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.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Subcategories
Related Links
Doug Wilson: Magic in Literature
Should Christians read books with "magic"?
129 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7), Trade Paperback, In-Stock Books & Materials
Abiyoyo
by Pete Seeger
from Scholastic Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Happy Jack
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #25
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00
Adventures of Johnny Chuck
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #6
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #19
by Thornton W. Burgess
Unabridged from Dover Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #8
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
by Leo Lionni
Reissue from Dragonfly Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1970 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Amos and Boris
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Armadillo from Amarillo
by Lynne Cherry
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Arthur's Honey Bear
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Ask Mr. Bear
by Marjorie Flack
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Big Bad Bruce
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Big Book of Animal Stories
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Buford the Little Bighorn
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.95
Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride
by George Selden
1st edition from Square Fish Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Chester the Worldly Pig
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Chester's Way
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Chicken Little
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Comet in Moominland
Moomintrolls Book #1
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cowardly Clyde
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Cross-Country Cat
by Mary Calhoun & Erick Ingraham
from Mulberry Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Curious George Flies a Kite
by Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Curious George Gets a Medal
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George Goes to the Hospital
by H. A. & Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George Learns the Alphabet
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Curious George Rides a Bike
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Curious George Takes a Job
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Dandelion
by Don Freeman
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Day the Goose Got Loose
by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
First Scholastic Printing April 1993 from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Days of the Blackbird
by Tomie dePaola
from Puffin Books
for Prescool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Doctor De Soto
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Doctor De Soto Goes to Africa
by William Steig
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.89 (1 in stock)
Dragons of Blueland
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #3
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Eli
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Ella
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package
Tales from Deckawoo Drive Book 4
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
$7.99
Farewell to Shady Glade
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Finn Family Moomintroll
Moomintrolls Book #2
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
by Arthur Ransome
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1969 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$24.99
Frances Collection
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$37.44
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Free Fall
by David Wiesner
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1989 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Frog and Toad Collection
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$17.97
Gnats of Knotty Pine
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Gregory's Shadow
by Don Freeman
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Happy Birthday, Moon
by Frank Asch
Revised from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Hardest Word
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Harold and the Purple Crayon
by Crockett Johnson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Harold's Circus (Purple Crayon Books)
by Crockett Johnson
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Harold's Fairy Tale
by Crockett Johnson
Reissue from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Harold's Trip to the Sky
by Crockett Johnson
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
House on East 88th Street
by Bernard Waber
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
House on East 88th Street
by Bernard Waber
from Trumpet Club
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
How Much is a Million?
by David M. Schwartz, Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Huge Harold
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Humble Pie
by Jennifer Donnelly
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Island of the Skog
by Steven Kellogg
from Puffin Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Jack and the Beanstalk
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Jamberry
by Bruce Degen
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling
from Dover Publications
for 1st-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Joseph M. Gleeson
from Book-of-the-Month Club
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Katy No-Pocket
by Emmy Payne, illustrated by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Kenny & the Dragon
by Tony DiTerlizzi
from Simon and Schuster
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Kermit the Hermit
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
King's Equal
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
King's Equal
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
$6.99
Lamb And The Butterfly
by Arnold Sundgaard
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Letters from Father Christmas
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Revised from Mariner Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$25.00
Library Lion
by Michelle Knudsen
1 Reprint from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Life Story
by Virginia Lee Burton
Updated from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Lightfoot the Deer
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #29
by Thornton W. Burgess
Unabridged from Dover Publications
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Little Bear Collection
by Else Minarik
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Little Engine That Could
by Watty Piper, Cristina Ong (Illustrator)
1st edition from Philomel Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Lovable Lyle
by Sherri Brooks Vinton, Ann Clark Espuelas
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
by Bernard Waber
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Many Moons
by James Thurber
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride
Mercy Watson #2
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig
Mercy Watson #5
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Mercy Watson #1
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
1 Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise
Mercy Watson #4
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson: Something Wonky this Way Comes
Mercy Watson #6
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Millicent and the Wind
by Robert Munsch
from Annick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Millions of Cats
by Wanda Gág
from PaperStar Books
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Ming Lo Moves the Mountain
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Moominland Midwinter
Moomintrolls Book #5
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Moominpappa at Sea
Moomintrolls Book #7
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Moominpappa's Memoirs
Moomintrolls Book #3
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.56
12