Here are 50 books that Nicholas fans have personally recommended if you like
Nicholas.
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I’ve always been drawn to portal stories where a character is magically transported to another world. As a child, I loved Where the Wild Things Are. Now, as a parent, I can see how cleverly Maurice Sendak builds a fantasy around a core emotional truth. This fascination stayed with me through books like The Phantom Tollbooth and Alice in Wonderland. I believe there’s something very powerful about using fantasy worlds to explore the inner lives of characters.
This is utterly unique in the way Norton Juster is able to build a fantasy world out of words, logic, and math.
As a young adult, I loved the idea of receiving a magic tollbooth and driving into a magic world. But, immediately, I found the book challenging because Milo ends up in the doldrums (a word I had never heard before). This is not just a fantasy adventure, but a cautionary tale, a character study, and a world full of puns and puzzles.
Returning to the book as an adult, I was amazed at how seamlessly Juster puts it all together.
With almost 5 million copies sold 60 years after its original publication, generations of readers have now journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer’s splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster’s offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever.
“Comes up bright and new every time I read it . . . it will continue to charm and delight for a very long time yet. And teach us some wisdom, too.” --Phillip Pullman
For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
I’ve spent my whole life working with children’s books. Firstly, as a listener–I was lucky enough to be read to frequently as a child. Then, as a reader. Later, I shared books as a teacher, editor, and publisher. But perhaps my favorite moments with books have been as a mother and now as an author. That’s a lot of books read, written, edited, shared, and loved! And for me, bedtime is the best time of day to share a book with a child. So, snuggle up and enjoy a favorite book with a favorite little person–they won’t be little for long!
It would be remiss of me not to include this absolute classic in my list. I’ve enjoyed the Winnie-the-Pooh stories ever since I was old enough to play with poohsticks, and now the words of A. A.
Milne inspires me in my work every day. Eeyore has always been my favorite, and the Tiddely Pom Hum was the very first piece of poetry that I learned by heart.
An award-winning production, with an all-star cast including Stephen Fry and Judi Dench, brings to life one of the best-loved children's books of all time.
Packed full of fun and adventure with Winnie-the-Pooh and all his friends in the Hundred Acre Forest. This is a wonderful dramatisation of Winnie-the-Pooh with original music. This captivating adaptation conveys all the magic and humour of AA Milne's classic stories.
The cast includes the following stars:
Pooh - Stephen Fry Piglet - Jane Horrocks Eeyore - Geoffrey Palmer Kanga (and Narrator) - Judi Dench Roo - Finty Williams Rabbit - Robert Daws Owl -…
I was once a little girl who loved reading, and now I'm a mother who shares that passion with my kid. Over the past few years, I've been revisiting my own childhood favorites with him (it's been a serendipitous mix of work and pleasure as I was also researching a book on one of the all-time great children's book authors, Judy Blume). The novels I've recommended here are ones that seemed to spark pleasure in the most discerning—and honest—of audiences: an 8-year-old. And unlike some old books that will go unnamed, they didn't make me cringe as a 21st-century parent.
Pippi is the queen of the quirky kids, and I was one of her tribe. But it turns out you don’t have to be a bookish little girl in glasses to appreciate her antics.
My son thought Pippi, with her zany outfits and absurd tall tales, was fantastic. Sure, I had to take a moment to make sure he knew that parents don’t generally leave little kids alone to fend for themselves in big Victorian houses. Once we got that point out of the way, Pippi was an absolute pleasure to read together.
This flagship gift edition illustrated by Lauren Child is a glorious celebratory tribute to the strongest girl in the world.
Pippi Longstocking is nine years old. She has just moved into Villa Villekulla where she lives all by herself with a horse, a monkey, and a big suitcase full of gold coins. The grown-ups in the village try to make Pippi behave in ways that they think a little girl should, but Pippi has other ideas. She would much rather spend her days arranging wild, exciting adventures to enjoy with her neighbours, Tommy and Annika, or entertaining everyone she meets…
Jake Sledge, a rugged ex-cop turned private eye, teams up with his colossal partner Bobo to navigate the gritty streets of River City.
A murdered lawyer drags them into a web of political intrigue, neo-Nazi thugs, and bloody showdowns. With sharp wit and hard-hitting action, Jake tackles scumbags the only…
I came to write books for children somewhat by accident – my first Star Wars book, Darth Vader and Son, was intended to be for adults, but kids decided the book was really for them. One of the most satisfying things as an author has been hearing from parents whose children have them read the book to them over and over. I’ve loved being able to read to my sons, introducing them to books I loved at their age, and discovering others I haven’t read before. The books I love most to read with them, though, are the ones we both laugh out loud at. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.
There may not be a simpler book that paints a more complex picture of friendship as Frog and Toad. The chapters would be the perfect length for bedtime reading if the two amphibians weren’t so engrossing that both you and your young one will keep deciding on “just one more” until you’ve read them all. Frog and Toad are clever, and naïve, and sweet, and always funny.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of beloved bestselling characters Frog and Toad!
Frog and Toad are always there for each other—just as best friends should be! From sledding in winter to eating ice cream on hot summer days, these two friends have fun together the whole year round!
This box set with a green handle and Velcro closure includes all four classics: the Caldecott Honor Book Frog and Toad Are Friends, Newbery Honor Book Frog and Toad Together, Frog and Toad All Year, and Days with Frog and Toad.
This reading collection is a Level Two I Can Read, geared toward…
I’ve been a reader all my life. It started with books like Where the Red Fern Grows, and as I got older, I moved on to books like The Bean Treesby Barbara Kingsolver andSkipped Parts by Tim Sandlin. Whatever I was reading, it was taking place somewhere in the wilds of the mid and western United States. I’m from a small town, and growing up, everybody knew their neighbor’s business. These are the places I love to read and write about. Add some steamy romance, and I’m there! So when the MMC from my first book, Burned, cowboy Jack Cade, showed up in my head, I knew he was from a small town.
Pippa is so down on her luck, she can’t see up. What better way to turn it all around than to return to the small western town of Cabrillo where she and her sisters were happy when they were little girls. Unfortunately, the house her aunt left her seems to have been claimed by the grumpy cowboy next door, who’s aptly named Bear. Attraction grows while Pippa and Bear try to come to an agreement about the house. Their families have something to say about it, though, and therein lies the conflict. With her descriptive writing, Ms. Turner has the ability to take me home, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
A down-on-her-luck woman finds her perfect home—but a surly cowboy claims it’s already his!
She has one last chance to turn her luck around…
Pippa is homeless, jobless, and dead broke. Her last chance for salvation may be in her late aunt’s dilapidated house. One tiny problem… she’s got Bear trouble.
Bear’s had his eyes on the old Crivelli eyesore for years, and now that he’s bought it, he’s determined to tear it down. All is well… until a sassy, sexy woman rolls into town and claims the building for herself.
The house is a death trap, but Pippa’s determined…
Because I have lived on an Indian reservation for more than three decades, own and train horses, have competed in horse shows and competitions, have worked with one of my sons on a cattle ranch, and I’ve been happily married for almost forty years, writing contemporary Western romance became the perfect fit. I love reading clean romance stories with strong female characters. My degree in Abnormal Psychology from Eastern Washington University has proved useful in my development of characters and their fears, the lies they believe, and how to overcome their struggles.
A ranch in Apple Valley, Washington, is filled with promise and second chances. Especially for a beautiful little boy with Down Syndrome, who is in need of a nanny. I loved this character! He’s spunky, and fun, and captured my heart from the moment I met him on the page. I also enjoyed his spunky secret half-sister. Stories with children helping couples in second-chance romances renew their relationship tug at my heartstrings. The Rancher’s Surprise proved to be a heartwarming romance that made me close the book and want more. This is definitely a “comfort” read.
Eight years ago, Cody McClure came home from the summer rodeo circuit with a surprise pregnant wife even though he’d promised to marry his high school sweetheart. Now he’s the single father of a special needs son in desperate need of a nanny while he runs the Three M Ranch.
Molly Halverson left home with a broken heart and a secret. Now she’s back in Apple Valley, a single mom in need of a job. But the only job available in her small hometown is for the man who trampled her heart and has no idea he fathered her child.…
Caroline Herschel has always lived in the shadows. Beholden to her wildly popular older brother, William, who rescued her from servitude, she's worked hard to build a life for herself – one where she can go unnoticed and repay the debt she believes she owes him. But when her brother…
I have a life-long love of Westerns. I’ve researched the period and the events extensively. One of the first things I look for in any book I read is period accuracy. The books I write are historically accurate, though they are fiction. I’m on a mission, through my writing, to save the Western genre.
Essentially this is an homage to the American Cowboy as it tells of his demise as a lifestyle. While some say this one’s hard to read because of its episodic format, I found it the ideal setting for telling the background of the Cowboy’s life and times. Life doesn’t happen in such a structured way as most stories depict. As Monty fights against the progress that will consume him, the reader sees its inevitability. Lament it if you will, it’s a forward-moving engine that will not be stopped.
Originally published in 1963, Monte Walsh continues to delight readers as a Western classic and popular favorite. The novel explores the cowboy lives of Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins as they carouse, ride, and work at the Slash Y with Cal Brennan. As the West changes and their cowboy antics are challenged, the two must part ways to pursue new ways of life. Chet marries and goes on to become a successful merchant and then a politician, while Monte can only find solace in continuing the cowboy's way of life until the very end.
I’ve been an equestrian all of my life, so when I pick up a story that promises horses, I have high expectations. I want to be immersed in the moment, and to be honest, that can be difficult to find. I have put down more ranch romances than I have finished. My cowboys really need to be cowboys, not just hot guys in hats that maybe ride a horse off-screen sometimes. But when I find that special something, I can’t put it down. I hang on for the ride and put the horses up wet. I do wish these places were real. I’d book my ticket in a heartbeat.
I knew just about from the first page that ‘The Buckskin,’ as they call it, is a place I’d like to go. Just reminiscing about family vacations there had me wanting more. In book one, with Lucy, we get to see the ranch from her artist’s perspective and I could picture her sitting in the corner of the stall sketching the horses and I wanted to join her. The property is so well drawn out for the reader that it is easy to wander down the snow-line paths between the cabins and the dining hall, and sneak around to the bunkhouse for a bonfire. Even in the dead of winter, the atmosphere is so warm and inviting I’ve already signed up for another visit. Thank goodness there are ten books in this series!
He’s roped in by a runaway bride! When Lucy Patterson shows up at the Buckskin Ranch with no groom, Matt Ramsey’s in a fix. Six years ago she gave him her heart. He sent her away. He was wrong for her then. He’s wrong for her now. But the years have fanned the flames...
Saddle up for the fun-filled Buckskin Brotherhood series! Steamy western romances from the NYT bestselling author who brought you The McGavin Brothers of Eagles Nest, Montana. If you like sexy cowboys, charming small towns, and laugh-out-loud adventures, you’ll love meeting the Buckskin Brotherhood.
Because I have lived on an Indian reservation for more than three decades, own and train horses, have competed in horse shows and competitions, have worked with one of my sons on a cattle ranch, and I’ve been happily married for almost forty years, writing contemporary Western romance became the perfect fit. I love reading clean romance stories with strong female characters. My degree in Abnormal Psychology from Eastern Washington University has proved useful in my development of characters and their fears, the lies they believe, and how to overcome their struggles.
These authors had me on the edge of my seat in A Fiery Match. What’s better than a Texas love story set on a ranch with exciting characters and danger? Not much. I admired Janie Olson’s feistiness and drive she obtained from her time in the Army. The way the authors polished Fire Chief Mack Griffitt's rough edges was organic and fun. Though the book is filled with tension, the matchmaking busybodies toss in a helping of humor, which made for a super balance of suspense and comedy I thoroughly enjoyed.
She left as the ugly duckling and returned a beautiful swan—only she doesn’t know it.
The day Janie Olsen arrives back home, it’s to find major upheaval amidst a prairie fire on her family ranch. When she takes charge, thanks to her years in the Army, she does more than just ruffle the feathers of the town’s fire chief—she sparks an unsuspecting match.
Fire Chief Mack Griffitt is used to calling the shots. But when an upstart, feisty woman shows up out of nowhere and tries taking charge of his fire scene, he’s forced to put his large boot down.…
Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Next, her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small,…
Looking back, I was surprised at the things I'd done and the distance I'd traveled from my lower-middle-class upbringing in an industrial town. Destined for a life on the hot beds at the steel mill, I worked my way through college, found a job as a cub copywriter, learned documentary filmmaking, won an EMMY Award, moved to Hollywood, and started my 'sho biz' career.
Yes, the movie is a classic, but when I feel I could use a refresher course in how a story can be fresh and original when seen through the eyes of a child, Shaefer’s original story of honor and bravery in menacing times is first on my mind.
After the Civil War, settlers moving west often found their lives endangered by the conflicting interests of the farmers and the cattlemen. Shane is a great depiction of a dangerous but honorable man caught between such interests.
'If you read only one western in your life, this is the one' Roland Smith, author of Peak
He rode into our valley in the summer of 1889, a slim man, dressed in black. 'Call me Shane,' he said. He never told us more. There was a deadly calm in the valley that summer, a slow, climbing tension that seemed to focus on Shane.
Seen through the eyes of a young boy, Bob Starrett, SHANE is the classic story of a lone stranger. At first sight, the boy realises there is something unusual about the approaching man, but as Bob…
