For most millennials (like myself), these books probably conjure up core memories.
I know I spent many an evening tucked up with Jack and Annie as they travelled through time and space from Frog Creek.
And books like Magic Tree House were not massively common in my school.
I was incredibly lucky to have a mum who insisted my bookshelves were always well stocked and these had a long running residency.
As a British kid, I couldn’t get enough of the American culture of these books.
But what makes them so devourable for a little bookworm? Although they are technically a series, each book is its own amazing story.
So you kind of get the best of both worlds. The familiarity of Jack and Annie, but also a new amazing adventure to get stuck into.
That’s very comforting. And pretty tricky to replicate. Especially considering the sheer volume that this series has to offer.
If you grew up in a house of readers like I did, you’ll know the panic. “Nothing to read” gets treated like a genuine emergency round ours.
If your reader is a Jack, they’ve probably started pushing their glasses up their nose and scribbling “facts” in a notebook. If they’re more of an Annie, they’re the one diving in headfirst and trying to talk to the dog.
That’s the magic of it. Point at a picture and make a wish. The tree house spins you off to dinosaurs or knights or a real moment in history. There’s just enough true stuff dropped in to feel clever. All at a length they can read on their own.
Catch is, there’s only so long you can stay up one tree house. So here are five books that I’d have been happy to go to next as a former Magic Tree House fan. They’re all adventure books for younger readers, from quick early-chapter ones up to one chunkier step up. Every one is on Little Reads.
Books like Magic Tree House to read next
The Fantastic Frame: Danger! Tiger Crossing (Lin Oliver)
The Fantastic Frame 1 – Danger! Tiger Crossing
Tiger Brooks climbs into the garden next door to get his helicopter back and meets a talking pig in a top hat. Inside the house, a heavy gold frame hangs on the wall with a clock on the front of it. Tiger straightens the bent hand of the clock, and he and his new neighbour Luna end up in a jungle painting by Henri Rousseau with an hour on the clock.
If the treehouse itself was the bit your child loved (that step out of an ordinary house into somewhere completely new), this is a similar vibe.
It’s the first of four Fantastic Frame books and we have them all, with Splat! Another Messy Sunday next. The old lady who owns the frame lost her son into one of the paintings fifty years ago, so there’s a sad thread under the silliness.
Beast Quest: Ferno the Fire Dragon (Adam Blade)
Beast Quest 1 – Ferno the Fire Dragon
Strange things keep happening in Tom’s village.
Something attacks the horses, the river dries up, the crops burn to the ground.
Tom has always wanted a proper quest, and now he gets one. He’s sent across the kingdom to free the Beasts that have turned against the land.
Each book is one Beast, one battle, one job done.
These match that same episodic energy and are also filled to the brim with action. There are dozens of them too, so no panic about running out.
And if Beast Quest turns out to be the one they properly latch onto, our books like Beast Quest list picks up where Ferno leaves off.
A Chase in Time (Sally Nicholls)
A Chase in Time
This is the one for the Magic Tree House fan who loved landing slap bang in a real moment in history.
Alex and his big sister Ruby fall through the huge gold mirror in their aunt’s hallway and land in the same house in 1912.
Their uncle has just come home with a Saxon gold cup. Then the stables catch fire, and by the time everyone gets back from fighting it, the cup has gone.
Same time-travel-into-real-history feeling as Jack and Annie, and very funny about petticoats and stockings. It sits a year up on our age 8 shelf and there’s a bit of mild swearing in it. An Escape in Time is here too, where the mirror opens on 1795.
Dragon Girls: Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon (Maddy Mara)
Dragon Girls 1 – Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon
Azmina gets pulled into the Magic Forest and finds out she can turn into a dragon.
A gold, glittery, fire-breathing dragon. The Tree Queen summons her to keep the forest safe from the troublesome Shadow Sprites.
It’s bright, fast and full of magic, and the chapters are short enough for a newer reader to manage solo.
A good shout for the younger end who want that magic-portal feeling with nothing scary in it. And if they’re right at the start of reading alone, my chapter books for 7 year olds list is the shorter, more-pictures rung below this one.
If it’s really the dragons your child has fallen for, my books like How to Train Your Dragon picks go all in on them.
A step up: Amira and Hamza, The War to Save the Worlds (Samira Ahmed)
Amira & Hamza, The War to Save the Worlds
When your child is ready for something with a bit more heft, this is a lovely step up.
On the night of a rare eclipse, Amira and her little brother Hamza are at a museum exhibit. That’s when Hamza grabs a box he really shouldn’t.
Everyone around them drops into a sleep spell. A chunk of the moon breaks off. Suddenly the two of them are the only ones who can stop the worlds falling apart.
Longer and bigger than the others here, drawn from Islamic legend, and very funny about the way brothers and sisters wind each other up.
Never run out of the next big adventure
It can feel like a big task moving your little reader onto a new series of books. Especially if they’ve made their way through all of the Magic Tree House books.
Hopefully by this point, you’ll have at least one (hopefully more than that) option to get them started on something new.
And you can try all of these for free on Little Reads.
Before you go ahead and download, it’s worth knowing that Little Reads is built for children who already love books.
If your little one is still finding their feet with reading, an app with phonics and reading levels will serve you better. We’re a library, not a classroom.
But if you’ve got a reader who finishes a series and immediately needs the next one, this is what we’re for. Little Reads is a digital library of 3,000+ hand-picked books for children who love to read. Start them on The Fantastic Frame or Beast Quest and see where they go. £7.99 a month after a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like short chapter books for bedtime and books like The Worst Witch.