Fantasy Reads

Juvenile Fantasy Reads

Anderson, Jodi Lynn – May Bird and the Ever After - Lonely and shy, ten-year-old May Ellen Bird has no idea what awaits her when she falls into the lake and enters The Ever After, home of ghosts and the Bogeyman.

Avi – The Book Without Words - The Book Without Words appears to be a volume of blank parchment pages. But for a green-eyed reader filled with great desire, it may reveal the forgotten magical arts of making gold and achieving immortality. For generations, its magic has been protected from those who would exploit it. But on a terrible day of death and destruction, the Book Without Words falls into the hands of a desperate boy.

Byng, Georgia – Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism - Unlucky and unloved, Molly Moon, living in a dreary orphanage in a small English town, discovers a hidden talent for hypnotism and hypnotizes her way to stardom in New York City.

Carman, Patrick – The Dark Hills Divide - When she finds the key to a secret passageway leading out of the walled city of Bridewell, twelve-year-old Alexa realizes her lifelong wish to explore the mysterious forests and mountains that lie beyond the wall.

Eager, Edward – Half Magic – Faced with a dull summer in the city, Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha suddenly find themselves involved in a series of extraordinary adventures after Jane discovers an ordinary-looking coin that seems to grant wishes.

Forrester, Sandra - The Everyday Witch - On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Beatrice Bailey is surprised to find that the decision about her classification as a witch has not been made and that she must first perform a task involving the evil Dally Rumpe.

George, Jessica Day – Tuesdays at the Castle - Eleven-year-old Princess Celie lives with her parents, the king and queen, and her brothers and sister at Castle Glower. The castle adds rooms or stairways or secret passageways most every Tuesday, and when the king and queen are ambushed while travelling, it is up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of its never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.

Kessler, Liz - Philippa Fisher’s Fairy Godsister - Philippa Fisher is just your average 11 year old.  But that changes when Daisy, her fairy godsister, enters her life.

Law, Ingrid – Savvy - Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident. The sequel is Scumble.

Lubar, David - Punished! - Logan and his friend Benedict are playing tag in the library. Logan gets caught when he runs into a mysterious man. When Logan doesn't apologize sincerely, the mysterious gentleman punishes him by causing him to speak in puns. Only finding seven examples each of oxymorons, anagrams and palindromes within the time limits will return Logan to normal.

McMann, Lisa - The Unwanteds - In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic. (Young Adult)

Nimmo, Jenny - The Snow Spider - Gifts from Gwyn's grandmother on his ninth birthday open up a whole new world to him, as he discovers he has magical powers that help him heal the breach with his father that has existed ever since his sister's mysterious disappearance four years before.

Selfors, Suzanne - To Catch a Mermaid  - When twelve-year-old Boomerang Broom discovers a wish-granting baby mermaid, he takes her home and his little sister begs to keep her, with unexpected consequences.

Sonnenblick, Jordan -  Dodger and Me - Miserable because his only friend moved away and he has once again caused his baseball team to lose a game, fifth-grader Willy Ryan's life suddenly becomes a lot more interesting when he finds Dodger, a furry, blue chimpanzee that only he can see, and he has to decide what he really wishes for in life.

Dragons / Fairy Tales

Buckley, Michael – Fairy-Tale Detectives - Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead.

Coville, Bruce – Into the Land of the Unicorns - Having jumped into the fantasy land of Luster, Cara joins Lightfoot the unicorn in the search for Queen Arabella Skydancer.

D’Lacey, Chris - The Fire Within - When college student David Rain rents a room in an unusual boardinghouse full of clay dragons, he has no idea that they, along with some lively squirrels, will help jumpstart his writing career.

Downer, Ann - The Dragon of Never-Was - With the help of a bottle of blue fire and a magical brooch, Theodora searches for a dragon on an island off the coast of Scotland before it causes any harm.

Funke, Cornelia - Dragon Rider - After learning that humans are headed toward his hidden home, Firedrake, a silver dragon, is joined by a brownie and an orphan boy in a quest to find the legendary valley known as the Rim of Heaven, encountering friendly and unfriendly creatures along the way, and struggling to evade the relentless pursuit of an old enemy.

Gidwitz, Adam – A Tale Dark and Grimm - Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering such wicked creatures as witches, along with kindly strangers and other helpful folk.

Hale, Shannon - The Princess Academy - While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Ibbotson, Eva - The Ogre of Oglefort - For excitement-hungry orphan Ivo, a mission to save Princess Mirella from the dreaded Ogre of Oglefort is a dream come true. Together with a hag, a wizard, and a troll, Ivo sets out, ready for adventure. But when they get to the ogre's castle, the rescuers are in for a surprise: the princess doesn't need saving, but the depressed ogre does!

Prior, Natalie Jane - Lily Quench and the Dragon of Ashby – Lily Quench, the last of a family of dragon slayers, befriends the dragon she is sent to kill and together they join forces against an evil tyrant.

Rodda, Emily - Dragon’s Nest - The evil Shadow Lord has been banished, but famine still stalks Deltora, and only monsters thrive. As the starving people weaken, Lief, Jasmine and Barda discover a terrible secret. The Enemy left the seeds of death behind. Lief and his companions must struggle to reveal the origins of the sorcery and destroy them.

Rodda, Emily – Rowan of Rin – When twelve-year-old Boomerang Broom discovers a wish-granting baby mermaid, he  takes her home and his little sister begs to keep her, with unexpected consequences.

Trafton, Jennifer - The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic - Ten-year-old Persimmony Smudge, who longs for heroic adventures, overhears a secret that thrusts her into the middle of a dangerous mission that could destroy the island on which she lives.

Harry Potter – read-alikes

Barron, T.A. -The Lost Years of Merlin - A young boy who has no identity or memory of his past washes ashore and finds his true name after a series of fantastic adventures.

Chima, Cinda Williams – The Warrior Heir - Jack’s normal life in the small college town of Trinity, Ohio is turned upside-down when he turns out to have magical powers that make him a target of a covert society of wizards, enchanters, and warriors called the Weir.

Collins, Suzanne - Gregor the Overlander - When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Duane, Diane - So You Want to Be a Wizard - Thirteen-year-old Nita finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension.

Ibbotson, Eva - Secret of Platform 13 - Odge Gribble, a young hag, accompanies an old wizard, a gentle fey, and a giant ogre on their rescue mission through a magical tunnel from their Island to London.

LeGuin, Ursula K. - A Wizard of Earthsea - A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard.

Nimmo, Jenny - Midnight for Charlie Bone - Charlie Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic change when he discovers that he has extraordinary abilities.

Pierce, Tamora -  Sandry’s Book - Four young misfits find themselves living in a strictly disciplined temple community where they become friends while also learning to do crafts and to use their powers, especially magic.

Prineas, Sarah - The Magic Thief - Conn, a pickpocket on the streets of Twilight, picks the pocket of a powerful wizard, leading to his becoming the wizard’s apprentice.

Vande Velde, Vivian - Wizard at Work - A young wizard, who runs a school to teach wizards, looks forward to a quiet summer off but is drawn into adventures with princesses, unicorns, and ghosts instead.

Adventure

Barry, Dave - Peter and the Starcatchers - A fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold but the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger.

Bell, Hillari – Shield of Stars - When the Justice he works for is condemned for treason, fourteen-year-old and semi-reformed pickpocket Weasel sets out to find a notorious bandit who may be able to help save his master's life.

Bemis, Jean Claude – The Nine Pound Hammer - Drawn by the lodestone his father gave him years before, twelve-year-old orphan Ray travels south. Along the way he meets various characters from folklore who are battling against an evil industry baron known as the Gog.

Buckley, Michael – N.E.R.D.S – (National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society) While running a spy network from their elementary school, five unpopular misfits combine their talents and use cutting-edge gadgetry to fight evil around the world.

Corder, Zizou – Lion Boy – In the near future, a boy with the ability to speak the language of cats sets out from London to seek his kidnapped parents and finds himself on a Paris-bound circus ship learning to train lions.

DuPrau, Jeanne - City of Ember - In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

Funke, Cornelia - Inkheart - Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Gaimon, Neil - Odd and the Frost Giants - An unlucky twelve-year-old Norwegian boy named Odd leads the Norse gods Loki, Thor, and Odin in an attempt to outwit evil Frost Giants who have taken over Asgard.

Gardner, Lyn – Into the Woods - Pursued by the sinister Dr. DeWilde and his ravenous wolves, three sisters--Storm, the inheritor of a special musical pipe, the elder Aurora, and the baby Any--flee into the woods and begin a treacherous journey filled with many dangers as they try to find a way to defeat their pursuer and keep him from taking the pipe and control of the entire land.

Gordon, Roderick - Tunnels - When Will Burrows and his friend Chester embark on a quest to find Will's archaeologist father, who has inexplicably disappeared, they are led to a labyrinthine world underneath London, full of sinister inhabitants with evil intentions toward "Topsoilers" like Will and his father. (Young Adult)

Grant, Michael - The Call - A seemingly average twelve-year-old learns that he is destined to gather a team of similarly gifted children to try to save the world from a nameless evil, which is threatening to reappear after having been imprisoned for three thousand years.

La Fevers, R. L.  – Theodesia and the Serpents of Chaos -Twelve-year-old Theo uses arcane knowledge and her own special talent when she encounters two secret societies, one sworn to protect the world from ancient Egyptian magic and one planning to harness it to bring chaos to the world, both of which want a valuable artifact stolen from the London museum for which her parents work.

Mebus, Scott - Gods of Manhattan - Thirteen-year-old Rory discovers a spirit world that thrives alongside his contemporary New York City, filled with fantastical creatures and people from the city's colorful past who have become gods and goddesses and who have chosen Rory to perform a dangerous mission.

Nix, Garth - Mister Monday - Arthur Penhaligon is supposed to die at a young age, but is saved by a key that is shaped like the minute hand of a clock. The key causes bizarre creatures to come from another realm, bringing with them a plague. A man named Mister Monday will stop at nothing to get the key back. Arthur goes to a mysterious house that only he can see, so that he can learn the truth about himself and the key.

Oxridge, Panama – Justin Thyme - Although set in the present, the book you are holding has not been written ... yet! This literary paradox was recently unearthed by a highly respected cryptozoologist exploring subterranean caverns beneath a ruined Scottish castle. The chest he found contained a hand-written manuscript of the entire Tartan of Thyme with a strange explanatory note dated 01/04/26.

Riordan, Rick –The Lightning Thief - Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods. (Young Adult)

Rollins, James – Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow - Connecticut middle-schooler Jake and his older sister Kady are transported by a Mayan artifact to a strange world inhabited by a mix of people from long-lost civilizations who are threatened by prehistoric creatures and an evil alchemist, the Skull King.

Sniegoski, Tom – Quest for the Spark - Twelve-year-old Tom Elm, his raccoon friend Roderick, Percival, Abbey, and Barclay Bone, warrior-priest Randolf, and forest-woman Lorimar join in a quest to find the pieces of the Spark that can save Dreaming--and the Waking World--from a Darkness created by the Nacht.  The Bone Series is also in graphic novel from by Smith, Jeff.

Stewart, Paul – Beyond the Deepwoods - Thirteen-year-old Twig, having always looked and felt different from his woodtroll family, learns that he is adopted and travels out of his Deepwoods home. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, dangerous world beyond the deepwoods.

Umansky, Kay - Clover Twig and the Magical Cottage - This is a story about a clever girl named Clover who goes to work for a witch in this messy cottage, and how she and her clumsy friend Will must defend the cottage from the evil Mesmeranza.

Superheroes

Cody, Matthew - Powerless - Soon after moving to Noble's Green, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Daniel learns that his new friends have super powers that they will lose when they turn thirteen, unless he can use his brain power to protect them.

Danko, Dan - Sidekicks Series: Operation Squish! - Thirteen-year-old Guy Martin, also known as superhero Pumpkin Pete's sidekick Speedy, helps the League of Big Justice from being squished by the evil Dada Robah.

Owl Boy Series by Tom Sniegoski – (Billy Hooten, Owl Boy) Unassuming twelve-year-old Billy Hooten, who loves reading superhero comic books, suddenly learns that he has been chosen to become the next Owlboy, whose destiny it is to save the inhabitants of Monstros, a city underneath the cemetery next to Billy's house.

Animal

Avi - Perloo the Bold - Perloo, a peaceful scholar who has been chosen to succeed Jolaine as leader of the furry underground people called the Montmers, finds himself in danger when Jolaine dies and her evil son seizes control of the burrow.