As kids develop into independent readers -- usually by third grade -- they are used to picking their own books.  Regular trips to the school library in earlier years have started them on the path of browsing the shelves and looking at the online catalog to find things that interest them. 

Invariably, they will get hooked on a particular subject or series.  It's not unlike the macaroni and cheese they ate every night for five months, or the can't-live-without toy from their toddler and pre-school days.  Except that since we're not around them 24/7 like we used to be, we don't always know what they've already read...or haven't. 

If you have a child in your life that loves a particular series, one of the things you can do to keep them connected with books is to find "read-alikes."  A read-alike is a book (or series) that is similar to something that your reader already likes.  The formula is fairly straightforward 
 
           If you like [insert: author, title, series], then you might like ___. 

Most libraries keep a "read-alikes" page on their website, and the children's librarians can fill in that blank for you very easily.  Another way to go is the Internet.  If you type in "read-alikes for x" in your favorite search engine, the search return will give you lists and lists of books. 

Another alternative is to go to a search engine that is designed specifically to help you find books that match a particular interest.  There are lots of sites, but I'm only including resources here that don't have a strong commercial relationship with a bookseller. 

bookseer.com -- Type in the author and title of a book series you may be interested in, and you get a list of recommended read-alikes from BookArmy, Library Thing, and Amazon.com.  You can click on a title in the list to get more details about the book, which is a nice feature. 

literature-map.com -- This site compares your reading habits with other people who have read the same author.  The search return gives you a list with the other authors readers like.  It is mapped out so you can see which are most similar and which are least similar, are most similarly read, and least similarly read. 

The Hennepin County (Minnesota) Library has a series of read-alike tools (http://www.library.ppld.org/WebPicks/Admin/WebPicksByCategory.asp?keyword=Books+/+Authors+/+Readers+Advisory#Read-Alikes, including the "If You Like" Author Search (http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/FindAGoodBook.cfm) that offers real reader reviews of books that mention your author of interest. 

Read-alike books show kids that you are listening to what they say about books...and respecting their choices!  It also stretches their comfort zone a little bit.  Most important, they keep kids reading!