Reader discussion: The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Public reader discussion about The Wonderful Adventures of Nils in the WeRead Catalog by Selma Lagerlöf.

Books about tiny people (i.e. The Borrowers, Wee Free Men, Truckers, Indian in the Cupboard, The Rats of NIMH, etc.)

By midnightcarrot1972

I’ve always been kind of obsessed with the thought of tiny people (or small creatures) living right under everyone’s noses. When I was younger, The Borrowers was the one that really hooked me. Any other books like that where the characters are only a few inches tall and it’s basically the same “big world” setting—nothing fairy-magic if possible, though I guess I could be persuaded. Also, wow, thanks to everyone who replied—there were a ton of suggestions I hadn’t run into before. I haven’t checked every title in the answers closely, but it looks like most of them match what I was hoping for. Here’s what I’m saving for later / sharing: - The Borrowers (and sequels) - Wee Free Men (maybe the whole Tiffany Aching stretch) - Truckers (trilogy) - Indian in the Cupboard (and sequels) - The Rats of NIMH (and sequels) - The Littles - Redwall (multiple times… regrettably) - The Doll People - Midnight in the Dollhouse - Carpet People - Gulliver’s Travels - The Bees (Laline Paul) - Watership Down - Mistress Masham’s Repose - The Little People (Steven Millhauser) - The Menyms - Toby Alone & Toby and The Secrets of the Tree - Mouse Guard - The Mouse and the Motorcycle - The Witches (Roald Dahl, apparently only at the end) - Dragon’s Egg (Robert L. Forward) - Abel’s Island - House of Tribes - Anna and the Mini Man - Through the Hidden Door - The Minpins - Stuart Little - Voyage of the Fox Rider - The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - The Cricket in Times Square - Duncton Wood - Beautiful Darkness - The Mouse and His Child - Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat - Tumtum and Nutmeg - The Sixty-Eight Rooms - The Beautiful Culpeppers - Toots and the Upside Down House - The Dollhouse Caper - Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day - The Spiderwick Chronicles - When the Dolls Woke - The Rescuers - The Small People (Thomas Ligotti) - The Little Grey Men - Maus - The Tale of Desperaux - The Magicians of Caprona (couldn’t find much about “little people” stuff on wiki) - The Brambly Hedge books - The Borribles - Munmun (didn’t read much, but the premise sounded great) - Little Wanderers: The Everlasting Seasons

Children’s book from 1950s - Young boy who got a disease and shrunk to the size of a bird – Built a little “saddle” for him to fly on the back of the bird – Went on a spying Mission

By rhymechapter1973

I read a kids’ book back in the late 1950s and I can’t shake the memory of it, but I’m not 100% sure. The story had a young boy who got some kind of illness and ended up shrinking down to about bird size. He had a bird—maybe a carrier pigeon, or he met one—and they basically made a little saddle so he could ride on the bird’s back. What I remember most is that it seemed like he was kept out of the weather somehow, which was kind of neat. Then they go on some sort of mission together, and it felt like it was hinting at spying into Germany before World War II, though the book might not have actually said it outright. I also remember it being pretty dangerous and that bad weather made it harder. At the end I think he grows back to normal, but I might be mixing that up with something else. If anyone has an idea what this could be, I’d really appreciate it.

Book with an inches tall protagonist

By littlemirrorrapid

I really like the concept of a tiny character going on some kind of adventure. I don’t even care if they’re naturally small (like a rat) or if it’s just a regular person who’s been shrunk down somehow. And as for size, I’m picturing maybe around a foot tall at the biggest.

what were some of your favorite books in childhood?

By KateReads

When I was a kid I was really into animals and anything “spooky,” so a lot of my favorite books had creatures or supernatural stuff in them. One that I still remember loving was the Silverwing series, I think it was by Kenneth Oppel. It’s kind of funny, I don’t feel like my taste has changed much. I still gravitate toward animal stories and the supernatural, but lately I’m a little less interested in books told from an animal’s point of view living in a human world. Do you feel like your book tastes changed over time, or have they stayed pretty much the same?

Who are foreign writers from "smaller" European countries that you have read and liked?

By bottle

Maybe for now it makes sense to leave out at least the French, German, British, and Russian writers. I’m curious what people know for each place though. Off the top of my head I’ve got: Hungary – Ferenc Molnár Sweden – Stig Claesson (and yeah, Astrid Lindgren) Norway – Jostein Gaarder Finland – Tove Jansson Netherlands – M. G. Schmidt Most of these are pretty northern. Also, out of the smaller countries, I think I’ve read Swedish authors the most, even if I don’t count Lindgren.

[deleted by user]

By goose-wind

Looks like /r/Books is the place to go. This sub is basically for finding new books from people’s suggestions. There are also a bunch of helpful posts like weekly appreciation threads, beginner-to-expert recs, stuff for Harry Potter fans, Game of Thrones-like books, best books of 2019, that kind of thing. If you want, there are links to other reading-related subreddits too. Just make sure spoilers are tagged properly, and don’t post things that aren’t actually asking for book suggestions or don’t really belong. The rules seem pretty strict about low-effort stuff, spam, piracy, self promo, and random links. If your post gets caught by the spam filter or you’re unsure, you can message the mods.

Searching for old fantasy stories

By badger-fog5708

Hi! I’m a Dutch storyteller and I’m doing a performance together with a harpist. I’m looking for stories with the vibe of Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. Ideally something that’s older than 100 years, since then it should be free to use. Thanks!

A book I can read aloud to my family nightly

By EmmaLovesBooks

I’m trying to find something that’s actually fun to read and works for ages 10 and up. We want to start reading together as a family again, but it’s been tough picking a book everyone will like—kids and adults included (10, 20, 40, and 45). Please not a ton of romance. Also, if it’s available on Kindle Unlimited that would be a huge bonus. Thanks!

Books like “Luka and the Fire of Life”?

By MuddyCamera549

Hey everyone! I just wrapped up Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Luka and the Fire of Life with my 10-year-old, and they totally loved both of them. Now we’re getting that bittersweet “okay, goodbye to a new favorite” feeling, which is the worst (and kind of the best). Do any of you have suggestions for other books with a similar vibe? I can’t quite pin it down—feels like fantasy leaning into magical realism, but I think what really makes it fun is the whole mix of quirky, colorful characters. Any recs would be amazing!