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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Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), Hardcover
329th Friend
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500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss
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Adventures of Raggedy Ann
by Johnny Gruelle
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Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane, and Alexander Calder
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for 1st-5th grade
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Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold & illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st Ed. from Chronicle Books
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
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$7.50 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
1988 ed from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold by Anna Milbourne and illustrated by Linda Edwards
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Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
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Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, Illustrated by Walt Sturrock
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
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$12.74
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold by Anne Terry White, illustrated by Helen Siegl
from California State Department of Education
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Angelina's Baby Sister
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
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Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
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Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
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$18.66
Autumn Story
Brambly Hedge book 3 of 8
by Jill Barklem
2011st edition from HarperCollins
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Babar and Father Christmas
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1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
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$16.14
Babar and His Children / Tale of Benjamin Bunny
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar); Beatrix Potter (Benjamin)
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Babar and His Children OSI
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Babar and Zephir
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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Babar and Zephir / Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar) and Beatrix Potter (Squirrel Nutkin)
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Babar the King
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$13.56
Babar's Picnic
by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated by Merle Haas
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
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$25.60 (1 in stock)
Babar's World Tour
by Laurent de Brunhoff
Rei/Pstr from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
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Babar, To Duet or Not to Duet
by Elaine Waisglass
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Bartholomew and the Oobleck
by Dr. Seuss
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1950 Caldecott Honor Book
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$14.44 $6.80 (1 in stock)
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
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$13.59
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
50th Anniversary Edition from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Bear Circus for Our Friends the Kangaroos
by William Pene du Bois
from Viking Press
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Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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$3.60 (1 in stock)
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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$14.44
Bee-Man of Orn
by Frank R. Stockton; illustrated by P. J. Lynch
from Candlewick Press
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BFG
by Roald Dahl
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-6th grade
Bilbo's Last Song
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Riverwood Publishers
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Birds of Killingworth
by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root
1st edition from Sun Dial Press
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Blah Blah Black Sheep
by N. D. Wilson, illustrated by Forrest Dickison
from Canon Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$16.14
Bonjour, Babar!
by Jean De Brunhoff, introduction by Kevin Henkes
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade
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Book of Giant Stories
by David L. Harrison
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$2.80 (1 in stock)
Brambly Hedge: The High Hills
by Jill Barklem
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$8.49
Brambly Hedge: The Sea Story
by Jill Barklem
from HarperCollins
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$8.49
Breeze in the Willows
by Allen Johnson
from Ten Speed Press
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Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox
by Joel Chandler Harris, Jane S. Shaw
1st edition from Collins
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Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
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$28.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio (adapted)
by Marianna Mayer (translator and adapter), illustrated by Gerald McDermott
from Four Winds Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Charlie at the Zoo
by Marcus Pfister
from North-South Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$14.44
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
Collectors from HarperCollins
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in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Children of the Forest
by Elsa Beskow
from Floris Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
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Christmas Carol
Little Unicorn
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Walt Sturrock
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 2nd-4th grade
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Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from William Heinemann
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Chronicles of Narnia Deluxe Hardcover
by C. S. Lewis
Deluxe Edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$63.75
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Church Mice At Bay
by Graham Oakley
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Classic Tale of the Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, retold by G. C. Barrett and illustrated by Don Daily
abridged edition from Courage Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit
by Don Daily, Joel Chandler Harris
from Running Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Don Daily
from Running Press
for 2nd-4th grade
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$11.04 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Book of Flower Fairies
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$25.50
Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$38.25
Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
from Dutton Children's Books
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Countdown to Christmas
by Bill Peet
from Golden Gate Junior Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
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Crickwing
by Janell Cannon
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Curious George - Hardcover Boxed Set
by H. A. & Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$36.54
Dancing Man
by Ruth Bornstein
from Weekly Reader
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
David and the Ice Elf
by Winifred Morris, illustrated by Maureen Hyde
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Day with Whisker Wickles
by Cynthia Jameson, illustrated by James Marshall
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Days of the Blackbird
by Tomie dePaola
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Prescool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dear Friends
by Zhenya Gay
from Harper & Brothers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Dear Peter Rabbit
by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Leslie Tryon
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Delver's Danger
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
from Trudy Corporation
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Digging-est Dog
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99
Discovery of Dragons
by Graeme Base
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Dragons & Mythical Beasts (Location: FIC-DRAG)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Doctor Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures
Doctor Dolittle #15
by Hugh Lofting
from Weekly Reader
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Donkey-Donkey
from Grosset & Dunlap
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Books of Wonder Wizard of Oz #4
by L. Frank Baum
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dot and the Line
by Norton Juster
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-2nd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.34
Dragon Rider: Griffin's Feather
Dragon Rider #2
by Cornelia Funke
from Chicken House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Duck for President
by Doreen Cronin
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Dwarf Long-nose
by Wilhelm Hauff, translated by Doris Orgel and illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Random House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Eddie and his Big Deals
by Carolyn Haywood
10th printing, 1968 from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Fiction for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Eddie and Louella
by Carolyn Haywood
7th printing, 1968 from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Fiction for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Edison
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.66
Elephant's Ball
by Anonymous (W. B.), illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling
2nd Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
from Garden City Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ellison the Elephant with Dramatized Audio CD
by Eric Drachman, illustrated by James Muscarello
from Kidwick Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Eric Carle's Animals Animals
by Eric Carle
First Edition from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Fables of Aesop
by Aesop, selected & illustrated by David Levine, translated by Patrick & Justina Gregory
from Gambit
for 2nd-4th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Farfallina & Marcel
by Holly Keller
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Flotsam
by David Wiesner
from Clarion Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
2007 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Four Donkeys
by Lloyd Alexander; illustrated by Lester Abrams
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Funny Thing
by Wanda Gag
from Smithmark Publishers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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