People regularly ask me for book recommendations in a variety of genres, but one specific genre that comes up frequently is Magic School books — specifically, readers want alternatives to that well-known series whose author has been digging herself a huge bigoted hole that she will likely never escape.
While I could recommend many books that I read as a child several decades ago, I have very specific reasons for preferring to NOT recommend older books: 1) modern kids want to read modern books. While a child may enjoy older recommendations, I believe that modern books should take priority for most kids. 2) Many, many books from the last century, even ones by “good” authors, slip in some kind of bigotry. 3) I like to support living authors.
This will be a dynamic list, meaning that I will come back and edit it as needed. I will link to Bookshop pages, a web store that supports indie bookstores and that isn’t run by a billionaire. I may receive a small commission when you buy from these links. Now, on to the recommendations!
Modern Magical Kid Books (2000-Present):
Witchlings series by Claribel A. Ortega, 2023
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson Series) by Rick Riordan, 2005-Present
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (Fairies series) by Gail Carson Levine, 2005
The Storybook of Legends (Ever After High series) by Shannon Hale
Winx Club Series by Iginio Straffi
Athena the Brain (Goddess Girls Series) by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams, 2010
Older Magical Kids Books (1999 and earlier, may contain archaic terms and concepts):
Bed-Knob and Broomstick by Mary Norton, 1957
The Borrowers Series by Mary Norton, 1952
A Wrinkle in Time (series) by Madeline L’Engle, 1962
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937
A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1968
Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini, 2002
My Forest Library 
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