Books like The Wishing Spell

If you liked The Wishing Spell, read Peter and the Starcatchers, Amari and the Night Brothers, or The Sword of Summer — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (Fantasy · grades 3–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of fairy tales, characters in literature, and magic. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 3–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Wishing Spell

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Why each is a match

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Peter and the Starcatchersgrades 3–8
Shares themes of characters in literature and magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →
Amari and the Night Brothersgrades 4–7
Shares themes of magic, both on the Blue Hen Book Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon →
The Sword of Summergrades 3–8
Shares themes of magic, both on the Blue Hen Book Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon →
The Christmas of the Reddle Moongrades 3–5
Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon →
A Tale Dark and Grimmgrades 4–7
Shares themes of fairy tales, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7). Amazon →
Keeper of the Lost Citiesgrades 4–8
Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon →
Mary Poppinsgrades 4–6
Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon →
The Forbidden Librarygrades 2–8
Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon →
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spellgrades 3–7
Shares themes of fairy tales, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon →
The Liftersgrades 3–8
Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon →

Books like The Wishing Spell for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

  • Word Eater by Mary Amato · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen · grades 3–8 — Both on the Blue Hen Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Drive-By by Lynne Ewing · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Same genre (Fantasy), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1990s).
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Fantasy), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (1990s).

Books like The Wishing Spell for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

  • Word Eater by Mary Amato · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of magic, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen · grades 3–8 — Both on the Blue Hen Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Drive-By by Lynne Ewing · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of brothers and sisters and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Same genre (Fantasy), overlapping grades (4–7), and the same era (1990s).
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling · grades 4–8 — Same genre (Fantasy), overlapping grades (4–8), and the same era (1990s).

Books like The Wishing Spell for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

  • A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Fantasy) and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Fantasy).
  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Fantasy) and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Fantasy) and overlapping grades (5–9).
  • The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan · grades 5–9 — Same genre (Fantasy) and overlapping grades (5–9).

Book data last updated 2026-07-07. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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