Fantasy Fiction

The "fantasy=escapism" equation is older than the genre as we know it. People in the old days boycotted the Theater, not just because it was a potential hotbed of wickedness, but because it was something other than Real Life and therefore odious to Sensible People. Some radical Christian sects have prohibited the reading of fiction on grounds that only the Bible has any literary value (....even though Jesus clearly told fictional stories).

In our day, fantasy as a fiction genre is more narrowly defined than simply "that which is not established fact." It encompasses stories of dragons, elves, dark and mysterious woods, magic (or majyck, or whatever the kids are calling it these days), unicorns, gnomes, etc. High fantasy usually takes place in a world or realm other than our own; low fantasy imports fantastic elements into the-world-as-we-know-it.

Certainly, there is plenty of fantasy fiction that can be defended on no grounds. The flood of worthless literary drivel with images of buxom maidens and swarthy sword-wielding savages with pointy ears on their paperback covers began sometime in the 1960s and has only increased as its putrid waters have swelled. But there's plenty of good fantasy, too, some of it among the best fiction ever written.

Because good fantasy, of course, has something to say about the human condition. Sometimes taking characters out of the humdrum of Earth-bound existence allows authors more artistic freedom to create the situations necessary to tell the narrative they have burning a hole in their imagination. Or sometimes they just make the story a bit more fun. Sometimes they make it darker, or scarier, or just plain more weird.

If you're J.R.R. Tolkien, the fantasy element plays a different role (mythmaking) than that of the story it frames (the sinfulness of sin and the cost of redemption). The point is, good fantasy isn't just about the fantastical. In most cases (Ursula K. LeGuin comes to mind), the unfamiliar is used to show how even it is ultimately familiar, and if we can see ourselves in the Edmund Pevensies and Gurney Hallecks we read about, the fantasy has done its job.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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100 Cupboards
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Abel's Island
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
1977 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
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Wrinkle in Time Series #5
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
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Adventures of Grandfather Frog
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #12
by Thornton W. Burgess
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Adventures of Reddy Fox
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #5
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
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Alice in Wonderland
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Lewis Carroll
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
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Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
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$11.00
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Puffin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
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Fantasy for 2nd-7th grade
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Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Battle for the Castle
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$7.99
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by Robin McKinley
First Paperback Edition, 2018 from Greenwillow Books
Fantasy/Retold Fairy Tale for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
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by Brian Jacques
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Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
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$9.99
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Blacky the Crow
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Book of Lost Tales 1
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Mythology, Faërie for 8th-12th grade
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Book of Lost Tales 2
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
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Book of the Dun Cow
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
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$16.99
Bunnicula
Bunnicula #1
by James Howe
1st edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
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Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #32
by Thornton W. Burgess
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$4.00
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from Aladdin Paperbacks
Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
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Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
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Centerburg Tales
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Humor for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.99
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
by Roald Dahl
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fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
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$7.99
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
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1953 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
Chestnut King
100 Cupboards Book #3
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Christmas Carol
Puffin Classics
by Charles Dickens
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
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$7.99
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens,
Enriched Classic from Pocket Books
for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Chronicles of Narnia - Mass-Market Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$55.00
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by George Selden
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams, foreword & updates by Stacey Lee
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
Dandelion Fire
100 Cupboards Book #2
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Dark Is Rising
Dark Is Rising Sequence #2
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1974 Newbery Honor Book
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Dark Is Rising Sequence #2
by Susan Cooper
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1974 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
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by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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$5.99
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by Hugh Lofting
from Mayflower Books
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
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Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
1967th edition from Mayflower Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dolls' House
by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Puffin Books
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by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Christian Birmingham
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by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Jane Ray
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Dolls' House
by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Joanna Jamieson
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Redwall #20
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Puffin Classics
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Ashtown Burials #1
by N.D. Wilson
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by Robert Lawson
1972 Printing from Dell Yearling
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Enchanted Castle
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
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Eulalia!
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by Brian Jacques
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1981 Caldecott Medal winner
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from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-6th grade
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by Ursula K. Le Guin
from Simon Pulse
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
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An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
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Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
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Lord of the Rings Trilogy #1
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
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$8.99
Fire Cat
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Esther Averill
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$4.99
Five Children and It
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
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$7.99
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by Claire Huchet Bishop & Kurt Wiese
from PaperStar Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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by Jane Langton
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1981 Newbery Honor Book
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Fledgling, The
by Jane Langton
from HarperCollins
Magical Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
1981 Newbery Honor Book
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by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
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$6.99
Frog and Toad All Year
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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$5.99
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An I Can Read Book Level 2 (Reading with Help)
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1971 Caldecott Honor Book
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$4.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
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An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1973 Newbery Honor Book
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Golden
Once Upon a Time Series
by Cameron Dokey
from Simon Pulse
for 6th-9th grade
$8.99
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Pendragon Cycle #5
by Stephen R. Lawhead
from HarperCollins
Celtic Fantasy for 8th-12th Grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
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from Yearling
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in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
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An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
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$5.99
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from Puffin Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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Dark Is Rising Sequence #3
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
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Greenwitch
Dark Is Rising Sequence #3
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
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$8.99
Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
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Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Gulliver's Travels
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by Jonathan Swift
from Puffin Books
Satire/Social Commentary for 9th-Adult
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Happy Birthday Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle #5
by Betty MacDonald and Anne MacDonald Canham
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Happy Day
by Ruth Krauss; illustrated by Marc Simont
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
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Animal Stories: Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
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for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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Redwall #18
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Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
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$7.99
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by Cheli Duran Ryan, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
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1972 Caldecott Honor Book
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by Hannah Hurnard
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Allegorical and Moral Stories for 7th-Adult
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History of Middle Earth - Boxed Set
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for 9th-Adult
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$49.95
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
2nd edition from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Mass-Market Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Mti from Ballantine Books
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in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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Humor for 3rd-6th grade
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Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
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Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
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Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
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