82 books like The Little White Bird

I love how this book is a fast-paced read that explores what technology could be in the near future. 

This book touts a world where virtual reality is everything, and the real world is not a place you want to be. It’s only too believable. Go anywhere in public and what do you find? People on their phones. Even when reality is great, we can often turn to our devices. The allure of social media likes, polyopia victories, entertainment, or messages can sabotage our real-world relationships. I’m just glad we don’t wear headsets in our reality . . .

Yet. 

Again, a much-loved childhood favourite – two strong female leads and demonstrates leading with empathy for others and kindness, which can sometimes be missing from adult adventure stories.

While there have been a number of television and film adaptations, nothing compares to reading this story and getting lost in the magic of the words that conjur their own power and charm.

The spirit of Peter Pan is something I’ve always admired since I first remember seeing the 1953 Disney film as a boy, and then later reading JM Barrie’s classic novel in young adulthood. He’s a boy that lives every day for adventure, and I feel that is a great way to approach life. The quality of the writing is both poetic and dark for a children’s story, and explores themes that are still relevant today, such as freedom, choice, power, and the innate human desire to overcome circumstances and break free from limiting beliefs. It’s such an incredible world and character, and has greatly inspired my life and career. I love it!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book in the Harry Potter series, drawing readers into its magical world filled with fantasy and adventure.

I personally like books where the author has an overactive imagination, and this author truly takes the cake in that regard. J.K. Rowling’s creative storytelling draws readers of all ages into Harry’s enchanting world and journey of self-discovery as he travels to an unknown world. The characters and some of the themes highlighted (such as bullying, trying to fit in, self-doubt, adjusting to change, and not getting drawn in by evil) will resonate with readers of all ages.

With its spellbinding narrative and charming characters, it is one of the few books I’ve read where the movie is just as exciting as the book. This book and movie made me feel like I was being taken away to this magical world, and reinforces the… show more.

Starting from an early fascination with graveyards, where I would (and do still) like to sit and chat to the dead, making good friends with some of them, I’ve always been drawn to themes about death. And this book is a really dark, peculiar prequel to Peter Pan where an infant Peter ends up as the unofficial gravedigger for dead babies. It’s also a very beautiful book, but defintely not suitable for young children!

A fascinating in-depth insight into the personality, career, and work of Rackham, who I view as the king of the golden age of illustration. His fine draughtsmanship and ability to create fantastical worlds and characters that range from the grotesque to the beautiful inspired me from an early age. The pages are packed with artwork done in his trademark pen and ink and watercolour. 

Peter Pan was one of the first books that made me want to write and create my own worlds. Neverland was an escape, not only for the Darling children but for my earliest stories. It was a place to be anyone, and go on endless adventures, without the limitations of adult expectations. The characters will always be special to me. We may have to grow up, but we can always keep special places like Neverland in our hearts and strive to create worlds that generations of readers will enjoy. 

One note is that while I will always love this book, it was published in 1911 and I cannot endorse the racist portrayals of Native Americans/Indigenous People. As the historical costume community says, ‘vintage style, not vintage values.’

There is a world of difference between the fairies of folk-lore and the ‘airy-fairy’s’ to use one of Katherine Brigg’s descriptions that infest popular media. Disney’s depiction of Peter Pan & Tinkerbelle as ordinary kids who happen to have wings bears no relation to the fairies of folklore. The moment a fairy character is absorbed into capitalist entertainment, their magic is lost. The unsurpassable fairy lore of Katherine Briggs 1898-1980, takes up an entire shelf on my bookcase and includes The Anatomy of Puck, The Fairies in Tradition and Literature, The Vanishing People, and A Dictionary of Fairies. The one-time president of the English Folklore Society, her books are so authoritative and imaginative, they bring to life the incredible inhabitants of the otherworldly realm. All the best books on the subject were written before 1970, the later ones tending to be cribbed from Briggs and that other great… show more.

Growing up, I was always more intrigued by Captain Hook, the villain of Peter Pan, more so than I was the title character. John Leonard Pielmeier writes an incredible “memoir” from the most famous fictional pirate and uses the beloved characters from the Peter Pan story of our childhoods in a whole new way. The backstory with Smee, the conflict with the infamous crocodile, and all the major things we see in the classic story are told in a whole new way. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend reading in tandem with the original Peter Pan for a fun way to see two sides to a story.

As someone who writes fairy tale retellings where everyone shares one world as we all do now, I always love the tales that my own characters don’t get to interact with. That’s where A Land of Never After comes in. Featuring a pirate queen a strong-willed Wendy, and a trans Peter Pan. I think the diversity different people expand on is what makes humans so magical in the first place.