91 books like Island of the Aunts

Imagine a contemporary fantasy, driven by sword-wielding, swashbuckling, mystically empowered, ghostbusting teenagers. Yup. That is the cool twist in Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood & Co. Series.

He’s best known for the Bartimaeus Trilogy, and takes all of his fantasy worldbuilding craft to design a modern world where ghosts are not only real but common and quite deadly to us living folk. You will fall in love with Lockwood and Lucy, sense the tension between them, and yet be relieved to discover that their connection isn’t the predictable stuff of typical teen romance.

The remarkable ghosts are similar to fantasy races. Rather than elves, gnomes, warlocks, etc., you have screamers, wailers, howling maids, and a whole host of specific ghost types that I dare not spoil. If you like fantasy with a touch of creepy, you’ll love Lockwood & Co.

Imagination + beautiful writing. I love books that surprise me. Whether it’s with imaginative settings, intricate plots, beautiful writing, or humor. Surprise me, and I’m hooked. For me, no writer does this better than Frances Hardinge. Her books are incredibly unique. There is nobody who writes like her, who thinks up plots like her. Any one of her books is a trip on a totally new adventure. I started with Fly By Night and have read everything by her since.

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff is a funny and poignant fractured fairy tale based on Rumpelstiltskin. It breathes new life into a character that has been typecast in the past as somewhat one-dimensional. I love that this author made tweaks to the original tale and brought another fairy tale character, Red Riding Hood, into the mix as a support system. I love the idea of origin stories that make readers think twice about judging supposed villains. Imagination abounds from this author, and the reader learns so much about Rump throughout his journey; both strengths and internal wounds that can be healed. This story has it all: humor, adventure, and heart.

The City of Lucille has gotten rid of all its monsters.

That’s what Jam, a teenage trans girl, believed until the demonic-looking Pet emerged from one of her mother’s paintings. But despite their monstrous appearance, Pet isn’t the monster, but came forth to hunt a monster already living among the people of Lucille undetected. 

Pet contains vivid imagery, powerful themes, and a sensitive and brave protagonist. Be bold. Be vigilant. Monsters never entirely go away because we are the monsters.

Leslie Bulion combines her love of science and poetry to create fascinating, fun, and memorable books. While she has published several animal poetry collections, At the Sea Floor Café stands out for its exceptional balance of science fact and literary value.

Leslie is extremely skilled at finding the perfect poetic forms and phrases to do her subjects justice while never veering off into overt didacticism. Fun and surprising, this book is perfect for the nature science lover in the family.

You cannot go wrong with any of the board books in the Hello, World! series.

This one about ocean animals is a recent go-to in our home, and I was fascinated to learn that octopuses have three hearts, blue blood, and nine brains! With bright illustrations and easy-to-understand yet captivating scientific information, these books are wonderful for curious, young scientists eager to learn about God’s world.

My kids also love the Solar System and My Body books in this series. There’s no age too young to start teaching our kids about the intricacies of God’s creation, and this series is an excellent resource for families looking for engaging, scientifically rich books that do just that.  

I think this book is a genius. It’s a great example of a character-driven early reader graphic novel that brilliantly keeps it simple while fully exploring the friendship between a narwhal whale and a jellyfish.

The hilarious dialogue and simple but expressive illustrations make this one of my favorites, and its appeal to all kinds of readers is the reason this is a bestseller. 

I love how detailed this book is, bursting with species to learn about. Nature can be a beast. What happens when a hurricane hits and ocean animals have their home turned upside down? I was on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen to the animals. I love that the book shows how mangroves are trees that form a refuge in a storm.

This book is illustrated with intricate details of mangrove plants and the animals they host, making me want to grab my mask and snorkel and catch the next flight to the Caribbean to see them. Full disclosure: I studied mangroves for over 10 years, so I am biased, but they are really awesome trees. 

If you have a teenager wanting to be a marine biologist, this is the book to read! It is a coming-of-age book but also one of great charm and devotion to marine life. The tale and the writing are irresistible. It is so rare for an author to personalize marine biology, especially for teenagers.

This book does a remarkable thing. I loved it because it was a great story about teenagers who somehow managed to connect their love for the shoreline, and it even managed to give us a lot of great biology. Children often want to be marine biologists but their love is usually not very well connected to the real worlds of the ocean.

This book is a really great Natural History book. It puts teenagers in the mud, collecting clams, and doing things marine biologists do. Yet it has a heart—a really great book.

Author-illustrator Ellie Peterson’s recently published book How to Hug a Pufferfish is much needed in today’s world. It’s a story not only about giving hugs, but also about asking permission to give a hug. In an engaging and fun way with cartoonish illustrations, Peterson uses the prickly pufferfish to humorously show that not everyone wants to receive a hug all the time. If you’re a pufferfish, you need to be asked. It’s a book about consent for the youngest readers, presented in the sweetest age-appropriate way you can imagine. I will definitely be reading this at my story time, and might even gift this to a few prickly adults!