HP readalikes - for the young and young at heart (long)

[kempermentor]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Petra <ms_petra_pan at ...> 
wrote:
>
> I've been turned on to three of the best resources out there on the 
web 
> for getting suggestions for books to read (well, apart from asking 
here 
> at OTC <g>).  They are subscription databases so you might need to 
get 
> access through your library.  I know we've tons of librarians 
here.  
> Perhaps they've some thoughts on this?
>  
> My library (San Francisco Public Library) calls these Reader's 
Advisory 
> Databases: NoveList, Fiction Connection and Gale's What Do I Read 
Next.
> I'm new to these DBs but I'm certainly planning on using NoveList a 
lot
> from now on.
>  
> From the NoveList article entitled "The Wide Appeal of Harry 
Potter," 
> Katherine Bradley Johnson identified three broad categories of 
stories 
> that may appeal to HP fans: 
>  
> 1) family readalikes that adults will enjoy reading to their kids 
or with
> them; 
>  
> 2) titles for adults and young adults; and
>  
> 3) adult fantasy stories which may offer similar kinds of pleasure
>  
> The main flaw with searching these DBs is that data is all about 
the 
> tangibles whereas I'm looking for the intangibles: Am I going to 
care 
> about the characters?  Is it snarky?  Nevertheless, at least the 
> searches yield some suggestions.
>  
> If you've read any of the following books, I'm curious to hear what 
you 
> thought of them.  I skipped the ones we always mention (LotR, 
Narnia) 
> and notes that quite a few have already been mentioned here 
before.  I
> barely made a dent in the mountain of suggestions and have yet to 
put 
> together the list for older readers so the below is mostly books 
that
> even the youngest HP fans can read.
>  
>  
> 
> ... BIG SNIP ...
> 
>
> Strickland, Brad. 
> Dragon's Plunder 
> 
> Travers, P. L. 
> Mary Poppins Series 

Kemper now:
Between Strickland and Travers there needs to be Stroud.  

Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy.  I disliked one of the main 
characters, Nathanial, during the first book.  But I absolutely loved 
him by the end of the series.  I cried when I put finished the last 
book.

I've only read about a fourth of the authors Petra listed.  Stroud 
and Rowling are the only ones to have moved me to tears.

Maybe the other three-fourths would move me as well, but I kind of 
doubt it.  However, they still might be fun reads.

Kemper, also thinking Timothy Zahn's 'Dragonback' series should be on 
the list especially since Machale's 'Pendragon' series is.