I read the first three Harry Potter books when I was in third grade. That was 1999. I got to stand in line at midnight for the remaining releases. I grew up with Harry. I was 10 when the 4th book was released, 13 when the 5th book was released, 15 when the 6th book was released, and 17 when the 7th book was released. However, if the entire series had already been published by the time I discovered the books in 1999, I would have gotten to the 5th, 6th, and 7th books and a lot of vital information would have gone over my head.

In between book releases, I discovered another series: Charlie Bone. The first book Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo, starts out a lot like Harry Potter. Charlie is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, and has discovered that he can hear people in photographs. Charlie’s father died under mysterious circumstances, and he was raised by his mom, two grandmothers and three great-aunts.

Upon the revelation of Charlie’s powers, his paternal grandmother and great-aunts decide he is no longer worthless and send him to Bloor’s Academy, a school for the gifted and talented. On the surface, the gifted and talented students are either budding artists, musicians, or actors. Hidden behind the school’s walls, a small group of students are there because they have very special talents like Charlie: one student can hypnotize, another can feel the emotions in clothing, and another can turn into a beast. 

People who have such talents are considered to be descendents of the Red King, an ancient sorcerer whose crumbling castle lies behind Bloor’s Academy. The Red King had twelve children, who began to fight as they grew up and moved away. Descendents loyal to their ancestor continue to fight on the side their ancestor chose. 

There are eight books in the series. Throughout those eight books Charlie works on his talent, helps his fellow classmates, and tries to solve the mystery of what happened to his dad.

The order of the books are as follows:

Midnight for Charlie Bone

Charlie Bone and the Time Twister

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy

Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King

Charlie Bone and the Beast

Charlie Bone and the Shadow

Charlie Bone and the Red Knight

The reason why I think this series is a great segue to Harry Potter for young readers is one, the obvious similarities. Two, each book only covers a few days to a few weeks of time. So from book one to book eight, Charlie ages only one or two years, which keeps the danger, death, and evil to age appropriate levels (for my conservative mind, anyway). Granted, there are some characters and scenes that as an adult, I noticed are way more evil and cruel than I realized when I was young; but it’s kind of like adult jokes in a Disney movie – the kids don’t get it, but the parents know exactly what’s going on.

The Charlie Bone series is definitely a hidden gem in mid-grade literature. If your young readers like fantasy, this is a great series to introduce them to.