Books like Jack by Liesl Shurtliff
In this retelling of a timeless fairy tale, young Jack swaps his mother's milk cow for a handful of mysterious beans. The beans sprout into an enormous beanstalk that towers into a land inhabited by giants. With determination and a touch of humor, Jack climbs the beanstalk in search of his elusive father, who has disappeared into the giant realm. The story mixes adventure, magic, and the classic motif of the hero’s quest in a setting that captivates middle‑grade readers.
First publish date: 2015
Genre: Children's Fiction/Children's Fantasy
Authors: Liesl Shurtliff
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 (0 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Jack by Liesl Shurtliff are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Jack (19 similar books)
A bored boy named Milo stumbles upon a magic tollbooth, launching him into the whimsical Kingdom of Wisdom where he embarks on a quest to recover the lost princesses of Rhyme and Reason.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ivan, a gorilla who has lived behind glass in a shopping‑mall circus for 27 years, learns new meaning for art and friendship when a baby elephant named Ruby arrives.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A china rabbit named Edward Tulane is lost and follows an extraordinary path—from the sea to a fisherman’s net, from a sick child’s bedside to the streets of Memphis—learning that even the most fragile heart can love, lose, and love again.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A gripping, true‑story adventure of three Polish children—Ruth, Bronia, and Edek—who must survive the horrors of Nazi‑occupied Warsaw in 1942 after their parents are taken.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
At the heart of a bustling Paris train station lives a 12‑year‑old orphan, Hugo Cabret, who keeps the clockwork heart of his father’s old watch; when a new girl and a mysterious toy‑seller enter his cramped world, secrets, a hidden mechanism, and a mechanical man unite in a striking blend of story and illustration.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Seventeen‑year‑old Dodger, a sewer scavenger in Victorian London, rescues a girl and finds himself drawn into a world where history and fantasy collide with figures like Sweeney Todd, Charles Dickens, and Benjamin Disraeli.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Second adventure of the gifted quartet as they race a week to locate Mr. Benedict after he is trapped by the cruel Mr. Curtain, using wit, friendship, and bravery to overcome their toughest test yet.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Twelve‑year‑old Alice Queensmeadow ventures into the perilous, magical realm of Furthermore, aided by her friend Oliver, to find her missing father and confirm her own latent powers.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Tale Dark & Grimm (A Tale Dark & Grimm, #2)
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Twin siblings Bickford and Rebecca Kidd sail from the Caribbean to New York, following clues left by their missing father to complete their parents’ perilous treasure‑searching quest.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
An action-packed middle‑grade adventure where a pair of twins travel to Africa in search of buried treasure, while dealing with a missing person mystery.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Jack of Fables Vol. 5 carries Bean to the West, where the mischievous smuggler Smiling Jack Candle meets a stiff‑lipped eastern sheriff who has no gun. The comic blends fairy‑tale humor with a quirky adventure set in New York‑style grit.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Simon the foundling returns to London, where he must thwart a sinister plot to depose King James and the Duke of Battersea while escaping wolves, poisoned pies, and a wrecked ship.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Jack of Fables, Vol. 6 follows Jack as he defends the Golden Boughs Retirement Home from Bookburner’s siege, using wit, orders, and cunning to protect the fabled community.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Marty and his friend Luther, joined by the Cryptos Island crew, race to Brazil to find their missing parents amid jagged jungle dangers and the twisted experiments of pseudo-naturalist Noah Blackwood.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The Kidd children discover a forbidden treasure while investigating a missing person case in China and Germany.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In the small town of Hazelwood, Iowa, invisible Jack discovers friendship, family bonds, and a hint of magic while facing bullies and schemes from the town’s wealthiest resident.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Eleven‑year‑old Tom Hammond is swept into a subterranean adventure at Leepike Ridge, where he discovers graves, a mysterious tomb, and buried treasure that forever changes his life.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
The Mostly Miserable Mill by Lemony SnicketThe Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!