10 Best Authors Like Tom Fletcher for Middle-Grade Readers!

Check out our list of the best authors like Tom Fletcher. Pick up these books for your middle-grade or young reader to inspire creativity.

Many fans of Tom Fletcher know of him for his role as lead vocalist and guitarist in McFly, an English pop band that formed in 2003. Yet, besides his role in music, Fletcher is an accomplished children’s book author. Starting in 2012, he has published picture books and books for middle-grade readers and has gained quite a following for his writing.

As a youth, Fletcher attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, and at the age of 10, he starred as the lead role in the musical Oliver! This sparked his desire to perform as a young man, and he started writing music commercially when he was still very young. With Danny Jones, he started the band he named McFly, and the group went on its first tour in 2004. Their debut album made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest band to have their debut album go straight to number one.

Fletcher started writing in 2012 with the publication of The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas. This was the most popular children’s book debut of the year, and it launched a growing series of books about dinos pooping exciting things. These books were published with Fletcher’s bandmate Dougie Poynter. In 2016, Fletcher published his first solo novel, The Cristmasaurus.

The following year he published the picture book, There’s a Monster in Your Book and the young adult fiction novel The Creakers. Each year since, he has published at least one picture book and one chapter book, sometimes more. If you’re a fan of Tom Flether’s books’ unique creativity, check out these authors to add to your reading list.

Best Authors Like Tom Fletcher Ranked

1. Roald Dahl, 1916 – 1990

Roald Dahl was born in Wales but lived mainly in England. As a fighter pilot in World War II, he grew in importance in the military, but it wasn’t until he started writing children’s books in 1940 that he became a household name. The Gremlins was his first book, published in 1943, and it talked about mischievous creatures that created problems with the airplanes for the Royal Air Force.

While this book is largely unknown, he has several of the world’s most famous children’s books in his name, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The BFG. Many of these have become movies, musicals, and plays. As one of the best-selling authors in the world, Dahl earned multiple awards for his literary contributions, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1983 and the British Book Awards Children’s Author of the Year in 1990.

Today, the Dahl estate has over 300 million books sold, with one new book sold every 2.5 seconds. If you like reading children’s books, you might also enjoy our list of the best books by Roald Dahl.

“I understand what you’re saying, and your comments are valuable, but I’m gonna ignore your advice.”

Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox

2. Liz Pichon, 1963 –

Liz Pichon is a British children’s author who writes middle-grade fiction. After attending Camberwell School of Art, where she learned graphic design, she worked for Jive Records. In 2011, she launched the first book in her bestselling Tom Gates series, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates. The series now has 19 books, and then in 2020, she launched Shoe Wars, a new title for the middle grades. Because she has dyslexia, she writes about characters with challenges many readers relate to.

In 2011 she earned the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, and the following year she won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Red House Children’s Book Award. Her books are known for their humor, and to date, she has sold over 11 million of her Tom Gates books in 44 languages. As an artist, she illustrates her books herself.

“There’s an old saying that goes something like THIS: You can tell a LOT about a person from the shoes they’re wearing. Do you think that’s true?”

Liz Pichon, Shoe Wars

3. Sandra Boynton, 1953 – 

Fans of Tom Fletcher’s picture books and board books will appreciate the work of Sandra Boynton. After growing up in Philadelphia in a Quaker family, Boynton attended Yale, where she studied English. To pay her way through school, she started selling greeting cards featuring her art, and that was successful enough to take her to graduate school and allow her to start selling with Recycled Paper Greetings, and she has published thousands of designs since that time.

In 1977 she published her first children’s book, Hippos Go Berserk, as part of her graduate studies. Most of her books feature animals, which are her favorite things to draw. Boynton has several awards, including the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor from the National Cartoonists Society.

“One hippo, all alone, calls two hippos, on the phone.”

Sandra Boynton, Hippos Go Berserk

4. Diane Alber, present

Diane Alber didn’t start with the goal of being a children’s author but rather to be an artist. When she had children of her own, she realized there was a need to create books that inspired children to make art. One of her first books, I’m NOT Just a Scribble, showcases the beauty in children’s art and diversity. Most kids can relate to the story of Little Scribble and his many emotions when he doesn’t fit in with the Drawings. Alber also has a series of books that use kid-like art to discuss big emotions in an understandable and relatable way.

“Great art starts with just a scribble.”

Diane Alber, I’m NOT Just a Scribble

5. Marcus Emerson

Marcus Emerson discovered the Garfield comics as a child and grew up playing Mario and watching Thundercats. These experiences led him to create the Diary of a Sixth Grade Ninja and Secret Agent Sixth Grader series. These middle-grade books feature the author’s comic-book-like illustrations, relatable situations, and a bit of far-fetched secret agent and ninja action. One of his most recent series is Kid YouTuber, which captures the realities of what it takes to become online famous.

“I’m not the most popular kid in school, that’s for sure. I’ve never had a girlfriend, and I’ve never played sports outside of gym class. That’s not true – I was on a soccer team in third grade, but after a shin guard to the face and a broken nose, I quit.”

Marcus Emerson, Diary of a Sixth Grade Ninja

6. Joshua S. Levy

A native of Florida who now lives in New Jersey, Joshua S. Levy was a middle school teacher with a master’s degree in Jewish education from Yeshiva University. In his books, he uses his knowledge of the middle school child along with his understanding of Jewish culture into his books. Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy, book one of his Adventures of the PSS 118 series, looks at what happens when you place a typical middle school on a spaceship orbiting Jupiter and send aliens to attack it.

This debut novel was a success, and Levy went on to write three more books to make a trilogy, including Eighth Grade vs. the Machines. The success of his first series has led him to continue writing, and in 2023 a standalone book called The Jake Show is on target to be published. When he is not writing, Levy works as an attorney.

“Now we’re the only ones left: a middle school from Ganymede, stuck on Earth, no idea where to go next. And – oh yeah – we’re in the middle of maybe the most important battle this planet has ever seen.”

Joshua S. Levy, Eight Grade vs. the Machines

7. David Walliams, 1971 – 

David Walliams is an outside-the-box thinker. While performing with the National Youth Theatre in his college years, he changed his name from David Williams to David Walliams due to there being another David Williams on the team. In 2008, Walliams was asked to publish two children’s books with HarperCollins, starting with The Boy in the Dress in 2008 and Mr. Stink in 2009.

In 2011 he published his fourth book, Gangsta Granny, which won a Red House Children’s Book Award and became a film for BBC One. To date, he has 18 children’s books and continues publishing books known for their humor and ability to get people thinking. Walliams also has 10 picture books and six short story collections.

“All you can do in this life is follow your dreams. Otherwise you’re just wasting your time.”

David Walliam, Gangsta Granny

8. Ben Miller

Ben Miller is a comedian, actor, and author from London. With books known for their magical twists and storylines that appeal to people of all ages, Miller has created a place for himself in the world of children’s literature. The Day I Fell into a Fairytale, his 2020 book, is a popular choice. It tells of a brother and sister pair who find a portal to the fairytale world. In addition to writing, Miller is known for his acting abilities, most recently on the popular Netflix show Bridgerton. You might be interested in exploring other children’s books, such as these best Astrid Lindgren books.

“Harrison’s face softened. A part of him did miss their adventures. For a start, Lana always threw herself into whatever game they played. There were few police officers so committed to maintaining law and order, and few zombies as determined to destroy human civilisation as his little sister.”

Ben Miller, The Day I Fell into a Fairytale

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9. Andrew Clements, 1949 – 2019

Andrew Clements is the author of several school stories featuring realistic tales of life happening to kids in middle school. Over 10 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide, and he has nominations for Christopher and Edgar Awards. Clements started writing as a senior in high school and then headed to Northwestern University to study English.

As a teacher, he enjoyed getting to know his students and seeing what amazing things kids could do. After teaching, he started working in publishing before publishing Frindle in 1996. This was not his first book, but it was his most popular, allowing him to quit working to write full-time. Frindle won or was nominated for 48 awards, including a Phoenix Award.

“All the kids loved lunchtime. But the awful part of lunch was the eating part – school food.”

Andrew Clements, Frindle

10. Sharon Creech, 1945 –

Sharon Creech was born near Cleveland, Ohio, and became intrigued by storytelling after taking literature and writing in college. After graduation, she taught English and writing in Europe, then published her first novel, Absolutely Normal Chaos, in the UK in 1990. Walk Two Moons, which she published in 1994, was her first book to be published in America, and it won the Newbery Medal. Creech writes both novels and picture books and The Wanderer, her 2000 book, won the Parents’ Choice Award and was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal. With 21 books to her name, she continues to write books for young readers that inspire creativity and tenacity.

“You can’t keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.”

Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons

Looking for more? Check out our round-up of the best Kenyan authors!