Books like 'Once Upon a Wardrobe'
Readers who enjoyed Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy action / adventure 20th century historical-fiction christian season-winter family grief cozy
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Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAn Alabama boy’s innocence is shaken by murder and madness in the 1960s South in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song. It’s 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama. People either work for the paper mill up the Tecumseh River, or for the local dairy. It’s a simple life, but it stirs the impressionable imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cory Mackenson...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century -
Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsEveryone knows that the Moomins sleep through the winter, but this year Moomintroll has woken up in January. After his initial shock at seeing his familiar haunts under the snow, Moomintroll discovers that winter is worth waking up for after all... -
Narnia Omnibus: " Magician's Nephew " , " Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe " , " Horse And His Boy " by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe Magician's Nephew opens the doorway to themagical land of Narnia for the first time...In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter,Edmund, Susan and Lucy stumble upon the world ofNarnia. Here, Winter and the White Witch are thegreatest threats and the children must join forces with thegreat lion, Aslan, to battle against the evil enchantment...Categorized as:
christian classics historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook -
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOn the night Ronia was born, a thunderstorm raged over the mountain, but in Matt's castle and among his band of robbers there was only joy -- for Matt now had a spirited little black-haired daughter. Soon Ronia learns to dance and yell with the robbers, but it is alone in the forest that she feels truly at home. Then one day Ronia meets Birk, the son of Matt's arch-enemy...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
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When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThis is the first book of A.A. Milne's verses for children, with Ernest H. Shepard's line illustrations in colour...Categorized as:
classics family friendship literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook -
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsAn alternate cover edition of this ISBN can be found here.Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington, a most endearing bear from Darkest Peru on a railway platform in London. A sign hanging around his neck said, "Please look after this bear. Thank you" So that is just what they did... -
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsJo, Bessie and Fanny take their cousin Rick on an adventure he'll never forget to the magic Faraway Tree, where he meets Moon-Face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man, and visits all the different lands at the top of the Faraway Tree...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family friendship literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 88 ratingsLibrarian note: An alternate cover for this edition can be found here: 2005.Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there... -
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes Gift Edition with Charm by DuBose Heyward
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThe country bunny attains the exalted position of Easter Bunny in spite of her responsibilities as the mother of twenty-one children...Categorized as:
classics family female-mc literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals anthropomorphism -
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThe ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings... -
Charlock's Secret by Leah Moyes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDesperate to hide, Kat flees. Trapped in time, her survival and return are threatened by her tortured heart.Ensnared by hopelessness and grief, 24-year-old Kat Shelton, accepts a position as the curator of an old English estate with the sole purpose of running away from her memories and to bury life’s pain...Categorized as:
family female-mc grief historical-fiction spirituality 19th-century 20th-century action-adventure -
The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsFrom a beguiling voice in Mexican fiction comes an astonishing novel—her first to be translated into English—about a mysterious child with the power to change a family’s history in a country on the verge of revolution.From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed... -
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsA modern classic that no child should miss. Since it was first published in 1939, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel has delighted generations of children. Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains, and hollow out cellars for city skyscrapers -- the very symbol of industrial America...Categorized as:
classics friendship historical-fiction realistic 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult -
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 89 ratingsIn this beloved story, readers travel with Mary Lennox, a spoiled and sullen orphan, from colonial India to Misselthwaite Manor, a forbidding estate on the Yorkshire moors. There, in the unlikeliest of places, Mary discovers and helps restore an abandoned garden and, in the process, blossoms herself into a creature of loving kindness...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsBOOK DESCRIPTION:Can you imagine writing to Father Christmas and actually getting a reply? For more than twenty years, the children of J.R.R...Categorized as:
christian classics family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction season-winter spirituality -
A Prince Without a Kingdom by Timothée de Fombelle
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis was the only treasure that Vango was after: the secret of his life.Vango has been in danger for as long as he can remember. He has spent his life running along rooftops, fleeing to mysterious islands, and abandoning those he loves in order to protect them from the demons of his past. But Vango will not run for much longer...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure book -
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsSent in 1910 to live with distant relatives who own a rubber plantation along the Amazon River, English orphan Maia is excited. She believes she is in for brightly colored macaws, enormous butterflies, and "curtains of sweetly scented orchids trailing from the trees." Her British classmates warn her of man-eating alligators and wild, murderous Indians...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family female-mc friendship grief historical-fiction realistic -
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsJo, Bessie and Fanny move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family friendship literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals -
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 100 ratingsPeter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find their way through an old wardrobe into the world of Narnia. There, they unite with Aslan to fight the White Witch and save Narnia from perpetual Darkness... -
Bambi by Bob Grant
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsDisney...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family 20th-century action-adventure animals anthropomorphism book -
The island of missing trees by Elif Shafak, Rūta Razmaitė
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 57 ratingsA rich, magical new book on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century 21st-century -
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsIn this timeless tale of two mortal princesses- one beautiful and one unattractive- C.S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche...Categorized as:
christian classics drama female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century -
The Moon Under Her Feet by Clysta Kinstler
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNarrative weaving the biblical account of Mary and Jesus, the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris, and the Sumerian story of Inanna and Dumuzi to create an exotic tale of a strong, sensual woman.From Publishers WeeklyThis feminist retelling of the conception, birth, life and death of Christ as narrated by Mary Magdalene may cause some uproar in Christian circles...Categorized as:
christian classics family female-mc historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
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The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBarcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife Bea have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past...Categorized as:
classics drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century 21st-century -
Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPerhaps the most light-hearted of all Chesterton's "serious" works, Manalive pits a group of disillusioned young people against Mr. Innocent Smith, a bubbly, high-spirited gentleman who literally falls into their midst. Later accused of murder and denounced for philandering everywhere he goes, Smith prompts his newfound acquaintances to recognize an important idea in most unexpected ways... -
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsIn Berlin in 1941 during humanity's darkest hour, three unforgettable young women must act with courage and love to survive, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Marriage of Opposites Alice Hoffman. In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship grief historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality -
A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe eagerly awaited English translation of award-winning author Zhang Ling’s epic and intimate novel about the devastation of war, forgiveness, redemption, and the enduring power of love.On the day of the historic 1945 Jewel Voice Broadcast—in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II—three men, flush with jubilation, made a pact...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult -
The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAlong with Wit, Charm, Health, and Courage, Princess Amy of Phantasmorania receives a special fairy christening gift: Ordinariness. Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
Wise Child by Monica Furlong
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIn a remote Scottish village, nine-year-old Wise Child is taken in by Juniper, a healer and sorceress. Then Wise Child's mother, Maeve, a black witch, reappears. In choosing between Maeve and Juniper, Wise Child discovers the extent of her supernatural powers - and her true loyalties... -
Bambi by Felix Salten
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe Prince of the ForestBambi's life in the woods begins happily. There are forest animals to play with -- Friend Hare, the chattery squirrel, the noisy screech owl, and Bambi's twin cousins, frail Gobo and beautiful Faline.But winter comes, and Bambi learns that the woods hold danger -- and things he doesn't understand. The first snowfall makes food hard to find... -
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsFifteen-year-old Oscar Drai meets the strange Marina while he's exploring an old quarter of Barcelona. She leads Oscar to a cemetery, where they watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the last Sunday of each month. At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, a woman shrouded in a black velvet cloak descends from her carriage to place a single rose on an unmarked grave... -
The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIvy Carson belonged to the notorious Carson family, which lived in a run-down house in suburban Rosewood. But Ivy was not a typical Carson. There was something wonderful about her. Ivy explained it by saying that she was a changeling, a child of supernatural parents who had been exchanged for the real Ivy Carson at birth. This classic book was first published in 1970...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family friendship realistic 20th-century action-adventure book -
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAustin Tappan Wright left the world a wholly unsuspected legacy. After he died in a tragic accident, among this distinguished legal scholar's papers were found thousands of pages devoted to a staggering feat of literary creationa detailed history of an imagined country complete with geography, genealogy, literature, language and culture. As detailed as J.R.R...Categorized as:
classics cozy historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
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4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDiagnosed with a rare form of meningitis, a teenage boy is paralyzed from head to toe--trapped in his own mind. To cope with his imprisonment, he retreats to an imaginary world called his Mind Palace, but the lines between reality and time blur into wild adventures after he gets a new roommate--an old, outspoken, Jewish jazz musician with dementia...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
Island of Ghosts by Gillian Bradshaw
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAriantes is a Sarmatian, a barbarian warrior-prince, uprooted from his home and customs and thrust into the honorless lands of the Romans. The victims of a wartime pact struck with the emperor Marcus Aurelius to ensure the future of Sarmatia, Ariantes and his troop of accomplished horsemen are sent to Hadrian's Wall... -
Winnie's Great War by Lindsay Mattick, Josh Greenhut
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA wartime adventure unfolds through the eyes of the world’s most beloved Bear. The story of the real bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh has been capturing readers’ imaginations since the publication of the Caldecott Medal award-winning picture book, Finding Winnie.But there was so much left to be told – not just about Winnie, but about the great world events she witnessed... -
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel, Sandra Burr
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 73 ratingsLibrarian note: You can find an alternate cover edition here.This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century -
Mary Poppins Opens the Door by P.L. Travers
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed. This classic series tells the story of the world's most beloved nanny, who brings enchantment and excitement with her everywhere she goes. Featuring the charming original cover art by Mary Shepard, these new editions are sure to delight readers of all ages... -
Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves...Categorized as:
family female-mc friendship historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure alpha-mc -
Day of War by Cliff Graham
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn ancient Israel, at the crossroads of the great trading routes, a man named Benaiah is searching for a fresh start in life. He has joined a band of soldiers led by a warlord named David, seeking to bury the past that refuses to leave him. Their ragged army is disgruntled and full of reckless men. Some are loyal to David, but others are only with him for the promise of captured wealth...Categorized as:
christian friendship historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsHilary hates Jews. As part of a neo-Nazi gang in her town, she's finally found a sense of belonging. But when she's critically injured in an accident, everything changes.Somehow, in her mind, she has become Chana, a Jewish girl fighting for her own life in the ghettos and concentration camps of World War II...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction realistic spirituality 20th-century -
Pippi Goes on Board by Astrid Lindgren, Nancy Seligsohn
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOutrageous Pippi Longstocking has no parents around and no rules to follow, so she lives according to her own daredevilish ways. She's been treating her friends Tommy and Annika to wild adventures, too--like buying and eating seventy-two pounds of candy, or sailing off to an island in the middle of a lake to see what it's like to be shipwrecked...Categorized as:
classics family female-mc friendship 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook -
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA national bestseller, Dictionary of the Khazars was cited by The New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of the year...Categorized as:
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The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNicola Marter was born with a gift. When she touches an object, she sometimes glimpses those who have owned it before. When a woman arrives with a small wooden carving at the gallery Nicola works at, she can see the object’s history and knows that it was named after the Firebird—the mythical creature from an old Russian fable... -
The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel, Sandra Burr
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsLibrarian note: See an alternate cover edition here.This unforgettable odyssey into the distant past carries us back to the awesome mysteries of the exotic, primeval world of The Clan of the Cave Bear, and to Ayla, now grown into a beautiful and courageous young woman...Categorized as:
classics drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
The Two Collars by Jeri Massi
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKrea is seven years old and a slave. With a ragged troupe of tumblers and jugglers, she travels from town to town in Folger, now a part of the kingdom of Bracken. Every day of the year she is walking or working, and she is always lonely. Then, as winter takes hold of Folger, the troupe realizes that an old woman is haunting their footsteps, and that she has her eye on Krea...Categorized as:
christian classics drama historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure book -
The Seventh Princess by Nick Sullivan
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJennifer falls asleep on her bus ride to school and ends up in a beautiful but strange land. There people start bowing to her, calling her Princess Miranda, and catering to her every whim. It seem like a dream come true ... until she discovers that the evil Duke Rinaldo has hatched a devilish plot to make her his next victim... -
The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPhaedrus is a Roman gladiator who has won his freedom. By chance, he is also the exact double of Midir, the Horse Lord, lost King of the Dalriad tribe. To rid the Dalriads of the usurping Queen Liadhan, Phaedrus agrees to a daring pretence -- he will impersonate Midir and become the Horse Lord... -
Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom an international bestselling author comes a richly woven tale of passion, longing, witchcraft, and magic set in Italy during World War II.A magical, richly woven World War II– era saga filled with passion, secrets, beauty, and horror from internationally acclaimed bestselling author Belinda Alexandra. FLORENCE, 1914...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook
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