For the fans of the 90s Animorphs TV show (myself included), the Beast Quest books are great. (And if you’ve landed here hunting for books like Beast Quest, hang tight. The list is 30 seconds of nostalgia away.)
Although at times the show did give me the heeby jeebies, I was transfixed by these tweens transforming into all kinds of wacky creatures.
And whilst some people poo-poo kids enjoying a TV show and then going to read the book or vice versa, I think it’s great because either way it leads to books being enjoyed, right?
If you do go down a bit of a worm-hole (couldn’t resist the pun there), don’t go into the TV series and expect Avengers-level animations. Remember, this was the 90s and the dodgy animations were real ground-breaking stuff at the time…
Now onto the Beast Quest books. If your little reader is deep in Tom and Elenna’s world and the pile is running low, it pays to have the next series lined up before the last beast falls.
So here’s my short answer on books like Beast Quest. Bang Goes a Troll gives you the beast-of-the-book fix, The Secrets of Droon runs the same never-ending quest engine, Grilled Cheese and Dragons brings the jokes, Knights vs Dinosaurs is battle after battle, and Kulipari steps things up for a confident reader.
Every single one comes as a series. And I can pretty much guarantee that a Beast Quest fan won’t want just one book.
All five live alongside our action books for 7 year olds, and I’ve sorted them by the kind of fan you’ve got.
Why books like Beast Quest are hard to find
Look at how the first one works. Strange things are happening in Tom’s village (horses attacked, the river dried up, the last of the crops burnt), and one beast is behind all of it. That’s Ferno the Fire Dragon. One book, one beast, beast defeated, next beast.
A child can finish one in a couple of sittings and feel great for it. Then the collecting instinct kicks in, and suddenly you’re being quizzed on which beast comes after Sepron the Sea Serpent.
Most children’s fantasy doesn’t work like that. It builds one long story across fat books (brilliant later, wrong for right now). So this list sticks to series that keep the bite-sized battle rhythm.
The best books like Beast Quest
Bang Goes a Troll by David Sinden, Matthew Morgan and Guy Macdonald
Bang Goes a Troll (An Awfully Beastly Business)
For the fan who’s in it for the beasts themselves.
Ulf is a boy werewolf being raised at the RSPCB (a rescue centre for beasts). When a messenger bat arrives with a warning that beasts are in trouble out in the wild, Ulf heads off on a troll hunt.
It’s part of the An Awfully Beastly Business series, so there’s more where that came from. Around 6 to 8 is the sweet spot.
Journey to the Volcano Palace by Tony Abbott
Journey to the Volcano Palace
The same quest style as Beast Quest, running under a magic kingdom.
Eric, Julie and Neal are three ordinary kids whose friend happens to be Princess Keeah of Droon. When nasty Lord Sparr steals her magic jewel, getting it back means a journey to his volcano palace.
This is The Secrets of Droon, and there are millions of them in print for a reason. Short, fast and spot on at 7. If they’d rather begin at book one, that’s The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet.
Grilled Cheese and Dragons by Nancy Krulik
Princess Pulverizer 1 – Grilled Cheese and Dragons
The funny one (and the one I’d hand a 6 year old first).
Princess Serena would rather wear a suit of armour than a crown. She wants to be a knight, thanks very much, and she’d prefer you called her Princess Pulverizer.
First of the Princess Pulverizer series. A good shout at 6 to 8, especially for a reader who wants the monsters AND the laughs.
Knights vs Dinosaurs by Matt Phelan
Knights vs Dinosaurs
Exactly what it says. Knights. Dinosaurs. Fights.
The Knights of the Round Table are famous for their courage, their chivalry and their record against mythical creatures. Then they come up against actual dinosaurs.
Best around 7 to 9, and one for the child who acts the battles out afterwards.
If you just want the one to try tonight, go Droon for a 7 year old and Bang Goes a Troll for anyone who reads the beast names out loud at breakfast.
And swap in Grilled Cheese and Dragons if the last three books in the house have all been somebody hitting something.
More Adam Blade first?
If it’s Adam Blade or nothing, there’s an easy answer. Sea Quest is an underwater follow-up, and it scratches the identical itch with a bit of tech thrown in for good measure.
It opens with Max’s home (the floating city of Aquora) under attack from Cephalox the Cyber Squid, and Manak the Manta Ray carries the hunt on from there.
And there are over twenty Beast Quests to work through in the original run, so do check how far down it they actually are before panicking.
The step-up, for when they’re ready
Kulipari – The Rainbow Serpent
Kulipari is what I’d give to an 8 or 9 year old who wants more than just battles.
The frogs’ home is under threat from the Spider Queen and Lord Marmoo of the scorpions, and this time the scorpions have brought backup. It’s warrior frogs against scorpion armies, and nobody’s treating it as a game.
Longer chapters, higher stakes, still creature-first.
Two more earn a mention here. Level Up: Beast Battles traps videogame-mad Flo and her best friend Max inside their favourite games, and The Dragonling (a boy called Darek bringing home the dragonling he rescued) is the cosy one for a younger sibling.
Droon pulls the same trick for Magic Tree House fans, by the way (there’s a whole list in our books like Magic Tree House guide). And if it’s specifically the dragons they love, start with books like How to Train Your Dragon instead.
Just so you know…
Little Reads is a digital library app. It holds 3,000+ hand-picked books (every series on this page included), it’s £7.99 a month after a 7-day free trial, and you can cancel anytime. A free account comes with 100+ free books to test the water.
One honest line before you download. We’re built for children who already love reading. If yours is still learning the ropes, a phonics app will serve you better than we can.
But if you’ve got a beast-obsessed reader demanding the next fix? That we can do all day.