If You Like Millicent Quibb…
Kate McKinnon, star of Saturday Night Live and The Barbie Movie, has scored a hit with her middle-grade book The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, illustrated by Alfredo Cáceres (2024). In it, three orphan sisters fail to fit into their town, Antiquarium, until they are invited to join Millicent Quibb’s school. Instead of being taught proper posture or which fork to use, Quibb teaches the girls to explore, be brave, and fight the forces of mad science evil. Silly and exciting, it’s no surprise it’s appealing to tons of readers.
If you and your kids have liked McKinnon’s book, below are other books and series that appeal to the same madcapped adventurous spirit.
The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart (started in 2007)
I remember when I handed the first book in this series to my kid on a cross-county flight. They looked at the thick spine and pushed it aside in favor of unlimited in-flight screen time. Fair enough! But once they started, they couldn’t put down this engaging read about four extraordinary kids and the mysteries they must solve to save their mentor. Full of puzzles and adventures, these books with their fantastic kid characters will charm young and old readers.
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood (2009)
Written in a somewhat old-fashioned style reminiscent of 19th-century novels, these books about a governess and her charges — three children who were raised by wolves — frequently has me laughing out loud. The twists, the turns, the howls!
Wells and Wong series by Robin Stevens (started in 2015)
This series, starting with Murder Is Bad Manners, feels like a cozy BBC mystery aged down for kids. There is murder and clues and kids sleuths who solve the crime before the pros. Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends at boarding school in the 1930s. In the first book, they find the dead body of their science teacher, but it disappears before any grown ups see it.
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln and Claire Powell (2023)
The Swifts name all their babies randomly from the dictionary and believe that the name creates one’s destiny. When the matriarch is attacked at a reunion, the family must find the culprit. Excellent word play and suspense.
The Misfits series by Lisa Yee and Dan Santat (started 2024)
The entertaining series centers on Olive, who is sent to a boarding school where she becomes part of a group of kid secret agents. In the first book, Olive and her cohort must stop a heist and save their school. Subsequent volumes have them searching for priceless art and sea monsters.
The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell (2025)
Maggie is sent away from an orphanage to the notoriously strict Midwatch Institute. When she arrives, she discovers that the harsh reputation is only a cover story. Instead the school aims to teach the girls in a warm and loving environment while helping out their city by solving mysteries. Fun and fantastical. Maggie and her classmates will win your hearts.