Tag Archives: classics

Read-Alikes for Classic and Popular Children’s Literature

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When looking for something new to read, kids and grown-ups alike may gravitate toward the classics. This makes sense: Classic and popular literature are often easy to find, recommended by others, or simply the only recognizable item on the library shelf. After you’re finished reading the classic, however, what should you turn to next? And what about the readers who are uninterested in classic or popular literature all together? This month’s S-Collection blog is designed for readers in this exact predicament. After briefly introducing a well-known book by a popular author, a recommendation is provided for a more recent and perhaps lesser-known book with a similar topic, theme, and/or style. The first set of recommendations focuses on read-alikes for classic picture books, while the second moves on to books for slightly older readers. The S-Collection has what you need to read beyond the classics this August!

PICTURE BOOKS

If you like…
Silverstein, Shel
The Giving Tree. 1964. Picture Book.
This classic picture book follows a boy and a tree throughout their lives. The tree never hesitates to give the boy what he needs, even if it is from her own branches and leaves. Eventually, she is reduced to a stump that the boy, now an old man, can sit on.
SE. Si39g

Try…
Mora, Oge
Thank You, Omu! 2018. Picture Book.
For another book about the satisfaction one can find in sharing, check out this sweet story about Grandma Omu and her famous stew. As she cooks it one night in her home, she hears a knock at the door. It is a little boy who smelled her delicious dinner through the window, and Omu can’t help but give him a bowl. Soon, many members of Omu’s community are knocking at the door, wondering if they could get a taste. Omu denies no one, and by suppertime, there is no stew left for her. While the boy in The Giving Tree at times does not appear to be grateful for all the tree does for him, Omu’s community is different: They thank her with a potluck and notes of gratitude by the end of the night.
Q. SE. M794th


If you like…
Dr. Seuss
The Lorax. 1971. Picture Book.
This book highlights the importance of taking care of the Earth by telling the story of the Once-ler, whose efforts to create a successful business resulted in total environmental destruction.
SE. G27l

Try…
Becker, Aaron
The Last Zookeeper. 2024. Picture Book.
While the use of words stands out in The Lorax, it is the lack of words that makes The Last Zookeeper such an interesting read. Through beautiful and detailed pictures, readers are immersed in a dystopian world wherein the ocean waters have risen and destroyed most life on Earth. A kind and gentle robot, however, has made it their mission to save the zoo animals under their care. Using the wreckage around them, the robot creates a massive ark capable of carrying the animals to safety. Clear environmental messages and lovable nonhuman characters shine throughout, making this a solid choice for The Lorax lovers.
Q. SE. B38855la


If you like…
Bemelmans, Ludwig
Madeline. 1939. Picture Book.
In this classic picture book, first in the eponymous series, readers are introduced to Madeline, a feisty seven-year-old girl living at a boarding school in Paris.
Q. SE. B42m

Try…
Zhang, Kat
The Amy Wu series. 2019-2024. Picture Book.
Lovers of spirited heroines like Madeline are sure to enjoy the adventures of Amy Wu. In her debut, Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao (2019), readers watch as she struggles to make bao as lovely and delicious as her family’s. Amy’s tenacity leads her to a discovery: Using smaller bits of dough – “Amy-sized,” in fact – is the key. The book ends with a bao dough recipe for readers who want to try and cook alongside Amy. Other books in the series see Amy tackle arts and crafts, dumpling parties, dancing, and festivals, maintaining her cheerful, spunky attitude throughout.
Q. SE. Z612am


If you like…
Sendak, Maurice
Where the Wild Things Are. 1963. Picture Book.
The mischievous Max escapes his bedroom and travels to the land of the Wild Things in this popular picture book.
SE. Se5w

Try…
Kane, Karen
Monster Hands. 2024. Picture Book.
If you’re looking for another book about unruly monsters to follow Where the Wild Things Are, try this story about two boys battling the monsters under their bed. Milo made the mistake of reading a scary book before turning off the lights, and he’s simply too scared to sleep. Luckily, his friend Mel lives just next door and their bedroom windows face each other. The pair communicates with American Sign Language (ASL), and Mel shows Milo how they can create “monster hands” – spooky hand-shadow puppets with teeth – to scare the monsters away. Readers will see clear comparisons between Milo, Mel, and Max, and will love watching these boys conquer their nighttime fears.
Q. SE. K1314mo

JUVENILE FICTION

If you like…
Cleary, Beverly
Beezus and Ramona. 1955. Juvenile Fiction.
This book is first in the award-winning Ramona Quimby series. Readers are introduced to the high-spirited Ramona and her older sister “Beezus” as they deal with friends, family, and school.
S. C58b

Try…
Yang, Kelly
The Front Desk series. 2018-2023. Juvenile Fiction.
It’s the 90s, and Mia Tang and her family are recent immigrants to the United States from China. The first in the series, Front Desk (2018), introduces readers to Mia and the motel her family works at, as well as the colorful characters who call it home. As the series continues, Mia navigates American prejudice, attends a new school, fights for what is right, and discovers a passion for journalism. Mia, like Ramona, takes on life with endless perseverance and a can-do attitude that is sure to draw in fans of Cleary’s classic series.
S. Y164fr


If you like…
Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. 1997. Juvenile Fiction.
This incredibly popular book is the first in the Harry Potter series. The series follows Harry and his classmates Ron and Hermione as they learn magic at a wizarding academy.
S. R797h

Try…
Messenger, Shannon
The Keeper of the Lost Cities series. 2012-2024. Juvenile Fiction.
Much like Harry learning he is a wizard, twelve-year-old Sophie learns she is an elf in the eponymous first book of this long-running middle grade series. With this revelation comes the news that Sophie needs to move away from her family in California and into the Lost Cities, a fantasy realm full of magical creatures like herself. Also like Harry, Sophie must begin attending the magical academy Foxfire to hone her skills and learn how to fight the Neverseen, a group of evil criminals. Fans of magic and mystery will be enchanted by this sweeping fantasy series.
S. M5628ke


If you like…
Dahl, Roald
Matilda. 1988. Juvenile Fiction.
Book-loving child genius Matilda discovers she has telekinetic powers in this classic Roald Dahl novel.
S. D137m

Try…
Stewart, Trenton Lee
The Mysterious Benedict Society series. 2007-2011. Juvenile Fiction.
For other books about quirky and clever kids, check out this beloved series from author Trenton Lee Stewart. In book one, Reynie and his companions Constance, Kate, and Sticky all complete a series of bizarre tests to be inducted into the Mysterious Benedict Society. Their task is to combat the evil “Sender,” a villainous figure with plans to brainwash the world. To do so, the characters must go undercover at a school for criminals. Their adventures continue in multiple sequels, one of which delves deep into the past of the Society’s founder, the titular Mr. Benedict. The witty style and use of wordplay is sure to appeal to fans of Roald Dahl’s writing style, as well as the well-developed and eccentric characters.
S. St49m


If you like…
Keene, Carolyn
Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock. 1959. Juvenile Fiction.
This first installment of the classic Nancy Drew series introduces the young sleuth Nancy as she investigates a mystery in her town.
S. K251so

Try…
Johnson, Varian
The Parker Inheritance. 2018. Juvenile Fiction.
A more modern take on the classic kid-detective model, The Parker Inheritance is set in a small South Carolina town with a history of racial tension. Main character Candice’s grandmother used to live there, and, years ago, her choice to have the tennis courts dug up caused her to lose her job as the town’s first African American city manager. In the attic of her old house, however, Candice finds a mysterious letter indicating that a buried treasure exists somewhere nearby, perhaps explaining her grandmother’s choice made years prior. Candice befriends local kids to help solve the mystery, ultimately shedding a light on the presence of racism in America. Nancy Drew fans will enjoy the intricate puzzle, which is blended in seamlessly with details and insights from the past, in this fast-paced middle grade mystery.
S. J638pa

MG

Classics Retold & Continued

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Classic literature contains universal themes and often continues to influence writers and readers alike. The stories below retell classic literature for children and adults, continuing the story, mixing fantasy and realism, fleshing out characters, and exposing new ideas. Some tales never go out of style.

Frankenstein

Baker, Chandler.
Teen Frankenstein. 2016.
Tori Frankenstein, teen genius, causes a horrible accident that results in the death of a teen boy — and she’s prepared to keep it a secret. There’s only one thing to do: use her scientific knowledge to bring the boy back to life.
[SSHEL S Collection S. B1711t]

Oppel, Kenneth.
This Dark Endeavor. 2011
When his twin brother falls ill in the family’s chateau in the independent republic of Geneva in the eighteenth century, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein embarks on a dangerous and uncertain quest to create the forbidden Elixir of Life described in an ancient text in the family’s secret Biblioteka Obscura. The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series continues in Such Wicked Intent.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Op5t]

Salomon, Peter Adam.
Henry Franks. 2012
While a serial killer stalks his small Georgia town, sixteen-year-old Henry tries to find the truth about the terrible accident that robbed him of his mother and his memories, aided by his friend Justine but not by his distant father.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. Sa364h]

The Works of Jane Austen

Eulberg, Elizabeth. 
Prom and Prejudice. 2011
For Lizzie Bennett, a music scholarship student at Connecticut’s exclusive, girls-only Longbourn Academy, the furor over prom is senseless, but even more puzzling is her attraction to the pompous Will Darcy, best friend of her roommate’s boyfriend.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Eu52p]

LaZebnik, Claire.
The Trouble with Flirting. 2013
Loosely based on Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park,” relates high school junior Franny’s summer at Mansfield College in Portland, Oregon, where she helps her aunt sew costumes for an acting program and gets caught between the boy she likes and the one who likes her.
[SSHEL S Collection S. L458t]

Rushton, Rosie.
The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love. 2005
The Walker sisters have always lived a privileged life in their beloved Holly House in Sussex. Even though their father, Max Walker, has left the family to live with his new macrobiotic-food-obsessed trophy wife, Pandora, he has always doted on his girls. But then one day, reality crashes down around them when Max has a heart attack and passes away, uncovering the truth that he was knee deep in debt. The Walkers discover that their home is actually in Pandora’s name and she decides she wants it back. So the family has to uproot their lives and move to the seaside town of Norfolk in an old cottage.
[SSHEL S Collection S. R896d]

Shulman, Polly.
Enthusiasm. 2006
Julie and Ashleigh, high school sophomores and Jane Austen fans, seem to fall for the same Mr. Darcy-like boy and struggle to hide their true feelings from one another while rehearsing for a school musical.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Sh926e]

Peter Pan

Barry, Dave.
Peter and the Starcatchers. 2004
When orphaned Peter sets sail on the ship Never Land, he never expected to meet Molly, a young starcatcher, and join those trying to guard the magical stardust from greedy pirates. Continued in sequels Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Peter and the Sword of Mercy.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. B279p]

Hart, James V.
Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth. 2005
In the original story of Peter Pan, Captain Hook’s past is briefly hinted at; “he had been at a famous public school.” This is the story of Hook at that school and how he became a pirate king afterwards.
[SSHEL S Collection S. H251c]

Levine, Gail Carson.
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg. 2005
A new fairy has arrived in Never Land, just in time for a catastrophic event. Can Prilla, the fairy without a talent, rescue Mother Dove’s egg and save Never Land’s magic?
[SSHEL S Collection S.L578fa]

McCaughrean, Geraldine.
Peter Pan in Scarlet. 2006
It’s 1930 and Neverland is in danger. Wendy and the Lost Boys must help Peter Pan to save Neverland and stop the terrible nightmares which are leaking out into the real world.
[SSHEL S Collection S. M128p]

Nayeri, Daniel and Dina.
Another Pan. 2010
While attending an elite prep school where their father is a professor, Wendy and John Darling discover a book which opens the door to other worlds, to Egyptian myths long thought impossible, and to the home of an age-old darkness.
[SSHEL S Collection S. N231an]

Wallace, Karen.
Wendy. 2004
This novel explores Wendy’s unhappy life before the coming of Peter Pan.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. W155w]

Pied Piper of Hamlin

DeKeyser, Stacy.
The Brixen Witch. 2012
Twelve-year-old Rudi stumbles upon a witch’s lair while out hunting, takes a gold coin he finds there but loses it again, then must deal with the witch’s servant who promises to end the town’s rat infestation only if he receives that gold coin, in a story reminiscent of The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. D3695b]

Pratchett, Terry.
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. 2001
The clever Maurice, a cat, with the help of a boy and some rats, con town after town until they are faced with an evil rat king and have to reconsider what they value most.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. P887a]

Stone, David Lee.
The Ratastrophe Catastrophe. 2004
This satirical retelling of the Pied Piper features a simple shepherd boy who has been possessed by evil magic, a group of well-intentioned but misfit mercenaries, and a foolish duke. Continued in The Illmoor Chronicles.
[SSHEL S Collection S. St713r]

Skurzynski, Gloria.
What Happened in Hamelin. 1979
This fictionalized history of the Pied Piper attempts to place the story in its historical setting and explain the characters’ motives and the true, tragic fate of the children of Hamelin.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. Sk67W]

Weatherill, Cat.
Wild Magic. 2008
Mari and her brother Jakob join the other children of Hamelin as they follow the Pied Piper into a world of wild magic, where they will remain until the fearsome Beast identifies the child chosen to free him from a centuries-old curse.
[SSHEL S Collection S. W3786w]

Robin Hood

Cadnum, Michael.
Forbidden Forest: The Story of Little John and Robin Hood. 2002
Profiles Little John, from his quiet life before joining Robin Hood through his adventures protecting a beautiful lady when she is wrongfully accused of murdering her husband.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. C114f]

Cody, Matthew.
Will in Scarlet. 2013
In the late 1100s, thirteen-year-old Will, the future Lord of Shackley, is exiled to Sherwood Forest, where he meets Robin Hood and the Merry Men and bands with them to try retake Shackley Castle.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S.C649w]

Furlong, Monica.
Robin’s Country. 1995
The story of Robin Hood is retold from the point of view of a small boy, nicknamed Dummy, who flees to Sherwood to escape a cruel master.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F979r]

McKinley, Robin.
Outlaws of Sherwood. 1988
This retelling of Robin Hood focuses on the characters and their various motivations and lives.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. M215o]

Pyle, Howard.
Howard Pyle’s Robin Hood. 2008
Robin Hood is redone as a graphic novel in this adaptation by Joe Dunn illustrated by Ben Dunn.
[SSHEL S Collection S. 741.5973 D922h]

Springer, Nancy.
Rowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest. 2001
Rowan has never met her father, Robin Hood, but when her mother is murdered she sets out to find him with a motley group of friends. Many sequels follow.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Sp83r]

Tomlinson, Theresa.
The Forestwife. 1995
Mary flees to the forest to escape marriage to an elderly widower and discovers a new life with the people of the forest. This is a new twist on the traditional story of Maid Marian.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. T5972f 1995]

Yolen, Jane.
Sherwood: Original Stories from the World of Robin Hood. 2000
Eight original stories connected to the legend of Robin Hood.
[SSHEL Oak Street and CCB S. Sh581]

Shakespeare

Hamlet

Fiedler, Lisa.
Dating Hamlet: Ophelia’s Story. 2002
Ophelia retells the story of Hamlet from her point of view – with a very different ending!
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. F452d]

Gratz, Alan.
Something Rotten: A Horatio Wilkes Mystery. 2007
In a contemporary story based on Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Horatio Wilkes seeks to solve the murder of his friend Hamilton Prince’s father in Denmark, Tennessee. Horatio returns in Something Wicked.
[SSHEL S Collection S. G774s]

Hutchison, Dot.
A Wounded Name. 2013
A reimagining of the world and story of Hamlet — from Ophelia’s perspective and set in an American boarding school.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. H98w]

Klein, Lisa M. 
Ophelia: A Novel. 2006
In a story based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia tells of her life in the court at Elsinore, her love for Prince Hamlet, and her escape from the violence in Denmark.
[SSHEL S Collection S. K672o]

Ranulfo.
Joker. 2006
A modern retelling of Hamlet, in which fifteen-year-old Matt begins questioning everything he believes in after the death of his best friend and his parents’ divorce.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. R176j]

Ray, Michelle.
Falling for Hamlet: A Novel. 2011
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set in the modern world of computers, cell phones, and paparazzi, and on a popular television talk show it is revealed that Ophelia has not died.
[SSHEL S Collection S. R2127]

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Stine, R. L.
A Midsummer Night’s Scream. 2013
Decades after the filming of a horror movie is halted in the wake of three actor deaths and rumors about a haunted set, Claire, the daughter of a failing studio head, helps with a production on the same site.
[SSHEL S Collection S. St56mi]

Sutherland, Tui T.
This Must Be Love. 2004
Two good friends tell of strange occurrences between themselves and the boys they like during a high school production of Romeo and Juliet, which are reminiscent of the magical world of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Su848t]

Romeo and Juliet

Draper, Sharon M.
Romiette and Julio. 1999
Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating.
[SSHEL S Collection S. D791r]

Fiedler, Lisa.
Romeo’s Ex: Rosaline’s Story. 2006
Whatever happened to Rosaline, Romeo’s first love? A retelling of Romeo and Juliet from Rosaline’s point of view.
[SSHEL S Collection S. F452r]

Myers, Walter Dean.
Street Love. 2006
This story told in free verse is set against a background of street gangs and poverty in Harlem in which seventeen-year-old African American Damien takes a bold step to ensure that he and his new love will not be separated.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. M992st]

Selfors, Suzanne.
Saving Juliet. 2008
Seventeen-year-old Mimi Wallingford’s stage fright and fight with her mother on the closing night of Romeo and Juliet are nothing compared to the troubles she faces when she and her leading man are transported to Shakespeare’s Verona, where she decides to give the real Juliet a happy ending.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Se486s]

Serle, Rebecca.
When You Were Mine. 2012
Seniors Rosaline Caplet and Rob Monteg, neighbors and best friends, have finally become a couple at their Southern California high school, but when Rosie’s estranged cousin Juliet moves back into town and pursues Rob in an unstable, needy, and vindictive manner, Rosie starts to worry not just about Rob’s emotions, but about his very life.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Se674w]

Taub, Melinda.
Still Star-Crossed. 2013
After the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, mysterious figures in Verona are determined to reignite the feud between the Montagues and Capulets, so, for the sake of peace, the Prince orders Romeo’s best friend Benvolio to marry Juliet’s cousin Rosaline.
[SSHEL S Collection S. T19s]

Other Plays

Gehrman, Jody.
Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty. 2008
Sixteen-year-olds Geena, Hero, and Amber spend the summer working at a Sonoma, California coffee shop, where they experience romance, identity crises, and newfound friendships. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
[SSHEL S Collection S. G274c]

Lester, Julius.
Othello: A novel. 1995
A retelling of Shakespeare’s Othello with several minor, but important, changes.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. L567O]

Pressler, Mirjam.
Shylock’s Daughter. 2001
Sixteen-year-old Jessica, who longs to be free of the restrictions of her father and life in the Jewish ghetto of sixteenth-century Venice, falls in love with a Christian aristocrat and must make choices which will affect her whole family. Inspired by Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. P9263s:E]

Rees, Celia.
The Fool’s Girl. 2010
Violetta and Feste have come to London to rescue a holy relic taken from a church in Illyria by the evil Malvolio, and once there, they tell the story of their adventures to playwright William Shakespeare, who turns it into a play.  Based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
[SSHEL S Collection S. R2595f]

Tiffany, Grace.
Ariel. 2005
Ariel, beautiful and magical, rules half of her enchanted isle, dreaming of the savior from the east who will help her conquer all. When Prospero, a lost mariner, appears on the beach, his young daughter, Miranda, in tow, Ariel entices him with her visions of conquest. All does not go smoothly however, and their clash comes to a head when Ariel, summoning her full powers, creates a cataclysmic storm that will change their lives and the island forever. Shakespeare’s The Tempest takes on new meaning for new readers, as Tiffany explores the imagination’s power to transform grief into dangerous dreams.
[SSHEL S Collection S. T447a]

Sherlock Holmes

Gleason, Colleen.
The Clockwork Scarab. 2013
In 1889 London young women are turning up dead, and Evaline Stoker, relative of Bram, and Mina Holmes, niece of Sherlock, are summoned to investigate the clue of the not-so-ancient Egyptian scarabs — but where does a time traveler fit in?
[SSHEL S Collection S. G471c]

Lane, Andrew.
Death Cloud. 2011
In 1868, with his army officer father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously “unwell,” fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire, where he uncovers his first murder and a diabolical villain. The Young Sherlock Holmes series continues in Rebel Fire.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. L2412d]

Mack, Tracy and Michael Citrin.
The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas. 2006
The ragamuffin boys known as the Baker Street Irregulars help Sherlock Holmes solve the mysterious deaths of a family of circus tightrope walkers.
[SSHEL Oak Street and CCB S. M1909f]

Peacock, Shane. 
Eye of the Crow. 2007
A woman is found stabbed to death in London. A young boy is drawn to the scene to investigate the murder and becomes a suspect himself.
[SSHEL Oak Street S. P3136e]

Scheier, Leah.
Secret Letters. 2012
Sixteen-year-old Dora travels to London to meet Sherlock Holmes, who might be her biological father, and ask his help for her cousin who is being blackmailed over some stolen letters, but although Holmes dies before she arrives, a handsome young detective comes to Dora’s aid.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Sch255s]

Springer, Nancy.
The Case of the Missing Marquess. 2006
Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother. Enola Holmes Mysteries continue in The Case of the Left-Handed Lady.
[SSHEL S Collection and CCB S. Sp83ca]