If You Like This Classic, Try This Middle Grade

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If You Like A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Try Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by  Katherine Rundell

Wilhelmina Silver loves living on a farm in Zimbabwe. But then she receives the news that little girls must not grow up half-wild, but instead go to boarding school in London.  The girls in London do not understand Will, however, and they do not like what they do not understand.  Alone and tormented, Will must learn how to turn the bravery that allows her to face down wild animals into the kind of bravery that can overcome spiteful classmates.

If You Like Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Try The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

When the headmistress of St. Ethedreda’s School for Girls and her younger brother are poisoned at Sunday dinner, the seven boarders know just what to do.  Hide the bodies; convince the town that Headmistress Plackett is alive and well; and continue to live at the school as independent women.  But can the girls identify the murderer before he or she attempts to strike a second time?

If You Like Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Try Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Gregor’s father disappeared years ago and thus has to spend the summer caring for his baby sister Boots.  The two find adventure, however, when they fall through a grate in the laundry room into the Underland, where humans live uneasily alongside giant roaches, rats, bats, and spiders.  The humans believe Gregor to be the warrior named in an ancient prophecy, but Gregor wants nothing more than to return his sister safely home.

If You Like The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Try The Girl Who Circumvented Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente

One day the Green Wind catches up September and takes her to Fairyland—but all is not how it should be.  Fairies are scarce, winged beasts are forbidden to fly, and the Marquess has stolen the spoon the witches use to see the future.  September agrees to travel to the capital and retrieve the spoon, but somewhere along the way she realizes that her quest has grown bigger than she anticipated.

If You Like The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

Try 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson

When Henry moves to live with his aunt and uncle in Kansas, he doesn’t expect to do much exciting besides perhaps learn to play baseball.  But then he sees a short man in the house, who disappears into a room that has been locked for years.  Can it be that the cupboards in the attic really lead to different worlds and that his grandfather knew the secret?

 

If You Like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Try Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson

Eleven-year-old Thomas Hammond floats down the stream and over a waterfall one day, then finds himself trapped underneath Leepike Ridge.  With only a few sardines and a light, Tom will have to find the courage and the wits to stay alive long enough to find his way out.  But up above a gang of treasure hunters is thwarting the search efforts.

 

If You Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Try Floors by Patrick Carman

Leo Fillmore lives in the greatest place on earth—the Whippet Hotel, consisting of nine (known) floors each full of rooms that boggle the imagination.  The Cake Room.  The Pinball Room.  The Flying Farm Room.  As the son of the maintenance man, Leo knows these rooms better than most, but even he is unprepared for the day the owner goes missing and the hotel starts to fall apart.  With a mysterious box to guide him and a duck at his side, Leo sets forth to save the hotel before there’s nothing left at all.

Further Reading

If you like this list, check out our Young Adult and Classic Match-Up here!

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