100 books like The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs

For those of you that loved (and love) Greek Mythology, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is an action-packed tour de force.

Young Percy, a dyslexic teenager, discovers that he is a demigod and the son of Poseidon. Falsely accused of stealing Zeus’ thunderbolt, Percy must clear his name and avoid a war between the Olympian Gods that could decimate the mortal world.

Riordan leans on his extensive knowledge of Greek Mythology to create a fast-paced, engaging adventure laced with humor. He masterfully blends Greek Mythology with the modern world, creating an epic adventure that readers of all ages will enjoy. Read the book. Much better than the movie.

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.

I love the way A Long Walk to Water follows two characters in two different timelines to reinforce the importance of water to survival. It’s an exciting combination of a true story and fictionalized one that intersect in an unexpected but wonderful way. Readers of any age, but especially younger ones, will be shocked by what one 11-year-old girl must do to obtain just a minimal daily amount of water for her family’s survival. They will also be inspired by how one 11-year-old boy, after barely surviving wartime experiences in his African homeland, returns years later to make a lasting impact on the lives of others. The double-pronged impact of these characters and their suspenseful stories will instantly engage readers, keep them enthralled to the final page, and leave a long-lasting impression.

This is more than a story, although it is a wonderful one. It is an eye-opener to the… show more.

Bite-sized bits of world knowledge are a great way to explore the world from the comfort of your own living room (or car or classroom). Visuals and a timeline help kids navigate history, discoveries, wars, revolutions, and inventions. This is the type of book kids can pick up and put down anytime. It also adds to general knowledge and builds great ideas for family trivia night!

I love, love, love how MacLeod and Wishinsky create their “accidental” books. It’s the perfect blend of entertaining and educational facts about people from around the world making great discoveries. It also shows the most ordinary people can make the most extraordinary discoveries.  

This sweet book, one of a long-running series, features Jack and Annie, two very different siblings who must work together to survive a time travel trip to the age of dinosaurs. It’s action-packed but also historically educational and instructive.

I loved reading this book and all the Magic Treehouse books to my kids when they were little as each could relate to one of the siblings. I especially love how the power to time travel comes from the actual books in the treehouse, reinforcing the magic of reading to beginners.

This series really brings dinosaurs to life for young readers. One of my children was obsessed with dinos for a while, and this series was so much fun to read together. They are full of interesting facts and tons of action. I highly recommend them as read-alouds for the entire family.

This is an enthralling new mystery series for middle grades and older readers. The main character is reminiscent of a young, female Sherlock Holmes, and she has lots of fun, if dangerous, adventures. My kids love the action, and I love that they teach a lot about history. These books have sparked a lot of conversation about the class system, in particular, which I believe is a very important topic.

Rob Hart’s The Paradox Hotel is bursting at the seams with interesting characters. The hotel of the title serves the needs of wealthy time tourists on their way to and from the nearby Einstein port. Working security is one January Cole. Her only friend an AI drone, January is grieving a lost love and fast succumbing to a time-travel illness that has her becoming unmoored from the present. Things go from bad to worse when she stumbles on a dead body that only she can see—turns out, it’s quite tricky to solve a murder that hasn’t happened yet. Surprisingly poignant, with moments that made me laugh out loud, and some inventive time travel shenanigans.

Although this book is only 16 pages long, it tells a story that could easily have been a novel, which is that she is capable of condensing something so dense down to so few words without making it feel like anything was left out. Here we see a rather fantastical time travel tale, but one that, although at first seems quite light-hearted, ends up being one of the darkest of such tales I've ever read...and the most thought-inducing.

I loved this book and have a very difficult time reviewing it without giving too much away, but if you've got a spare thirty minutes (you know, for you slow readers), I'd highly suggest you pick this one up immediately.