Books like 'El Niño'
Readers who enjoyed El Niño by Pam Muñoz Ryan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror magical-realism myths realistic magic family children animals
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Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWelcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here.If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back.And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it….Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure book coming-of-age contemporary -
The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch by Tom Fletcher
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe eagerly-anticipated sequel to Tom Fletcher's bestselling magical adventure, The Christmasaurus.'She is the best-kept Christmas secret of all,' whispered Santa Claus. 'Which is surprising, because she is so powerful that Christmas itself would not exist without her. She is older than time itself, yet still as young as tomorrow. She is known only as the Winter Witch... -
There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAt bedtime a boy confronts the nightmare in his closet and finds him not so terrifying after all... -
Take Two by Sienna Mercer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe fifth funny book in a girly series with a dark twist—cheerleaders, vampires, and cute boys all add up to a killer story with biteHollywood has come to Franklin Grove! Olivia is very excited. Jackson Caulfield—the hot teen movie star—is shooting a movie in her home town, and there's a chance to win a part in the film... -
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Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom World Fantasy Award-winning author Charles de Lint, a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination Isabelle Copley's visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure anthologies audiobook -
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA unique monster-under-the-bed story with the perfect balance of giggles and shivers, this picture book relies on the power of humor over fear, appeals to a child’s love for creatures both alarming and absurd, and glorifies the scope of a child’s imagination. One night, when Ethan checks under his bed for his monster, Gabe, he finds a note from him instead: "Gone fishing. Back in a week... -
The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA widow finds herself in possession of an extraordinary broom left by a witch who fell into the widow's garden... -
Demon Dentist by David Walliams
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis New York Times bestseller from David Walliams, the UK’s #1 bestselling children’s author and “the heir to Roald Dahl” (The Spectator), launched his books stateside in a big way!Walliams makes going to the dentist a wacky adventure with his signature humor—this is one dentist appointment you don’t want to miss.Something strange is happening in Alfie's town... -
The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman, Marlon James
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn outstanding array—52 pieces in all—of selected fiction from the multiple-award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, curated by his readers around the world, and introduced with a foreword by Booker Prize-winning author Marlon JamesSpanning Gaiman’s career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a captivating collection from one of the world’s most beloved...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure anthologies -
The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"These figs are very special," the woman whispered. "They can make your dreams come true." -- Thus Monsieur Bibot, the cold-hearted dentist, was given two ordinary-looking figs as payment for extracting a tooth from an old woman's mouth. Monsieur Bibot refused to believe such nonsense and proceeded to eat one of the figs for a bedtime snack... -
Fangtastic! by Sienna Mercer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOlivia is a vegetarian. Ivy is a vampire. And they're twins?!?Ever since Olivia discovered that her long-lost twin sister, Ivy, is a vampire, she's been soaking up everything Ivy will tell her about Franklin Grove's vampire community. It's all top secret, and Olivia's sworn that she'll never tell another soul. But now, nosy tabloid reporter Serena Star is snooping around... -
Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe sixth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.The Necromancer is dead. Long live the Necromancer... -
The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly by Rebecca Ansari
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCharlie O’Reilly is an only child. Which is why it makes everyone uncomfortable when he talks about his brother. Liam, his eight-year-old kid brother, who, up until a year ago, slept in the bunk above Charlie, took pride in being as annoying as possible, and was the only person who could make Charlie laugh until it hurt.Then came the morning when the bunk, and Liam, disappeared forever... -
Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAmerican Indian Youth Literature Award Best Middle Grade Book! Brian Young’s powerful debut novel tells of a seemingly ordinary Navajo boy who must save the life of a Water Monster—and comes to realize he’s a hero at heart... -
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The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSophie loves the hidden shop below her parents' bookstore, where dreams are secretly bought and sold. When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets... -
The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the city of Newford, when the stars and the vibes are right, you can touch magic. Mermaids sing in the murky harbor, desert spirits crowd the night, and dreams are more real than waking. Charles de Lint began his chronicles of the extraordinary city of Newford in "Memory & Dream" and the short-story collection "Dreams Underfoot...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure adult anthologies -
Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford, Jaime Zollars
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome back to the irresistible world of Greenglass House where thirteen-year-old Milo is, once again, spending the winter holidays stuck in a house full of strange guests who are not what they seem. There are fresh clues to uncover as friends old and new join in his search for a mysterious map and a famous smuggler’s lost haul... -
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA dazzlingly accomplished debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home. In “Who Will Greet You at Home,” a National Magazine Award finalist for The New Yorker, A woman desperate for a child weaves one out of hair, with unsettling results... -
Ferris: by Kate DiCamillo
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe beloved author of Because of Winn-Dixie has outdone herself with a hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother, and growing up.It’s the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium: Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw... -
Flames by Robbie Arnott
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte—who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire... -
The Unready Queen by William Ritter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHuman and goblin brothers Cole and Tinn are finding their way back to normal after their journey to the heart of the Oddmire. Normal, unfortunately, wants nothing to do with them. Fable, the daughter of the Queen of the Deep Dark, has her first true friends in the brothers... -
The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat happens when a tale with real magic, that was supposed to be finished, never was? This is a story about one of those stories . . . Midge loves riddles, his cat, Twitch, and – most of all – stories. Especially because he's grown up being read to by his sister Alice, a brilliant writer... -
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the award-winning author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy comes an unforgettable and deeply personal story of the ghosts that surround us—and the ones we carry inside. The house seemed to sit apart from the others on Katydid Street, silent and alone, like it didn’t fit among them... -
The Raconteur's Commonplace Book by Kate Milford, Jaime Zollars
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNothing is what it seems and there's always more than one side to the story as a group of strangers trapped in an inn slowly reveal their secrets...The rain hasn't stopped for a week, and the twelve guests of the Blue Vein Tavern are trapped by flooded roads and the rising Skidwrack River. Among them are a ship’s captain, tattooed twins, a musician, and a young girl traveling on her own...Categorized as:
children low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure audiobook -
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The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Cuban American boy must use his secret ability to communicate with animals to save the inhabitants of his town.All Nestor Lopez wants is to live in one place for more than a few months and have dinner with his dad.When he and his mother move to a new town to live with his grandmother after his dad’s latest deployment, Nestor plans to lay low... -
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse.Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim)... -
The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwelve-year-old Mary Hayes can't stand her orphanage for another night. But when an attempted escape through the stove pipe doesn't go quite as well as she'd hoped, Mary fears she'll be stuck in the Buffalo Asylum for Young Ladies forever... -
Queen of the Dark Things by C. Robert Cargill
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is half a year since the wizard Colby lost his best friend to an army of fairies from the Limestone Kingdom, a realm of mystery and shadows beyond our own. But in vanquishing these creatures Colby sacrificed the anonymity that protected him. Now, word of his deeds has spread, and powerful enemies from the past - including one Colby considered a friend - have resurfaced to exact their revenge... -
Waifs and Strays by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCharles de Lint's remarkable novels and shorter fiction are, in a very real sense, coming of age stories. Here, for the first time, is a collection of his stories about teenagers&150a collection for teen and adult readers alike...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure anthologies children-books -
Malamander by Thomas Taylor
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNobody visits Eerie-on-Sea in the winter... -
Rehepapp ehk november by Andrus Kivirähk
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRomaan eesti rahva raskest elust mõisahärrade rõhumise all. Rängas olukorras ei jää rahval muud üle, kui krabada endale kõike mida kätte saab, olgu siis naabri sahvrist, mõisaaiast või teede ristmikul vanakurja käest. Loomulikult on mängus ka kõiksugused kratid, tondid ja kollid, kes varitsevad põõsas, silmad põlemas, et paljukannatanud külainimestele veelgi kurja teha... -
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratings"Not for the faint-hearted, Lon Po Po (Grandmother Wolf), is a tale of a menacing danger and courage....(Young's) command of page composition and his sensitive use of color give the book a visual force that matches the strength of the story and stands as one of the illustrator's best efforts." --Booklist. "Absolutely splendid." -- Kirkuse Reviews. "An extraordinary and powerful book... -
A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPraised by Newbery Medal–winning author Katherine Applegate as "graceful" and "miraculous," this Schneider Family Book Award–winning novel tells how one girl's friendship with a homeless dog mends a family's heart. Cally Fisher knows she can see her dead mother, but the only other living soul who does is a mysterious wolfhound who always seems to be there when her mom appears... -
The Glass God by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSharon Li: apprentice shaman and community support officer for the magically inclined. It wasn't the career Sharon had in mind, but she's getting used to running Magicals Anonymous and learning how to Be One With The City.When the Midnight Mayor goes missing, leaving only a suspiciously innocent-looking umbrella behind him, Sharon finds herself promoted. Her first task: find the Midnight Mayor... -
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Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Good Knight is on his watch when he hears a sound. Roar! Is it a dragon? A great big dragon? He searches the woods and finds a surprise. Three very little dragons are almost ready for bed. But who will read to them, tuck them in, and kiss them good night? Is this a job for the Good Knight? Young readers, like the young dragons, will quickly fall under the Good Knight's spell... -
The Little Country by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWhen folk musician Janey Little finds a mysterious manuscript in an old trunk in her grandfather's cottage, she is swept into a dangerous realm both strange and familiar. But true magic lurks within the pages of The Little Country, drawing genuine danger from across the oceans into Janey's life, impelling her--armed only with her music--toward a terrifying confrontation... -
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsImagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not... -
Demon Road by Derek Landy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe mind-blowing new supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant.Full of Landy’s trademark wit, action and razor-sharp dialogue, DEMON ROAD kicks off with a shocking opener and never lets up the pace in an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America...Categorized as:
children low-fantasy magic magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure audiobook -
The Keepers of Metsan Valo by Wendy Webb
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe spirits of Nordic folklore come calling in this entrancing tale of family secrets and ancient mysteries by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Haunting of Brynn Wilder.In Metsan Valo, her family home on Lake Superior, Anni Halla’s beloved grandmother has died. Among her fond memories, what Anni remembers most vividly is her grandmother’s eerie yet enchanting storytelling... -
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThey Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones... -
The Threads of the Heart by Carole Martinez
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey say Frasquita knows magic, that she is a healer with occult powers, that perhaps she is a sorcerer. She does indeed possess a remarkable gift, one that has been passed down to the women in her family for generations... -
The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Luck Uglies is the first in a tween fantasy-adventure trilogy brimming with legends come to life, a charming wit, and a fantastic cast of characters-and is imbued throughout with the magic of storytelling.Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter has Rye O'Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned... -
Hattie and Hudson by Chris Van Dusen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"This eloquent, evocative book about compassion is perfect for sparking discussions on prejudice. A sensational choice." --School Library JournalHattie McFadden is a born explorer. Every morning she paddles out in her canoe to discover something new on the lake, singing a little song along the way... -
A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Wild and ambitious . . . [with] something ablaze at its core. It burns.” ― The New York Times Book ReviewA Tiny Upward Shove is inspired by Melissa Chadburn's Filipino heritage and its folklore, as it traces the too-short life of a young, cast-off woman transformed by death into an agent of justice―or mercy.Marina Salles’s life does not end the day she wakes up dead... -
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Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPart visceral dream-memoir, part fictive journey through a hallucinatory Bucharest, Mircea Cărtărescu's BLINDING was one of the most widely heralded literary sensations in contemporary Romania, and a bestseller from the day of its release... -
The Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsStealing a baby dragon was easy! Hiding it is a little more complicated.Jaxon had just one job--to return three baby dragons to the realm of magic. But when he got there, only two dragons were left in the bag. His best friend's sister, Kavita, is a dragon thief!Kavita only wanted what was best for the baby dragon... -
Spirit's Key by Edith Cohn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSpirit's Key is a mystery with a bit of magic for fans of Savvy and Because of Winn Dixie.By now, twelve-year-old Spirit Holden should have inherited the family gift: the ability to see the future. But when she holds a house key in her hand like her dad does to read its owner's destiny, she can’t see anything... -
The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFain hasn’t always been lonely. Her family used to be close; she used to have good friends. But as circumstances—and people—changed, Fain was left behind. That's when the monsters appeared.While her parents argue and her peers and siblings either pick on or simply ignore her, Fain spends time in a world of her own making...Categorized as:
family low-fantasy magical-realism realistic abuse book children-books coming-of-age -
Aviva vs. the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings2023 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD WINNERA long ago "accident." An isolated girl named Aviva. A community that wants to help, but doesn't know how. And a ghostly dybbuk, that no one but Aviva can see, causing mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on her... -
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSpace-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It's all they've heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago...
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