Read-alikes

07/14/2023

Can you help me find a really good book to read?

Read-alikes are an easy way to suggest titles to patrons, of all ages, in need of help with their next read. But I’m talking about recommendations for kids. A young girl who loves Baby-Sitters Club will adore the Cupcake Diaries. A young boy who loves dinosaurs will try any book about dinosaurs and then may venture into dragons and/or monsters.

Have you considered creating a read-alike list? Having such a list might be fun for young readers to review for their next reading adventure. Sometimes just walking to the shelves or sitting in front of the computer with no idea of the next book can be daunting for a child – sometimes even an adult.

Here are some resources to help you get a jump start on creating your read-alike list. One resource is the Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California (www.bayviews.org). They have an extensive listing of children’s books and authors with corresponding read-alikes. They also have read-alike lists sorted by genres and subjects. Another resource is the Eugene Public Library (https://eugene.libguides.com/kidsbooks/readalikes) which also has a list of read-alike books. Both resources are a great starting point if you are beginning your list on your own.

An additional resource is a website called A Book and A Hug (https://abookandahug.com/). This free website is managed and owned by Barb Langridge, a former Librarian Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist. Take a few minutes and visit this site, it will give you a world of information. From a quiz to find a child’s reader personality type to read-alikes for each type. Her website also features an extensive list of keywords for books that may be helpful in your library circulation system.

Many review sources, such as Booklist or School Library Journal suggest similar reads or books that will appeal based on genre or theme. Add some or all these recommendations together, along with input from ‘sister’ libraries in your district or library system to create a comprehensive read-alike list for your library.

Once you have created your list of read-alikes, we suggest that you keep them handy or hang the list in the children’s section. This can be a time-saver for you if kids can self-select from the list you’ve created. However, it is important to note that your knowledge of books, authors, and children can help guide children to their next reading adventure too.

Here are a few read-alike examples from our website:

1. Dragon Masters read-alike Dragon Storm
2. Best of Iggy read-alike Diary of a Wimpy Kid
3. Agent 9 read-alike Bad Guys
4. Princess Evie read-alike Unicorn Academy
5. Trillium Sisters read-alike Mia Mayhem
6. Sweet Valley Twins read-alike Baby-Sitter’s Club

Your library may have Novelist or Overdrive, both subscription services offer read-alikes for YA and Adults. Goodreads also offers read-alikes for YA and Adult titles.

“Reading is important because if you can read, you can learn anything about everything and everything about anything.” – Tomie dePaola

Written by Nancy Stetzinger, Penworthy’s Product Manager