88 Books Like The Last Caretaker

Boris is a mischievous, comical warthog, always up for adventure. In this first book of the series, Boris persuades his parents to take their old bus, which doubles as their home, out for a ride. He longs to explore faraway jungles and is sorely disappointed when the bus stops at a local park. But it turns out the park holds unexpected thrills – not to mention scares! — and Boris ends up with a new friend. These short chapter books are perfect for new readers: six or seven chapters with a single, suspenseful storyline, in an engaging graphic format that employs dialogue and thought balloons sparingly and effectively.

Okay, I confess this is the same story as the recommendation above, The Elephants Come Home, but this is written by the actual guy, Lawrence Anthony, who undertook this effort.

Also, instead of a picture book, it is a 380-page tale told by the person who lived it. If you love The Elephants Come Home, you’ll want to read Elephant Whisperer as well.

I found myself exclaiming again and again over the stories that Anthony tells of life on the sanctuary.

Deb Rogers turns the classic “Florida Woman” meme on its head through her protagonist Jamie, a lost and desperate soul who winds up working at the bizarre Atlas Wildlife Refuge for macaques.

Three women in charge of the sanctuary soon seem to be creepy; they perform strange rituals and caution Jamie to avoid the medical lab. The novel’s setting, at the edge of the Ocala National Forest, immerses the reader in a tactile way into Jamie’s dark and ominous world. The plot races along at a fast clip and it avoids predictable twists, offering a fresh take on the story of a Florida woman whose mistake turned her into a viral punchline.

Readers will be rooting for Jamie to transform into a more empowered young woman. Think Carl Hiaasen meets Karen Russell.

A beautifully told story about a Namibian family who created a real-life Noah’s Ark in the desert. Marieta van der Merwe and her late husband Nick turned their cattle ranch into a refuge for thousands of wounded or orphaned animals who can’t make it on their own in the wild. This book, full of wonder and gentle souls, has special meaning for me. I met Barbara Bennett, a North Carolina University literature professor, when I was sent to Namibia to write a story about Harnas Wildlife Sanctuary for the Guardian and we were both volunteering. Afterward, I introduced her to my New York literary agent who sold the book. It’s so vividly written that it allowed me to relive my experiences of daily mischief of the baboons, walking full-grown lions in the desert, sleeping with cheetahs under the stars, and watching the giant thunderstorms on the porch with a menagerie… show more.

Three generations of women act victoriously throughout this white-knuckle tale. Anne, who met the man of her dreams – slash the man of her nightmares – right out of college; her daughter, Thea; and the tough matriarch to them all. When these women thread their way through the winter woods to hole up in a cabin, they don't know the identity of the man who has chased them there, or the threat they will face. They only know their fierce love for each other, a bond too strong for any man to break. Told in the voices of these women, with interlocking timelines, there is an ageless, fairy tale quality to this thriller. It will raise your heart rate even as it tugs at your heartstrings.

Alice Henderson is a new author in the environmental mystery subgenre, and this book is the first of a series. It’s clear from the novel’s start that wildlife biologist Alex Carter is not welcome in the rural Montana area, and the spooky setting of a remote lodge occupied only by the biologist seems almost reminiscent of The Shining at times. But for me, that creepiness is offset by interesting descriptions of the wild areas and the work of a wildlife biologist studying reclusive wolverines. A few details in the pursuit scene near the book’s conclusion strike me as a bit over the top, but overall, I enjoy this thrilling adventure in the wild, and I look forward to reading Henderson’s next book. 

With the rise in so-called “gray divorces,” adult children of divorce find that they are just as wounded, betrayed, devastated and grief-stricken as young children. The myth that it is better to “wait to divorce till after the kids are grown” turns out to be just that, a myth. Adult children of divorce have been neglected in divorce books until recently, and this book is a resource geared toward their unique circumstances, helping them process and adjust to their parent's divorce. Divorcing parents would also benefit from reading it if they have adult children.

This book gave me courage when I was at a low ebb. 

Clover bravely describes the ferocity of her longing and grief over her mother following an accident. Her mother is alive but is not the person she knew and loved, more a toddler in an adult body. Clover takes flight as a teenager, and in her mission to understand her own shock and turmoil, she is drawn into challenging and sometimes dangerous situations with people, which she handles with fortitude.

I was left feeling that in the face of adversity, if we are brave and walk towards our grief, we can handle it eventually, bringing it forward into a new landscape (in Clover’s case, adulthood) and learning from it every step of the way. 

If you have children, this book is a great follow-up to the parenting section of my book Peace after Divorce. Based on his professional experience as a therapist and researcher Dr. Emery shares important steps you can take to see that your children become well-adjusted and thrive. I’m impressed with the depth of his insights and feel that parents who read this book will be better able to navigate the tricky pitfalls of parenting through and after divorce. Stories of families illustrate his points and make this book an interesting read as well as a rich resource for those who want to minimize the negative impact of divorce on their children. This is the only book on my list not from a Christian perspective but it is good for parents.

I frequently use this child’s book to help young children cope with the divorce of their parents. Too often, I’ve found, parents don’t know how to talk to their children about divorce, and even more often, children don’t know how to talk to their parents about their feelings and what they may see as the end of their family. I Don’t Want to Talk About It follows a young girl who just doesn’t want to talk about her fears and painful feelings when she discovers that her parents are divorcing. However, with the gentle help of her parents, she is ultimately able to gain the courage to talk to them about what the future holds. The children I’ve counseled about divorce have responded well to this soft and empathic book. I highly recommend it.