100 books like The Book of Lost Things

By John Connolly,

Here are 100 books that The Book of Lost Things fans have personally recommended if you like The Book of Lost Things. 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 Fables

Lisa Preziosi Author Of The Ice Maiden's Tale

From my list on when you have a soft spot for fairy tales.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I can remember, I’ve loved fairy tales. Stories that start once upon a time, somewhere far, far away. Those words are both comforting and exciting. I am fascinated by their evolution and prevalence in different cultures and genres. That same story can be told in a million different ways that are familiar, and completely new. I used a fairy tale to complete my writing minor, then submitted that same story for a Masters writing program, transforming it into my thesis, which became my first published book. I’ve spent a career reading and writing fairy tales, and I hope this list helps you love them as much as I do.

Lisa's book list on when you have a soft spot for fairy tales

Lisa Preziosi Why did Lisa love this book?

Ever wonder what would happen if you mixed up traditional fairy tales with noir fiction? This graphic novel series answers that question, as it moves those familiar fairy tale characters from the storybook forest to a gritty urban landscape called Fabletown. Now, you’ll follow a reformed Big “Bad” Wolf as he tries to solve the murder of Snow White’s party girl sister, Rose Red. It’s a fun read with compelling illustrations and an unexpected twist on both the fairy tale and detective genres.

By Bill Willingham,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When a savage creature, known only as the Adversary, conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, the famous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of a modern New York, these magical characters created their own peaceful and secret society, which they called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it's up to Fabletown's sheriff -- the reformed Big Bad Wolf, Bigby -- to find the killer. Meanwhile, trouble of a different sort brews at the Fables' upstate farm, where non-human inhabitants are preaching revolution...and threatening the carefully…


Book cover of Stepsister

Margaret McNellis Author Of The Red Fletch

From my list on a female protagonist claiming her agency.

Why am I passionate about this?

Identity, agency, belonging, and transformation…these are the themes which drive me to write. I love historical fiction and historical fantasy because for female characters, the past was rife with oppression, which creates an even greater barrier to self-actualization and personal alchemy. There are still barriers for females in our present world, but setting a story in the past can more clearly call out those barriers and the ways females bust through them. We finally live in a world where historians and storytellers are unearthing the untold tales of the past. No longer are the narratives in the sole control of the victors and oppressors. 

Margaret's book list on a female protagonist claiming her agency

Margaret McNellis Why did Margaret love this book?

This is my favorite book of Donnelly’s, perhaps because I had the distinct pleasure of meeting her upon its release. This book was an inspiration to me as a writer. Not only is Isabelle considered “ugly,” but her spirit is so downtrodden at the beginning of the story because others don’t believe in her abilities. She must find her own agency and her own belief in her abilities to do great things and realize that real beauty shines from within. 

By Jennifer Donnelly,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Stepsister as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

'In an ancient city by the sea, three sisters - a maiden, a mother, and a crone - are drawing maps by candlelight. Sombre, with piercing grey eyes, they are the three Fates, and every map is a human life . . .'

Stepsister takes up where Cinderella's tale ends. We meet Isabelle, the younger of Cinderella's two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless, brave, and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy, and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn't matter, though; these qualities are not valued…


Book cover of The Tale of Despereaux Trade Book

Liz Montague Author Of The Equinox Test (School for Unusual Magic #1)

From my list on Magical worlds for young readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I struggled a lot with reading as a kid, I would not call myself a natural reader at all. When I was young, fantasy and magic stories were one of the few genres that could grip me enough to make me actually focus and attempt to read but I always hated the ones that took themselves too seriously (they always felt impossibly long to get through). Now, as a children’s author, myself, it’s my hope and passion to serve fellow young-readers-who-don’t-consider-themselves-readers with fun accessible stories. I hope you enjoy!

Liz's book list on Magical worlds for young readers

Liz Montague Why did Liz love this book?

I read this back in grade school! There’s a mouse, a princess, and a quest (the rest you can discover for yourself).

Despereaux is an unlikely hero but, armed with his sewing needle, the gang of rats he’s up against don’t stand a chance.

The story is completely immersive, to this day it makes me crave soup.

By Kate DiCamillo,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Tale of Despereaux Trade Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

A heartwarming young adventure story, winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal.

A deftly crafted fairy tale adventure story from a New York Times bestselling author, twice winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal. Here, reader, is the tale of a tiny, sickly mouse with unusually large ears; a mouse who takes his fate into his own hands. It is the tale of a beautiful, flaxen-haired princess who laughs often and makes everything around her seem brighter. It is the tale of a poor, deaf serving girl who entertains foolish dreams of splendour. It is a tale of impossible love, of bravery…


Book cover of Looking Glass

Lisa Preziosi Author Of The Ice Maiden's Tale

From my list on when you have a soft spot for fairy tales.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I can remember, I’ve loved fairy tales. Stories that start once upon a time, somewhere far, far away. Those words are both comforting and exciting. I am fascinated by their evolution and prevalence in different cultures and genres. That same story can be told in a million different ways that are familiar, and completely new. I used a fairy tale to complete my writing minor, then submitted that same story for a Masters writing program, transforming it into my thesis, which became my first published book. I’ve spent a career reading and writing fairy tales, and I hope this list helps you love them as much as I do.

Lisa's book list on when you have a soft spot for fairy tales

Lisa Preziosi Why did Lisa love this book?

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is ripe with retellings, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a darker, more gruesome version than Christina Henry’s. In this violent, twisted landscape, a broken Alice finds herself trapped in an insane asylum, with only one friend—Hatcher. Known for being mad, he’s housed in the neighboring cell, imprisoned for killing people with a hatchet. We follow these damaged characters as they escape their prison and navigate a nightmarish world. While this is not a story for the faint of heart, if you can handle the darkness, Henry’s lovely prose and imaginative story will take you on an unforgettable journey unlike any fairy tale you’ve ever read.

By Christina Henry,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In four new novellas, Christina Henry returns to the world of Alice and Red Queen, where magic runs as freely as secrets and blood.

Lovely Creature
In the New City lives a girl with a secret: Elizabeth can do magic. But someone knows her secret--someone who has a secret of his own. That secret is a butterfly that lives in a jar, a butterfly that was supposed to be gone forever, a butterfly that used to be called the Jabberwock...

Girl in Amber
Alice and Hatcher are just looking for a place to rest. Alice has been dreaming of a…


Book cover of A Separate Peace

Richard Becker Author Of Third Wheel

From my list on bad boys we love or love to hate.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a troubled teen who wasn’t raised in a traditional family environment, I had always gravitated toward books with transformative characters—underdogs who were lost or lost their way by accident and on purpose.

The genre never mattered to me as much as my ability to relate to struggling protagonists who needed to escape their situation or environment, regardless of what they had to do, right or wrong. Love them or loathe them, I learned something from each of them. I hope you enjoy their journeys as much as I have.

Richard's book list on bad boys we love or love to hate

Richard Becker Why did Richard love this book?

As a bad boy protagonist, I’ve always loathed Gene Forrester and love to loathe him. He starts as a quiet, intellectual student whose best friend and roommate is charming, self-confident, athletic, and a daredevil without being arrogant. Gene even seems to admire his roommate for having all those qualities until we learn the truth. He resents him. 

Like Gene, there were times in my life when playing wingman to a vastly more popular friend could be frustrating, doubly so when they made terrible decisions. Yet, Gene’s journey to the heart of darkness helps put things in perspective. There is no better warning against envy and jealousy than the one immortalized by John Knowles.

By John Knowles,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked A Separate Peace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'A GOOD READ'

'A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning, infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy, and remorse' Lionel Shriver

An American coming-of-age tale during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war.

Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual.…


Book cover of Other Voices, Other Rooms

Robert Gwaltney Author Of The Cicada Tree

From my list on the gothic American South.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised alongside three feral younger brothers in the rash-inducing, subtropical climate of Cairo, Georgia, I am a lifelong resident of the South. A circumstance, no doubt, leaving an indelible mark on my voice as a writer. At this point in my writing career, I write what I know. As a reader, I enjoy exploring the rich stories woven by Southern authors, capturing other places, people, and experiences beyond my own frame of reference. Ultimately, as a Southerner, I endeavor to reconcile the South’s troubled past of racial and social oppression with the romanticized notion others have of this place I call home.

Robert's book list on the gothic American South

Robert Gwaltney Why did Robert love this book?

Truman Capote’s 1948 debut novel holds a special place with me because it was my introduction to Southern Gothic when I was thirteen. A coming-of-age tale, it takes place at Scully’s Landing, a decaying mansion in Mississippi.

Rich with place and atmosphere, the book follows lonesome thirteen-year-old Joel Harrison Knox, who travels to live with his father, an emotionally unavailable presence who abandoned the boy at birth. Replete with a cast of the peculiar and grotesque, this book holds firm with literary merit and thematical relevance. 

By Truman Capote,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Truman Capote’s first novel is a story of almost supernatural intensity and inventiveness, an audacious foray into the mind of a sensitive boy as he seeks out the grown-up enigmas of love and death in the ghostly landscape of the deep South.

At the age of twelve, Joel Knox is summoned to meet the father who abandoned him at birth. But when Joel arrives at the decaying mansion in Skully’s Landing, his father is nowhere in sight. What he finds instead is a sullen stepmother who delights in killing birds; an uncle with the face—and heart—of a debauched child; and…


Book cover of The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 1: Egypt's Fire

Taylor Tyng Author Of Clara Poole and the Long Way Round

From my list on middle grade series to laugh out-loud.

Why am I passionate about this?

While one-off stories are fantastic, I love that children's series lets readers return to trusted characters. Series allow children to see a wider arc of character development and decision-making—often imperfect and in transition—when they are trying to figure out how to identify and connect with the world themselves. That shared experience over time is why I only write series myself—to let kids evolve alongside their favorite characters.

Taylor's book list on middle grade series to laugh out-loud

Taylor Tyng Why did Taylor love this book?

An orphan who lives in the ceiling of New York's Natural History Museum, an oddball detective, a society of secret sleuths, and a race to find a stolen rare jewel to prove one's innocence, The Curious League is a love letter to classic middle-grade detective stories.

Truly madcap, this book will have kids in stitches and is a perfect read-aloud. It's also a series, so readers can jump right into book 2.

By Tom Phillips,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 1 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?

Hilarious, non-stop adventure, a mysterious jewel heist, and a detective team like no other make this a must-have middle grade series starter. Perfect for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Enola Holmes.

After twelve-year-old John Boarhog’s mom dies, the last thing he wants is to be schlepped off to the Jersey Home for Boys, where kids are forced to make skinny jeans for hipsters and are fed nothing but kale. Instead, he makes himself a snug home in the ceiling of the New York Museum of Natural History, where he reads anything he get his hands on and…


Book cover of Room

Kathleen George Author Of Taken

From my list on novels in which children survive incredible odds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a teacher, a college professor, and a lifetime reader. I came from a small town, went to college to study writing, ended up getting graduate degrees in theatre, became a theatre director, and then went back to my first love, writing. Throughout my childhood, I bonded with my siblings, and we often feared our mother, who was a fascinating creature but often rough on us.  She expected perfection and wasn’t in tune with her childhood. So even then, stories of children in danger—abandoned or scolded or shamed—have resonated with me.

Kathleen's book list on novels in which children survive incredible odds

Kathleen George Why did Kathleen love this book?

I shiver at evil and am, at the same time, fascinated. How can so much badness exist? There is plenty to shiver at in Room, but I guess I always wonder how people survive brutality and if I would be able to do so. The mother in Room manages to keep love alive as she raises a child in brutal imprisonment.

And what hooked me was her use of imagination, making a world out of their non-world. The use of words is a major part of what she teaches her son. (I am a word freak.)  Also, the novel honors something I really believe in: seeing and valuing everything, every little thing. The less you have, the more precious a scrap of paper is; any small thing can become important, and I think there is joy in that.

By Emma Donoghue,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Room as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A major film starring Brie Larson.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize.

Picador Classics edition with an introduction by John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra.

Jack lives with his Ma in Room. Room has a single locked door and a skylight, and it measures ten feet by ten feet. Jack loves watching TV but he knows that nothing he sees on the screen…


Book cover of The Incredible Book Eating Boy

Diego Vaisberg Author Of Dino

From my list on album books to unleash your children´s imagination.

Why am I passionate about this?

I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I'm the head behind DGPH illustration and design studio. I'm also an illustration professor of the illustrator major at Palermo University (UP). My passion for kids books and illustration turned me into a full time illustrator combining both passions, illustration, and design. And with time, I started writing my own stories too.

Diego's book list on album books to unleash your children´s imagination

Diego Vaisberg Why did Diego love this book?

The pages are filled with things to discover,  it's one of those books that you will read and start over to find things hidden amongst the pages. The quirky lines makes the main character really nice for kids, resembling how they draw their own characters. And the story gives a really nice message about how fulfilling reading can be.

By Oliver Jeffers,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Incredible Book Eating Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

The mouth-watering new book from acclaimed author illustrator, Oliver Jeffers.

Henry loves books... but not like you and I. He loves to EAT books! This exciting story follows the trials and tribulations of a boy with a voracious appetite for books.

Henry discovers his unusual taste by mistake one day, and is soon swept up in his new-found passion - gorging on every delicious book in sight! And better still, he realises that the more books he eats, the smarter he gets. Henry dreams of becoming the Incredible Book Eating Boy; the smartest boy in the world!

But a book-eating…


Book cover of Flashlight

Lindsay Leslie Author Of Dusk Explorers

From my list on celebrating and highlighting different times of the day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a writer all my life in one form or another, and I love to observe the world around me and the people in it. I’ve had a fascination with dusk, in particular, since I was a child. I remember having the most adventurous time playing with my sister and our neighborhood friends after dinner in the summertime and soaking in everything that time of day had to offer—from the beautiful colors of the sunset to the croaking toads to the smell of the freshly cut grass. Each time of day—sunrise to midnight—offers a sensory overload if you are open to it. These books I have recommended dive into that delight.  

Lindsay's book list on celebrating and highlighting different times of the day

Lindsay Leslie Why did Lindsay love this book?

In this wordless picture book, a young child comes out of his tent to find his boot all with the help of a trusty flashlight.

Then he begins to explore the wilderness at night, shining his flashlight on various animals and plants. It’s like another world is revealed. This story is playful and full of opportunities to seek and find all the amazing nocturnal creatures that enjoy the cover of darkness. At our current home, we have lots of nocturnal animals lurking around. Time to get out the flashlight! 

By Lizi Boyd,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flashlight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Inside a tent it's cozy. But what is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! Told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, artist Lizi Boyd has crafted a masterful exploration of night, nature, and art. Both lyrical and humorous, this visual poem-like the flashlight beam itself-reveals that there is magic in the darkness. We just have to look for it.


Book cover of Fables
Book cover of Stepsister
Book cover of The Tale of Despereaux Trade Book

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Interested in death, mothers, and fairy tales?

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Fairy Tales 315 books