Series

Books like Tess and Max: 9 series to read next

Tess and Max is fantasy and portal fantasy, set in contemporary and british isles. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Tess and Max is 3 books, 2017–2019.

“Tess and her brother, Max, are sent for the summer to their aunt s sleepy village in the English countryside, where excitement is as rare as a good wifi signal.”
from the catalogue description of The Castle in the Mist

The Tess and Max page →Narrow this list →

Narnia
Five Children Universe
Tolkien's legendarium
The Wind in the Willows Universe
The Wildwood Chronicles
Furthermore Universe
Fairyland
Foo milieu
Tales of Magic

NarniaUniverse

universe38 books1950

Fantasy and portal fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Once there is a wardrobe at the back of a spare room, and behind the fur coats the wood gives way to snow, and a lamp-post burns alone among the trees.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Five Children UniverseSeries

seriesE. Nesbit, Helen Cresswell & Kate Saunders27 books1902

Set in early 20th century.

“Neither book is by Nesbit herself, and the two have no direct connection to each other beyond both drawing on her creation.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Return of the Psammead →

Tolkien's legendariumUniverse

universe163 books1923

Fantasy, set in secondary world.

“Before the seas were bent and the mountains raised, there was Music — and from that Music came Arda, and in the west of Middle-earth the long defeat and stubborn hope of those who dwell there.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

The Wind in the Willows UniverseSeries

seriesKenneth Grahame, William Horwood, Anne McKie, Ellen Miles, Inga Moore, Juliet Stanley, Kij Johnson, Lesley Sims, M. G. Leonard, Samantha Noonan & Susan Hill17 books1908

Fantasy, about friendship, set in british isles.

Start with The Wind in the Willows: A Fine Welcome →

The Wildwood ChroniclesSeries

seriesColin Meloy3 books2011

Fantasy and portal fantasy, whimsical and adventurous in tone, about friendship and quests, set in contemporary.

“Praised for its illustrations and old-fashioned book design, the trilogy continues across Under Wildwood and Wildwood Imperium.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Wildwood →

Furthermore UniverseSeries

seriesTahereh Mafi2 books2016

Fantasy and portal fantasy, whimsical in tone, about friendship and coming of age.

Start with Furthermore →

FairylandSeries

seriesCatherynne M. Valente7 books2009

Set in fairyland.

“The novels follow a 12-year-old girl named September as she is spirited away from her average life to Fairyland.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making →

Foo milieuSeries

seriesObert Skye7 books2005

Set in otherworld.

Reading order →

Tales of MagicSeries

seriesEdward Eager7 books1954

Set in our world.

“Each book follows a different, sometimes overlapping set of children and a different magical object or rule, from Knight's Castle to the deliberately ambiguous Magic or Not? and its sequel The Well-Wishers.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Half Magic →

Why these

No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.

Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.

Questions readers ask

What should I read after Tess and Max?: Narnia — the closest match to Tess and Max on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Tess and Max?: The Castle in the Mist. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Tess and Max.
How big is Tess and Max?: Tess and Max is 3 books, 2017–2019.

Books like Tess and Max: 9 series to read next

Read next in Tess and Max

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one