If you liked X, you may also like X... #1

Suggesting similar titles for popular children's books. This week it's: Runt, The Wild Robot, and that Taylor Swift Little Golden Book that's absolutely everywhere.

A paid subscriber recently had this request:

I'd love a comparative table of similar junior fiction or middle grade, for example, Leo and Ralph is similar to… or Honey and the Valley of Horses is similar to… in style, language and theme. Picture books too. Grandma Murphy's Pussycat is similar to...

And I’m here to help! This newsletter is part one of a new series where I offer comparative titles for popular children’s books.

To kick things off I thought I’d do the top three books from the Readings 100 bestselling kids & YA books of 2024. Clearly, these books are well-loved, so I figured there may be people out there looking for readalikes.

Please feel free to reach out and let me know if there are any particular titles that you’d like me to create a list of similar books for!

---

If you liked Runt, you may also like:

• Similar stories about kindness, friendship and hope that include some illustrations throughout:

  • Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin and Astred Hicks

  • Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon by Gabrielle Wang (also a dog story!)

  • Thunderhead by Sophie Beer

  • Exit Through the Gift Shop by Maryam Master and Astred Hicks

• More middle grade dog adventures:

  • Paws by Kate Foster

  • The Dog with Seven Names by Dianne Wolfer

  • The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon

  • The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble

• More stories about kids taking their futures into their own hands:

  • We Run Tomorrow by Nat Amoore and Mike Barry (also has illustrations!)

  • Being Jimmy Baxter by Fiona Lloyd

  • The January Stars by Kate Constable

  • Fly On the Wall by Remy Lai

• Similar middle grade books set in small towns: