship. Plus, the series is unapologetically set in Ontario and has stood the test of time since we read it as youngsters.

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Judy Moody (Megan McDonald)

Strong female lead alert! We’re all suffering from "Missing Hermione" syndrome and we adore Judy Moody. She’s smart, spunky, creative — and yes, she can be moody, too. This series is a good one for kids to start reading on their own. Judy’s best friends are boys, just like Hermione and she holds her own when it comes to saving the world and toad pee.

Blackthorne Key (Kevin Sands)

Murder, mayhem and lots of historical intrigue abound in this creative offering by Canadian author Kevin Sands. There are lots of codes to decipher and plenty of secrets — plus there’s a sequel (phew). Get hooked by the puzzles, stay for the suspense.

Warrior Cat Series (Erin Hunter)

This is a series that keeps on giving, with upwards of fifty titles available. It’s based on different clans of warrior cats — sounds far-fetched, but it works. Kids love to read these ones on their own and get invested in the characters, prophecies and relationships between all those felines. So that's what our housecats are dreaming about…

There’s really nothing better than reading an amazing book aloud to the kiddos, or watching as they fall in love with reading themselves. These books all stimulate the imagination and are well-written, with great role models in the characters. Carve out a reading nook and let the life-long adoration of reading begin.