Your Next Read Based On Your Scholastic Book Fair Pick: Whether You Were a ‘Babysitters Club’ or ‘Sweet Valley High’ Girl
From ‘Little House’ to ‘Baby-Sitters Club,’ here are the adult reads that measure up
Key Takeaways
- Revisit beloved childhood favorites with these grown-up books that offer similar themes.
- From historical fiction to mysteries, these picks bring that Book Fair magic to adult reading
- Find your next read based on favorites like 'Sweet Valley High' and 'Little House.'
It’s Scholastic book fair season, and since no one has invented a grown-up version of the beloved event, we’ve made a list of book recommendations inspired by everyone’s favorite fair purchases. Book fair classics like The Baby-Sitters Club to Little House on the Prairie are timeless—and so are their adult counterparts. Read on for our list of recommended reads based on your Scholastic book fair favorites.
If you liked ‘Little House on the Prairie’ by Laura Ingalls Wilder, read ‘The Four Winds’ by Kristin Hannah
If you loved the family adventure aspect of Little House on the Prairie, you won’t want to miss Kristin Hannah’s bestselling novel The Four Winds, which is set during the Great Depression. In 1934, Elsa Martinelli and her two children leave Texas and head west to California for a fresh start. Once they arrive, Elsa realizes conditions are just as bad—if not worse—so she becomes a migrant worker, which means enduring grueling days of backbreaking farm labor for a low wage. Despite everything, she fights to survive and shows her children how to remain brave and hopeful during difficult times.
What readers are saying: “This is historical fiction at its best—the history never feels like a lesson because you’re experiencing it through people you’ve come to care about. There is hardship after hardship, yet the story never felt stagnant. It kept moving, and I kept wanting to know what would happen next.”
If you liked ‘Harriet the Spy’ by Louise Fitzhugh, try ‘Murder at the Vicarage’ by Agatha Christie
Get ready to crack the case within the pages of the classic Agatha Christie novel, which features a female detective, just like Harriet the Spy. Miss Marple is one of Agatha’s most beloved characters and here, readers get to experience her first full-length journey. After Colonel Protheroe winds up dead, everyone is a suspect—including the vicar, who threatened to kill him just days before. But the vicar isn’t the only one who wanted Colonel Protheroe dead—his entire staff had it out for him. Can Miss Marple catch the killer before it’s too late?
What readers are saying: “The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie is another priceless brilliantly scripted tale by the master in the mystery suspense genre…it’s just plain delicious! The richly developed characters, deftly described setting and complexity of the investigation to find out who-dun-it makes it so much fun to read that it’s hard to put down.”
If you liked ‘Sweet Valley High’ by Francine Pascal, try the adult book ‘Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later’
In case you missed it, there is an adult version of the beloved Sweet Valley High books—set 10 years after the final book of the series. Identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield were as close as could be growing up, but as adults they have grown apart, mostly because Jessica did something Elizabeth deemed unforgivable. Now, Elizabeth decides to get revenge, only to realize that maybe that’s not the best idea. Can the pair find a way to overcome their issues and get back to how close they were as teenagers?
What readers are saying: “I loved Sweet Valley when I was growing up so when I saw this I was ecstatic. It was everything I remembered it to be, enjoyable and light hearted. If you loved Sweet Valley you will love this book! I am only sad that I don’t know what happened to all my books to reread them now.”
If you liked ‘The Face on the Milk Carton’ by Caroline B. Cooney, try ‘Hopeless’ by Colleen Hoover
The Face on the Milk Carton is a psychological thriller that left childhood readers in shock, and Hopeless will do the same. Sky, a senior in high school, never really understood what it meant to fall in love—until she met Dean Holder. But love isn’t all that Dean has to offer. As it turns out, he’s keeping secrets that could help Sky discover who she really is, and why, for some reason, she has memories from a different childhood than the one her mother says she had.
What readers are saying: “Hopeless is absolutely a 5 star read for me, and if you weren’t already completely impressed with Colleen Hoover, you’re sure to be after reading this. It only makes me more excited to see what else she has stewing and going in that brain of hers. I’m sure it’s nothing short of amazing.”
If you liked ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ by Ann M. Martin, try ‘Firefly Lane’ by Kristin Hannah
Female friendship takes center stage in both of these beloved novels. Firefly Lane spans more than 30 years and follows unlikely best friends Tully and Kate, who meet at age 14 and are complete opposites. After a tragedy brings them together, they form a lifelong bond. Throughout their friendship, they navigate life’s uncertainties side by side. One pursues wealth and fame while the other embraces marriage and motherhood, yet their connection stays unbreakable—until it faces the ultimate test.
What readers are saying: “Firefly Lane is a heartfelt book about the journey of life long friends Tully and Kate. Despite their drastically different personalities, they develop this bond as teenage girls that takes them through college life, love lives, careers, marriage, kids and just the hardships of life. I felt an instant bond to sweet little Tully. Then, fully thrust into the throes of teenage thoughts I was immediately caught up in the story. So incredibly descriptive, Kristin Hannah peppered the entire book with 70s kitsch, 80s glam and 90s nostalgia, bringing up sweet memories of childhood.”
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