Magical Books for Muggles and Wizards: Harry Potter Readalikes

Are you one of the many readers who finished the Harry Potter series and you don’t know what to read next? Good news: life goes on after you finish J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! There are many other great books out there that offer immersion into an enchanting world of magic, mystery, fantasy, and adventure. Nothing can replace the love that you have for Harry Potter, but at least you’ll have something to read while you’re waiting for your Hogwarts letter to arrive.

Magyk by Angie Sage is the first of the seven-book Septimus Heap series. Wizards, boggarts, princesses, and more lurk through the pages of this magykal book, which starts with Septimus Heap being pronounced dead at birth. If that were the truth, however, we wouldn’t have much of a story, would we? Read this book and you’ll soon find out that nothing is quite as it seems in the wizarding world of Septimus Heap.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is void of wizards, but takes readers on a magical and mythical journey to another magical school called Camp Half-Blood: a school for children of humans and mythical Greek gods. At the age of 12, Percy Jackson discovers that he is in fact a demi-god (half god and son of Poseidon), and shortly after attending Camp Half-Blood for the first time, must embark on a journey to the underworld to retrieve the god Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann follows the story of a boy named Alex, who is pronounced an “Unwanted” on his thirteenth birthday. In the land of Quill, you are either “Wanted” and are preened to become a member of the Quillitary (like Alex’s twin brother Aaron), a “Necessary” who tends to the farms of Quill, or you are an “Unwanted” and are sentenced to death. Instead of facing death, however, Alex finds that he and all of the other Unwanteds have been saved and sent to the magical land of Artimé. In Artimé, all of the other Unwanteds are being trained to use their creative talents to prepare for war.

In Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, a trip to visit their grandparent’s estate turns out to be no ordinary visit when thirteen-year-old Kendra and her eleven-year-old brother Seth enter Fablehaven, a protected area for magical creatures that is overseen by their grandfather, the Fablehaven caretaker. When Kendra and Seth break an important rule, the consequences are dire and it’s up to them to save their grandparents amidst a world of fairies, demons, witches, and imps.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud is the first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Like Harry Potter, Nathaniel has a rough start in life. He doesn’t live in a cupboard under the stairs, but he is sold to the government by his parents at the age of five. In this parallel modern-day London, however, Parliament is run by a group of powerful magicians and Nathaniel is the apprentice to a cruel master. Seeking revenge against his master for being mistreated and humiliated, Nathaniel delves into learning deep and powerful magic, and unleashes a dangerous and deadly force.

Early Literacy Skill Set 5: Letter Knowledge

Researchers say that there are six skills that are important for children to learn before they are ready to read: Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Vocabulary, Letter Knowledge, and Phonological Awareness (Source: Every Child Ready to Read via Saroj Ghoting).  These are known as early literacy skills, sometimes referred to as emergent literacy skills.

Having letter knowledge as an early literacy skill refers to being able to differentiate between different letters and their sounds, knowing the names of letters, and understanding that the same letter can look different (i.e. upper and lower case).  Children must have letter knowledge in order to "sound out" words by understanding that a word is broken down into letters that each have their own smaller sound.

To develop letter knowledge, an obvious first choice in literature selection would be an alphabet book such as the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and Joan Archambault or the fun and adorable LMNO Peas by Keith Baker.

To start at the beginning, however, children must know their shapes before they can understand all of the letters of the alphabet. A Q is a circle with a rectangle in it, and W is two open-topped triangles, for example.  Try reading Shape Capers by Cathryn Falwell or Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly Bingham.

Instead of just practicing the alphabet song, try singing songs with repeated refrains that include letters.  Sing and read along Rosemary Well's board book version of BINGO or Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Jane Cabrera (E-I-E-I-O!).

Another activity that you can do with children to promote letter knowledge is to have them practice writing their names.  Even if they don't understand the alphabet yet, they will start to "write" by drawing random shapes, such as circles, lines and squiggles, and this is the first step to having them understand that letters are made
up of shapes.

Check back next month for the final tip of this Early Literacy Series: Phonological Awareness! Thanks for reading!