Book Recs Based on Your Childhood Favorite
Just like I don’t really think there’s a difference between arts and entertainment, I don’t think there’s a hard delineation between literature and children’s literature. A wonderfully crafted story for children is a wonderfully crafted story, period.
That being said, it can be difficult to recapture the magic of reading as an adult. Many adult books, though wonderful, are weighed down by the gravitas and anxiety of adulthood. Finding a book for an adult audience that makes the delicious warmth of a fantastic story melt in your chest is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
To find your next book rec based on your childhood favorite, simply pick your childhood book from the list below and let the story unfold. (FYI, all recommendations are completely my own, but I may earn a small commission if you purchase a book through a link in this article. Read about my affiliate link policy here).
If you liked…
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotsen, try Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
As a kid, I remember feeling like books would open their mouths and swallow me whole. I needed my next fix of a story like a Diet Coke lover needs their next shot of aspartame. Platform 13 opens once every nine years for nine days to an island in a magical world known as the gump - and when I read it at about age 10 I was desperate to plunge myself into the gaping maw of Platform 13. In adulthood, I had trouble finding that yearning, hungry feeling that makes you want to do nothing else but find out what happens next. And then I read Neverwhere.
You get the sense that author Neil Gaiman was riding on the tube one day and thought, “what if there really were Knights at Knightsbridge?” From there, he crafts an inventive story of a parallel, liminal universe that snakes its way through the London underground, catching an ordinary, unsuspecting man named Richard in its current. If you’ve ever felt as lost, bored, and inauspicious as Richard, you will love this book.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, try The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
One of the best parts of children’s literature is the possibility of stepping through a magical portal into a new world. A Wrinkle in Time, Platform 13, and the Magic Treehouse series all traffic in this concept. Perhaps no book or series exemplifies the childhood desire to discover a magical realm quite like The Chronicles of Narnia. Who hasn’t imagined themselves as Lucy Pevensie, feeling the soft prickle of fur coats turn to evergreen needles under her searching fingertips?
Ten Thousand Doors is Harrow’s adult answer to that unquenchable searching. Young January grows up stuffed in a beautiful house in the country (much like the Pevensie children) while her father is off traveling the globe tracking down artifacts for the wealthy man who allows her to live there. A mysterious new governess with a mysterious new book appear just before January’s father goes missing. What January reads in the book (and where it leads her) will make you as giddy as Edmund with some Turkish delight.
Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene, try The Trespasser by Tana French
Titan-haired amateur sleuth Nancy Drew is the hero of every too-curious, bookish girl ages 6 and up. Uncannily possessed with unfailing optimism, undaunted courage, and admirable powers of deduction, Drew paved the way for nosy girls everywhere.
Antoinette Conway, the protagonist of The Trespasser is like Nancy Drew - if Drew grew up as a tough-talking motorcycle chick. Set in Dublin, Ireland, all of French’s novels are rife with Irish slang, dry wit and unreliable narrators. As the only woman in her department, Conway is desperate to prove herself, but as her seemingly simple case unravels, Conway’s struggle for legitimacy turns into an uphill battle to keep her job, and her reputation.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, try The Revenant by Michael Punke
A camping trip into the Canadian wilderness turns into a desperate battle for survival in Paulsen’s seminal work, Hatchet. If you’ve never read it, the book holds up equally well for adults as it does for children. I checked it out of my 6th grade library 3 times, swimming in Paulsen’s amazing descriptions of the Canadian wilderness and the ingenuity of the main character, Brian.
Add a few decades to Brian, set the story back in time 150 years, replace the plane crash with a bear, and The Revenant is an almost perfect adult parallel to Hatchet. One of the rare instances where the book and the movie are equally matched, it’s nevertheless worth a read, as it’s short, brutal, and engaging. But if you just want to enjoy Domnhall Gleeson’s face, that’s okay, too.
The Witches by Roald Dahl, try The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
There are two books by Roald Dahl on this list and two by Alix E. Harrow on this list - deal with it. Both authors trade in whimsy and fantasy, but with different audiences for their most famous works. Though The Witches was not my favorite Dahl book as a child (it’s a tie between The BFG and Fantastic Mr. Fox), I nevertheless read The Witches many, many times over. I was fascinated by the lore of the witches - how they concealed their identities, the ways they trapped their child victims, how the assembled in their secret ways.
The Once and Future Witches adapts traditional witch lore and applies it to 19th century suffragettes. Weaving in fairy tales and nursery rhymes half-remembered masterfully into the story, this book will quickly become a Halloween classic. Unlike Dahl’s classic, where witches are demonized, in Harrow’s retelling, reclaiming your identity as a witch is integral to finding your inner source of power as a woman (hint: it’s not magic).
Bonus: The Once and Future Witches is also a great read if you loved The Witch of Blackbird Pond.
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, try Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Tom and Annika are two siblings living a normal existence, until a redheaded neighbor with a horse on her porch comes bouncing into their lives. With her trademark red hair that sticks straight out to the side, Pippi Longstocking has been delighting children with her antics for generations.
Less charming, but equally as socially mystifying, Eleanor Oliphant lives a quiet life in Glasgow, having baffling run-ins with her coworkers and various service industry workers, until an intense crush on a rock star turns her world upside down. If you root for the underdog and feel for the odd man out, you’ll love Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, try Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube by Blaire Braverman
Like Hatchet, Julie of the Wolves is the captivating story of a young Inuit woman named Miyax, who moves to San Francisco and is renamed, “Julie.” Torn between two worlds, she flees and becomes lost in the remote Alaskan wilderness, where she finds solace in a pack of wolves. The wild and broad narrative manages to distill complicated ideas - about race, class, self-identity, and our relationship to animals, in an amazing book appropriate for preteens.
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube is like a real life Julie of the Wolves. Young, struggling California native Blaire Braverman made the bold choice to attend a traditional Norwegian folk school and become a professional dog sledder, where she found herself among the dogs. The book starts a bit slow and melancholy, but when the dogs enter the narrative, the writing sings like a pack of huskies braying to each other. It’s mysterious and powerful and amazing.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, try All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
In this rare instance, the adult book is MUCH less heavy than its youthful counterpart. In the E.B. White classic, young pig Wilbur forms an unlikely friendship with a spider named Charlotte who writes in her web and skyrockets Wilbur to fame. Even though the book has been in print since 1952, I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t read it. Suffice to say it WILL make you cry, regardless of your age.
If you loved the barnyard antics of Charlotte’s Web, you’ll love James Herriot’s series of memoirs that recount his time as a country vet in Yorkshire in the 1920s. Filled to the brim with charm and bubbling over with bucolic wonder, Herriot’s books are written with adults in mind but can almost certainly be read aloud with children over 10.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, try Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Another set of books for introverted misfits, because what are most bookworms if not introverted misfits?! (I am not introverted but I am a misfit, please let me stay in your club). Both of these books are pretty heavy, so if you were a serious child who grew into a serious adult, these are the books for you.
Though Jane Eyre doesn’t have the slow-blossoming wonder of The Secret Garden, it’s still one of the best coming of age novels of all time. Putting aside whether she and Mr. Rochester are right for each other (I’m not convinced), watching Jane grow from an abused, sallow little girl into a smart, self-assured young woman will never fail to thrill.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, try The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
Did you, or did you not, desperately want to live in a museum after reading this book!? Raiding the fountains for money! Sleeping in a luxurious antique bed! Learning the difference between Greenwich Village and Greenwich, Connecticut! Mixed-Up Files holds up for adult readers as well as children, and it gets better with every re-read.
The Feather Thief follows a different type of museum heist - a real one. It’s terribly sad (from a naturally historical perspective) and yet it’s infused with whimsy. Like a murder mystery where you already know the ending, but just want to see it unfold, The Feather Thief introduces the reader to some of the most curious espionage ever committed.
Holes by Louis Sachar, try That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx
Is there a non-fantasy book as magical as Holes?! Okay, there’s a little magic with Madame Zeroni and all, but how on earth does Louis Sachar manage to fit so much so seamlessly into one short narrative?! And shoutout to the movie adaptation, which features superstars like Shia LaBoeuf, Sigourney Weaver (!!), Henry Winkler, and Eartha Kitt (not to mention a killer soundtrack).
In That Old Ace in the Hole, there are familiar elements; a young man finds himself (and a surprising treasure) under the expansive skies of West Texas. Proulx actually lived in Pampa, Texas (a few miles from my hometown) studying the speech and behavior of the locals for 7 years while writing the book. It’s so accurate to the place it’s almost insulting, and the descriptions of the sunsets will leave you swooning.
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, try Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson
I’ll admit, this was a toughie. There are so many elements of Harry Potter that could have paired it with any number of books. If you feel a strong kinship to Hermione, perhaps The Once and Future Witches is for you. Maybe you liked the intense magical fantasy aspect, and if so The Priory of the Orange Tree is a rich and complex piece.
Personally, I think the story of a neglected orphan girl living in a crumbling world where ash rains constantly who discovers she’s powerful beyond her wildest imaginings is a good adult parallel for Harry Potter. The world-building of Mistborn is so intricate and fascinating you can forgive some of Sanderson’s more boorish writing moments. Filled with epic power struggles and complex characters, it’s a great series for fantasy readers all grown up.
Matilda by Roald Dahl, try…
If Matilda was your favorite book as a child, you don’t need any recommendations. You’re probably one of those people who reads 400 books per year. Please teach me your ways.
