Tilly Witch

by Diana Wynne Jones

Like Tilly, your protagonist here is a character learning to navigate a magical world through unconventional means—but Sophie's journey involves unlearning her self-imposed limitations rather than relearning wickedness. Jones has that same warm, slightly absurdist humor as Freeman, where the magic feels lived-in and the real stakes are emotional rather than grandiose.

by Norton Juster

This 1961 novel shares Freeman's gift for making the impossible feel like a reasonable field trip—a boy travels through kingdoms of words and numbers with the same matter-of-fact wonder that Tilly approaches witch school. Both books treat their fantastical premises as perfectly ordinary problems to solve, which creates that distinctive blend of whimsy and logic.

by George MacDonald

Here's your surprise pick: it's a fantasy novel, yes, but one that's genuinely about learning courtly manners and institutional rules rather than magic battles. Like Tilly returning to finishing school, your protagonist must learn an entirely foreign system of etiquette and protocol—except Addison writes with such earnest compassion that the 'finishing school' elements become the emotional heart of the story.

by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman writes fairy tales for adults with the same illustrated-storybook sensibility Freeman brought to picture books—there's magic here, but it's treated with a knowing wink rather than reverence. The protagonist's education in how the magical world actually works (versus how he imagined it) mirrors Tilly's realization that witch-craft requires actual skill and intention.

by Catherine Goldhammer

Klune captures that same spirit of finding unexpected warmth in supposedly 'wicked' places—a by-the-book inspector arrives at a magical orphanage expecting rule-breaking chaos and instead discovers something far more complicated and humane. Both books suggest that learning to be 'good' or 'bad' is less important than learning to be genuinely present with the people around you.