Inside: Have a fan reader of Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories book series? Want to keep them reading once the series is over? Then be sure to check out this collection of books like Land of Stories for middle grade readers ages 10+ years.
Our family fell in love with Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories book series when our now 15 year old was just nine! It has been read and re-read until the covers are tatty and the pages dogeared. The series is imaginative, captivating and a real page turner, loved by readers of all ages around the world.
What is The Land of Stories book series about?
For those new to The Land of Stories (grab a copy for your home via Amazon), the series begins with The Wishing Spell, where we meet Alex and Connor, twins who are about to discover that their grandmother is really The Fairy Godmother in an alternative world of fairy tale characters – The Land of Stories. The series follows Alex and Conner through a series of quests and adventures as they help a wide cast of engaging characters within the fairy tale realm fight evil in various forms.
What is in this list of books like Land of Stories?
This list contains lots of fantasy chapter books and novels featuring familiar fairy tale characters – some are an imagining of the character’s back story, others are fractured fairy tales. What is a fractured fairy tale? A story that provides a twist on a traditional tale, often taking a familiar fairy tale character (or group of characters) and dropping them into a whole new story or adventure.
These titles are great for middle grade readers who enjoy fantasy fiction, and even lovers of adventure stories will find much to fill their adventure cup in a fractured fairy tale.
Books Like Land of Stories for Readers Age 10+ Years
As with all of the lists in our Best Chapter Books for Kids collection, each title in this list links to an Amazon page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find more information and reviews for titles you might not be personally familiar with.
Of course this list would be incomplete without Colfer’s prequel series to the Land of Stories books. In A Tale of Magic, we are introduced to fourteen year old Brystal Evergreen, a maid working in a local library. Brystal hides away a few titles when no one is looking, as in the oppressive Southern Kingdom of the Land of Stories, it’s illegal for women to read. One day Brystal discovers a secret section of the library and there she finds a book that will change her life forever – a book of magic. When she discovers that she is capable of magic, Brystal practices more and more but her abilities soon become hard to hide and she is forced to leave everything she has ever know to begin her new life – as a fairy. Age 10+ years.
Pearl and Vally Cole live in a bookshop. And not just any bookshop: Cole’s Book Arcade is the grandest bookshop in the world, brimming with every curiosity imaginable. Each day brings fresh delights for the siblings: voice-changing sweets, talking parrots, a new story written just for them by their eccentric father. So when Pearl and Vally learn that Pa has risked the Arcade – and himself – in a shocking deal with the mysterious Obscurosmith, the siblings hatch a plan and they are soon swept into a dangerous game with impossibly high stakes: defeat seven challenges by the stroke of midnight and both the Arcade and their father will be restored, or not only will they lose Pa- they’ll forget that he and the Arcade ever existed! Age 10+ years.
Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling’s life is not what she imagined it would be. The doldrums of an empty house after her brothers have gone to school, the dull parties where everyone thinks she talks too much, and the fact that her parents have decided to send her away to Ireland as a governess-it all makes her wish things could be different. Wendy’s only real escape is in writing down tales of Never Land. After nearly meeting Peter Pan four years earlier, she still holds on to the childhood hope that his magical home truly exists. So when an opportunity to travel to Never Land via pirate ship presents itself, Wendy makes a deal with the devil. But Never Land isn’t quite the place she imagined it would be. Unexpected dangers and strange foes pop up at every turn, and a little pixie named Tinker Bell seems less than willing to help. But when Captain Hook reveals some rather permanent and evil plans for Never Land, it’s up to the two of them to save Peter Pan-and his world. Age 10+ years.
For anyone who’s seen Snow White you’ll know that the Evil Queen is one wicked woman. What you might not know is the story of how the queen became so evil. This book follows the backstory of the queen herself, and tells the tale of how an enchanted mirror turned a sweet young woman into a wicked queen. Age 10+ years.
In this harrowing yet humorous series, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into other classic tales. An irreverent, witty narrator leads them through encounters with witches, warlocks, dragons, and the devil himself as the siblings learn the true story behind the famous tales, how to take charge of their destinies and create their own happily ever after. Age 10+ years
In a small town in Wyoming lies The Menagerie, a top secret facility filled with unicorns, dragons, phoenixes, and other fairy tale creatures. At least, it was a secret – until six griffin cubs escaped. And it is up to classmates Logan and Zoe to get the cubs back fast and work out who is sabotaging the facility, because, if they don’t, the entire Menagerie will be shut down. Age 10+ years.
Siblings Kendra and Seth have no idea that their grandfather is the caretaker of Fablehaven – a refuge where mystical creatures gather together to prevent their own extinction. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep the peace between trolls, satyrs, witches and fairies. However, when the rules get broken powerful forces of evil are unleashed. Age 10+ years.
Imagine being able to walk within the pages of your favorite stories, or getting to know your favorite book characters in person! 11 year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents’ bookshop ever since her mother disappeared. One day in the bookstore, Tilly realises that classic book characters are crossing over from their book pages into real life! With the help of some of her favorite characters, Tilly is on a mission to uncover what happened to her mother all those years ago. Age 9+ years.
In this fantasy classic, siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy step through an old wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia – a land frozen in an eternal winter thanks to the power of an evil White Witch. Can the four children help the true leader of the land, the great lion Aslan, save the land of Narnia? Age 9+ years.
A hilarious tale about the son of the famous Jack who climbed the beanstalk. This Jack, however, he is failing hero training classes and he just doesn’t see the point as them anyway, after all there aren’t that many princesses left to rescue. Until one day a girl wearing a ‘Punk Princess’ shirt falls (almost) into his arms! May is the granddaughter of Snow White but, as she is from the human world, she doesn’t quite understand Jack’s fairytale land or its magic. But May does need Jack’s help – a huntsman is chasing her and her grandmother has been kidnapped! Jack thinks it’s all because of the Wicked Queen and the two set of on a very funny adventure featuring elements from many classic fairy tales in this first book of a wonderful new fractured fairy tale trilogy. Age 9+ years.
In a world where your name is your destiny, orphaned Rump believes he is not bound to accomplish anything in his life – until he discovers he can spin straw into gold and starts questioning his name and his past. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse that could make Rump one of the most despised of names in the whole kingdom.
For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, life has not been a fairy tale. After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, the sisters are sent to live with their grandmother – a woman they believed was dead! Granny Relda reveals that the girls have two famous ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, whose classic book of fairy tales is actually a collection of case files of magical mischief. Now the girls must take on the family responsibility of being fairy tale detectives. Age 10+ years.
In this new take on the tale of Cinderella, Ella is ‘gifted’ the gift of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it’s to hop on one foot or chop off her own head! After losing her mother, her father weds again and Ella is determined to survive both her new step-mother and her horrible step-sisters but tired of being taken advantage of, Ella sets out to break the curse that binds her. Age 11+ years.
Each year for the last two hundred years two children have been taken from Gavaldon, one good, and one evil. This year, when best friends Sophie and Agatha are taken they discover where all the lost children go: the School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie knows she’ll ears top marks at the School for Good, and graduate a fairy tale princess: with her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she’s certain she’ll have no trouble fitting in. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil. But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed: Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are? Age 11+ years.
Miri’s simple, village life is interrupted when the priests of her country mystically divine that the prince is to marry a girl from their village. The king’s ministers, appalled that the prince must marry a rough, unsophisticated village girl, force all the marriageable teenage girls to leave their families to live and be tutored in a harsh princess academy for a year. While there is competition between the girls, especially in the beginning of the story, nearly all of them learn that the most important thing is to support each other so they can all succeed, in this wonderful story exploring the power of friendship, support and communication. Age 11+ years.
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
