100 books like And Miles to Go

By Linell Smith,

Here are 100 books that And Miles to Go fans have personally recommended if you like And Miles to Go. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Black Beauty

M.J. Evans Author Of The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

From my list on horses that teens will love.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a life-long equestrian. I believe I was born with manure in my blood! I have always loved horses. I bought my own horse with my own money when I was thirteen and had to work to support him myself. I continue to own and ride horses more than fifty years later! I love competing in Dressage and riding the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains. My interest in researching and writing historical horse stories grew out of my love of both horses and history.

M.J.'s book list on horses that teens will love

M.J. Evans Why did M.J. love this book?

Some books stay with you for a lifetime. Such is the case with Black Beauty for me.

This historical fiction novel (although it wasn’t “Historical” when it was written!”) is considered a classic because of its staying power and message. Anna Sewell’s work inspired the creation of the ASPCA because of the depictions of animal cruelty in the book.

Now, half a century later, it has inspired me to not only write historical fiction horse stories but I also chose to write in first person from the horse’s point of view the way Black Beauty is written.

By Anna Sewell, Kristen Guest (editor),

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Black Beauty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Continuously in print and translated into multiple languages since it was first published, Anna Sewell's Black Beauty is a classic work of children's literature and an important text in the fields of Victorian studies and animal studies. Writing to ""induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment"", Sewell realistically documents the working conditions of Black Beauty, who moves down the social scale from a rural carriage horse to a delivery horse in London. Sewell makes visible and tangible the experience of animals who were often treated as if they were machines. Though she died shortly after it was published, Sewell's book…


Book cover of Horse Gone Silent

M.J. Evans Author Of The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

From my list on horses that teens will love.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a life-long equestrian. I believe I was born with manure in my blood! I have always loved horses. I bought my own horse with my own money when I was thirteen and had to work to support him myself. I continue to own and ride horses more than fifty years later! I love competing in Dressage and riding the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains. My interest in researching and writing historical horse stories grew out of my love of both horses and history.

M.J.'s book list on horses that teens will love

M.J. Evans Why did M.J. love this book?

Shane Ledyard is a well-respected horse trainer, riding instructor, and competitor in the hunter/jumper world on the east coast of the U.S.A.

But, after reading this book you can see his love of and empathy for the horse and all horses in general. It is a heartwarming story that teens and adults will love.

By Shane Ledyard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Horse Gone Silent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Inspired by a true story, Horse Gone Silent delivers adventure, drama, and life lessons in a tale that will speak to your heart like no horse story ever has before.

2020 EQUUS Film Festival Literary Award Winner

In the first book of the Horse Gone Silent trilogy, you will follow the life of champion show jumping horse "Calebo" from his sweet youth in the Netherlands to the United States where he quickly makes it to the top of his sport. Multiple times throughout his life, unbelievable events occur where this kind, courageous horse faces unfathomable depths of despair as he…


Book cover of The Last Diving Horse in America: Rescuing Gamal and Other Animals--Lessons in Living and Loving

M.J. Evans Author Of The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

From my list on horses that teens will love.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a life-long equestrian. I believe I was born with manure in my blood! I have always loved horses. I bought my own horse with my own money when I was thirteen and had to work to support him myself. I continue to own and ride horses more than fifty years later! I love competing in Dressage and riding the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains. My interest in researching and writing historical horse stories grew out of my love of both horses and history.

M.J.'s book list on horses that teens will love

M.J. Evans Why did M.J. love this book?

To stick with my love of historical novels, this book is about rescuing Gamal, the last diving horse in the U.S.

In the early 1900s horses were used in a carnival stunt in which the horse with a rider on board would dive off a platform several stories high and plunge into a tiny pool of water. This is the non-fiction story of the last known diving horse. 

If you are like me, you love a good horse story. Combine that with history and this non-fiction story of the last diving horse was a perfect fit for me. As a lifelong horse lover and owner, I can't imagine asking my horses to jump off a high dive into a tiny pool. And I can't imagine being the rider that goes down with him!

By Cynthia A. Branigan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Diving Horse in America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named Best Equine Non-Fiction Book at the 2022 Equus Film & Arts Fest

The rescue of the last diving horse in America and the inspiring story of how horse and animal rescuer were each profoundly transformed by the other—from the award-winning animal rescuer of retired racing greyhounds and author of the best-selling Adopting the Racing Greyhound

It was the signature of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier in the golden age of “America’s Favorite Playground”: Doc Carver’s High Diving Horses. Beginning in 1929, four times a day, seven days a week, a trained horse wearing only a harness ran up a ramp,…


Book cover of King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian

Caroline Akervik Author Of A Horse Named Viking

From my list on animals and their people connection.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an animal lover, a former professional equestrian, an elementary school librarian, and an avid reader. Reading is definitely my superpower. I don’t so much read as devour books of all kinds. As a district library coordinator, I read all levels of books, from board to picture, to middle grade, to chapter, to YA and adult. Books and animals are my jam. 

Caroline's book list on animals and their people connection

Caroline Akervik Why did Caroline love this book?

This book is a novel by Marguerite Henry, based on the true story of the Godolphin Arabian, one of the founding stallions of the Thoroughbred breed. The story follows the journey of Sham, an Arabian horse, and his caretaker Agba, from the stables of the Sultan of Morocco to the streets of London. Agba remains loyal to Sham through many trials and tribulations until his true value is recognized.

I grew up on a horse farm, have ridden horses since I was a little girl, and spent many years training and competing dressage horses. People become equestrians because of the special connection that a horse can have with a human. Sham’s and Agba’s story is about this special, transcendent love. This book has remained one of my favorites in part because I found my own “Sham.”

By Marguerite Henry, Wesley Dennis,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked King of the Wind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden-red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was swift as the desert winds, Sham's pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. their adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara. to the royal courts of France, and finally to the green pastures and stately homes of…


Book cover of The Street of Crocodiles

Jodi Lynn Anderson Author Of Tiger Lily

From my list on walking the line between real and imaginary.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid I felt the unseen magic in the things around me: it seemed as obvious as breathing, particularly when I was out in nature. These are books that brought me back to that… reminding me that being ‘realistic’ doesn’t mean ignoring what’s unseen. These stories have inspired me so deeply and driven my passion as a writer: which is basically to try to reach out to readers and say, hey, we are surrounded. There is more. This is not all there is. 

Jodi's book list on walking the line between real and imaginary

Jodi Lynn Anderson Why did Jodi love this book?

Shulz’s real biography is both tragic and beautiful: a painter and writer, his life was cut short by the holocaust, but he left behind – among other things – an exquisite bedroom mural it took years to discover, and this masterpiece of a book.

A collection of short stories, it poignantly captures the feelings of his time: the sense of order turning into disorder right under a person’s feet. And yet what I think is most incredible about his writing is how Shulz can take you, in a breath, from reality to unreality – without you ever noticing where the line was crossed. 

By Bruno Schulz, Celina Wieniewska (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Street of Crocodiles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A novel that blends the real and the fantastic, from "one of the most original imaginations in modern Europe" (Cynthia Ozick) 

The Street of Crocodiles in the Polish city of Drogobych is a street of memories and dreams where recollections of Bruno Schulz's uncommon boyhood and of the eerie side of his merchant family's life are evoked in a startling blend of the real and the fantastic. Most memorable - and most chilling - is the portrait of the author's father, a maddened shopkeeper who imports rare birds' eggs to hatch in his attic, who believes tailors' dummies should be…


Book cover of Warsaw Fury

David Snell Author Of Sing to Silent Stones: Part One

From my list on wartime books about families torn apart by the conflict in WW1 and WW2.

Why am I passionate about this?

My reading is almost entirely influenced by my own family’s extraordinary history. My mother and father-in-law were both illegitimate. Both suffered for the fact and my father-in-law was 11 years old when he first found out and was reunited with his mother, albeit on a second-class basis compared to his half siblings. My mother trained bomb aimers. My father flew Lancaster bombers and was just 19 years old in the skies above wartime Berlin. My own books combine history, my personal experiences, and my family’s past to weave wartime stories exploring the strains that those conflicts imposed on friendships.

David's book list on wartime books about families torn apart by the conflict in WW1 and WW2

David Snell Why did David love this book?

This book had a profound effect on me. I, like most, had always known about the uprising of the Warsaw ghetto. But I had never really appreciated just how evil the machinations of the Nazi and Soviet powers were and how their unspoken collaboration magnified the suffering.

This is a fictional book based on historical fact. We meet the mostly Jewish characters and get to know their lives before, during, and after the uprising. It staggered me to realise that, having instigated and encouraged the uprising, the Soviets halted their advances and sat just the other side of the river as the Nazis did their dirty work for them.

A book of bravery and betrayal in equal measure that reinforced my distrust of authority.

By Michael Reit,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Warsaw Fury as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Warsaw, 1939. We mustn't let darkness win.

Natan Borkowski has it all. In line to take over the successful family business, his future is set.

Julia Horowitz lives in poverty. The daughter of a shoemaker, she dreams of a different life—a different world.

Everything changes when Hitler’s armies invade Poland. Natan’s future is ripped away by the flick of a switch of a Luftwaffe pilot. When the smoke clears, Julia and her family find themselves locked within the walls of the newly-formed Jewish ghetto.

On opposite sides of the wall, Natan and Julia’s lives are not so different anymore. As…


Book cover of Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History

Matthew Arnold Stern Author Of The Remainders

From my list on Jewish families in crisis.

Why am I passionate about this?

Reseda, California plays an important part in my novels. I grew up there in a middle-class Jewish family, and we experienced the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. My parents got divorced, and my brother and I were raised by our working mom until she became paralyzed by a stroke. I found refuge in writing. I wrote The Remainders in 2016 during a tumultuous time when issues of family conflict, homelessness, and the growing cruelty of society came into focus. Still, I believe decency and compassion will prevail. The books I write and enjoy reading seek to find light in the darkest of circumstances.

Matthew's book list on Jewish families in crisis

Matthew Arnold Stern Why did Matthew love this book?

I read this powerful graphic novel series when the first collections came out in the 1980s.

It shows the horrors of the Holocaust and the impact it has on the families of the survivors. Maus is best known for depicting Jews as mice and Nazis as cats, but Art’s troubled relationship with his father Vladik and the death of his mother Anja by suicide frame the story.

Maus is my favorite graphic novel series and a must-read for understanding the Holocaust and how it shaped Jewish life since.

By Art Spiegelman,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Maus I as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The bestselling first installment of the graphic novel acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” (Wall Street Journal) and “the first masterpiece in comic book history” (The New Yorker) • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • One of Variety’s “Banned and Challenged Books Everyone Should Read”

A brutally moving work of art—widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever written—Maus recounts the chilling experiences of the author’s father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats.

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale, weaving the author’s account of his…


Book cover of The Silver Sword: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisation

David Long Author Of Survivors: Extraordinary Tales from the Wild and Beyond

From my list on adventure stories for young readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although as an adult I very much prefer true-life adventures to fictional ones – it’s why I wrote Heroes and Rescue, as well as Survivors – many of the most enjoyable books I read as a child were fictional accounts of daring and danger, mostly if not entirely centred on children with whom I could identify. I found them inspiring and still do, and can’t help feeling that if after nearly 50 years I can still remember so many of the details – and, trust me, I really can - the authors of these five must really have known what they were up to. I really hope no one will be put off them because of their age because I feel they have genuinely stood the test of time.

David's book list on adventure stories for young readers

David Long Why did David love this book?

Another real thriller that I still find exciting and completely compelling. After losing their parents in the chaos of war, three children are left alone to fend for themselves. While hiding from the Nazis amid the rubble of a ruined city, they meet a ragged orphan who shows them his ‘treasure,’ an old paperknife. Clearly the silver sword of the title, this was entrusted to him by an escaped prisoner of war but the children recognise it and realise the escapee must be their father. Taking the ‘sword’ as a message that he is alive, they set out to search for him. As a historian, I always try to smuggle education into my own books by disguising it as entertainment, and this book does that brilliantly.

By Ian Serraillier,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Silver Sword as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of Ian Serraillier's classic wartime story.

When the Germans march into Poland in 1941, the Balickis' happy family life is shattered. With their parents taken away by Nazis, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are forced to fend for themselves in the dangerous, war-ravaged city of Warsaw.

When Edek is captured too, the girls are desperate. Then they meet orphaned street urchin Jan, who carries with him a talisman of hope: a silver sword paperknife that they recognise as having belonged to their mother.

Realising that their parents may still be alive, Ruth and Bronia set off…


Book cover of Traitor: A Novel of World War II

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch Author Of Traitors Among Us

From my list on young people trapped between two enemies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Canadian-Ukrainian children’s author and former librarian. My great-aunt was a sniper with the Ukrainian underground, fighting both Hitler and Stalin. She was executed after the war by the Soviets and buried in a mass grave. Her mother was sent to a gulag in Siberia and never heard from again. I will never know all that happened to my ancestors, but I can give voice to others whose culture, life, and history were erased in the same way. Every novel I’ve written has delved into a piece of the past that has been shoved under the carpet for political reasons.

Marsha's book list on young people trapped between two enemies

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch Why did Marsha love this book?

This is a page-turning novel set near the end of WWII about a topic rarely touched in fiction: The death battles between Poles and Ukrainians, who both feared losing their country to the Nazis, the Soviets, and then each other. A ton of research went into this eye-opening novel about Tolya, the half-Polish, half Ukrainian soldier who will be deemed a traitor no matter what he does.

By Amanda McCrina,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Traitor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Poland, 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwow from Germany, the city is a battleground, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine. Tolya is half-Ukrainian, half-Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army just to stay alive. When he shoots his political officer in the street, he's taken in by a squad of insurgent Ukrainians. Tolya doesn't trust them and especially doesn't trust Solovey, the squad's young war-scarred leader. He doesn't know just how well Solovey understands the cost of looking out for life over loyalty. Then a betrayal sends both on the run.


Book cover of The Kommandant's Girl

Amy Carney Author Of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

From my list on the Third Reich (fiction).

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m someone who has one of the best jobs in the world – I’m an associate professor of history. I get paid to learn and to share what I learn with my students. I am super passionate about my work, both teaching and research. As for my research, I’m a historian of Nazi Germany.

Amy's book list on the Third Reich (fiction)

Amy Carney Why did Amy love this book?

This historical romance is set in German-occupied Krakow. Emma, a young Jewish woman, is separated from her husband just weeks after their marriage because of his involvement in the resistance. Sent to live with Krysia, her husband’s gentile aunt, the women quickly bond with each other as well as with a toddler, the son of a Jewish rabbi, who is placed in their care. The plot thickens when Emma comes to the attention of Georg Richwalder, a high-ranking Nazi official in Krakow who, unaware that Emma is Jewish, wants her to work for him. She does, knowing the information she has access to will help the resistance, including the clandestine work of her husband. Richwalder’s feelings for her, along with her conflicted feelings for him, drive the plot to its intense conclusion.

By Pam Jenoff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kommandant's Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING TITLE THE ORPHAN'S TALE OUT NOW

Based in part on actual events, Kommandant's Girl is a compelling tale of love and courage in a dangerous and desperate times.

Unique in voice and evocative in historical detail, this stunning debut faithfully explores the gray area between right and wrong and the timeless themes of home, stuggle and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Nineteen-year-old Emma Bau has been married only three weeks when Nazi tanks thunder into her native Poland. Within days Emma's husband, Jacob, is forced to disappear underground, leaving her imprisoned within the city's…


Book cover of Black Beauty
Book cover of Horse Gone Silent
Book cover of The Last Diving Horse in America: Rescuing Gamal and Other Animals--Lessons in Living and Loving

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Interested in Poland, Nazism, and Nazi Germany?

Poland 118 books
Nazism 231 books
Nazi Germany 158 books