best next books for 10 year old harry potter fan?

Answer 1

The original series, of course...

"The Worst Witch" books, by Jill Murphy. A girl's boarding school that teaches witchcraft. The adventures are more down to earth, as it were, with Mildred Hubble always trying to do the right thing, even if that means earning the eminity of her exasperated teachers.

http://www.galafilm.com/worstwitch/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worst-Witch-Young-Puffin-Story/dp/0141314508

"The Worst Witch stories have become some of the most outstandingly successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and have sold more than 3 million copies. They were also made into a major ITV series....Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch, was first published 30 years ago in 1975 to great critical and commercial success. The series is still going strong with her latest book, The Worst Witch Saves the Day, published in October 2005." http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=56

One of my personal favourites is "The Dark is Rising" series, by Susan Cooper.

"It is, however The Dark Is Rising series which is synonymous with the name Susan Cooper. The first in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone, is perhaps more readily identified as a family adventure story than the other DR books - but it is much more than that. In Over Sea, Under Stone we have the first insights into the battle between the Dark and the Light and the introduction to the Arthurian and Celtic myths and legends which permeate the whole of the sequence. After completing Over Sea, Under Stone the reader has experienced only a taster of what is to come in the remaining stories. During the dozen or so years that followed publication of Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising series was written, the remaining books in the series are: The Dark Is Rising published in 1973, Greenwitch published in 1974, The Grey King, published in 1975 and the final book in the sequence Silver on the Tree, published in 1977.

The Dark Is Rising series is a triumph. The series of books is moulded by Susan Cooper's own background and each book effectively weaves a path between the stuff of myth and legend and the lives of everyday people - people like us. One of the books in the series, The Grey King, won the Newbery Medal in 1976. The prize is awarded yearly by the American Library Institute for outstanding contribution to Children's Literature. It is perhaps a testament to the whole series that the award was made. The Grey King particularly looks at the human cost of the battle between the Dark and the Light. It is a powerful mix which explores the emotions of destiny, friendship love and loss. The DR books were completed in 1977." http://www.thelostland.com/biography.htm

"The Dark Is Rising is one of the best fantasies ever written, young-adult or otherwise. Seeped in mystery, magic, atmosphere and a very keen sense of the significance of mythology and history, there's more to inspire wonder in this small, haunting book than there is in most entire trilogies.

Readers today will instantly recognize all of the mythic tropes Susan Cooper brings to bear in this tale. This novel revels in its archetypes, but where a lesser writer would turn a novel like this into an exercise in going through the motions, Cooper weaves a gripping and dreamlike story that reminds us exactly why archetypes have the power they do.

Will Stanton is the youngest child (and, significantly, the seventh son of a seventh son, no less) of a large English farming family who, on the eve of his eleventh birthday, learns that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortal beings whose task it has been since the dawn of time to protect the world from the forces of the Dark. It is Will's task to seek six magical Signs, each in the form of a cross within a circle, which, when united, will provide the ultimate weapon against the Dark. Will is aided in his quest by other Old Ones, most importantly Merriman Lyon, introduced to us in Over Sea and whose true identity provides the series' most direct link to the Arthurian legends. Will's enemies include the sinister Rider, who menaces Will from astride a black stallion, and the mad Walker, who seeks the Signs himself out of a demented desire for revenge against Merriman.

On top of high myth, The Dark Is Rising is also a coming of age story, as Will learns of his true calling and destiny at the threshold of adolescence. Cooper doesn't cut corners when fleshing out Will's family life, and Will's bevy of brothers and sisters, plus his doting parents, give Will a warm, human context in which to frame his superhuman tasks. Will learns for the first time of a brother who died years ago in infancy. He hero-worships a big brother who's overseas in the armed forces (and who yet manages to play a role in Will's personal transformation) and finds himself under the watchful eye of another brother, Paul, the only family member to suspect that something about Will is changing. There's no time, despite the challenges he comes to face and the powers he must learn to wrest control over, that you stop believing in Will as an 11-year-old kid.

The winter setting of the novel establishes the perfect backdrop for this proudly traditional good-vs-evil saga. There's just something about cold weather that conveys magic and fantasy, and Cooper gives us plenty of cold, all right. As Will's power increases, the Dark responds by blanketing the entire countryside in the worst snowstorms it has suffered in years. The roaring winds of winter storms are so vividly depicted by Cooper you can almost hear them and feel the cold in your bones, and a sense of genuinely eerie foreboding permeates the narrative, without which the story wouldn't have worked half as well. Without a real sense of the danger Will faces...without honestly believing that the Dark is rising...this book would have indeed been just a string of fantasy clichés. Many fantasy writers work their way through "good" and "evil" story elements as if they were just accessories, but Cooper gives you a conflict that means something. Whether subtly, as in the flock of rooks that follow Will around and spy on him from treetops, or overtly, as in the scene in which the entire town is huddled for warmth in a manor hall against the increasingly violent supernatural ice storms, Cooper knows how to draw readers into the story with a sense of danger they can have a stake in.

But Cooper isn't merely blessing us with terrific art direction by setting the story in the winter; no, everything pays homage to the myths from which she draws inspiration. The story takes place over the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas (with Will's birthday falling on Midwinters' Eve), but anyone who knows a little history will know this time of year is not merely significant to Christianity; pagan traditions that predate Christianity by centuries held their most important holidays at this time of year, too, and Cooper's story ties together all of these holiday traditions, from myths both ancient and contemporary. You'll also notice what an important role music plays in the story. Each of the book's major scenes incorporates music to some degree, either simply to carry the mood or more directly to announce the arrival of something new and magical.

This is really a wondrous book that can be appreciated by lovers of great storytelling both young and old. If you vaguely remember reading it as a kid, don't hesitate to pick it up again; you'll find it will still hold you in its magic thrall. And if you're a parent, you'd be derelict in your duties if you didn't give Susan Cooper's novels to the little J. K. Rowling fan in your house. Settle in and enjoy...especially if it's a dark and stormy night!" http://www.sfreviews.net/darkisrising.html

Answer 2

Has she read Narnia before? If not, she will most probably like it. The stories are very simple and have got their own elements of magic and drama. I didn't feel it as captivating as Harry Potter, but the series is really nice overall. The Lord of the Rings is also very good, but the first part is SO BORING that 10 year olds will hardly have the patience to read even 50 pages. Now there are loads of other novels and series that she will like, like Nanacy Drew, the Three Investigators, The Hardy Boys and all. Oh yes, Eragon and Eldest will be nice picks too.

Answer 3

Dear Harry fan, if you're really 10.
There are so many great books out there.
Harry Potter wasn't even so great, it's based on an original idea, true, but that's all, the writing style is ordinary.

You like more the character of the book, Harry, than you like the writer. True?

Answer 4

the "Wilderking Trilogy" is good. not quite as adult as Potter, shorter books, but they're incredibly fun and can provide some entertainment for a while. Also, try "the Chronicles of Narnia". I'm sure you've seen the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on video, but the books are so much better - especially the first one, which tells how Narnia came to be. "The Magicians nephew". Now, that should have been a movie!

Answer 5

Though the 7th book is about to be released but you're very correct in looking for a replacement, after it is the last one!

Have you read Roald Dahl?
It is wonderful!
You know JK Rowling did what Roald Dahl was famous for, the twists and turns in the storyline, hilarious and amusing at the same time.
Have you read 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', it is also very good.
Highly recommended.
A 10 year old will enjoy reading it.

Answer 6

Try Margaret Peterson Haddix's Shadow Children series, The first one is Among the Hidden.
Also Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest set, the first one is Dealing With Dragons.
Books by Bruce Coville, Mary Downing Hahn.
Also, Anthony Horowitz, Stormbreaker and its sequels.

Answer 7

Eragon and Eldest (The Inheritance Series), Series of Unfortunate Events,The Chronicles of Narnia
Check out mugglenet.com
Ther is also alot of HP fanfiction online and there are only 150 days until Book 7 comes out!

Answer 8

these might be a bit mature for a 10 yera old, but try the wizarding series by Diane Duane. its starts with So you Want to Be a Wizard and is pretty interesting, thouhg i'll admit it i never read the whole series. also try books like the Lord of the Rings/ the Hobbit, and books by Anne McCaffrey. not about the whole wizarding thing, but still good fantasy.

Answer 9

Try the Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo. Similar concept. British boarding school for magically endowed children. Not quite as good as HP but still pretty good.

Answer 10

The Artemis Fowl series is very close to Harry Potter & is wonderful; I would highly recommend them.

Answer 11

Give King Fortis the Brave or the Chronicles of Narnia a try!