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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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Doug Wilson: Magic in Literature
Should Christians read books with "magic"?
957 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
100 Cupboards
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
100 Cupboards - Paperback Trilogy
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$24.62
500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
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
Abiyoyo
by Pete Seeger
from Scholastic Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Ace, the Very Important Pig
by Dick King-Smith
from Yearling
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.99
Adventures of Bob White
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #23
by Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrated from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Adventures of Bobby Raccoon
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #21
by Thornton W. Burgess
New edition from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.50
Adventures of Buster Bear
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #15
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #13
by Thornton W. Burgess
Revised ed. from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #11
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Grandfather Frog
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #12
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
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 Jerry Muskrat
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #10
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #22
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Harrison Cady
1920 Printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
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 Mr. Mocker
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #9
by Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrated from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Old Man Coyote
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #18
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Adventures of Old Mr. Buzzard
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Old Mr. Toad
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #16
by Thornton W. Burgess
Revised ed. from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00
Adventures of Peter Cottontail
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #7
by Thornton W. Burgess
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by ??
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Carlo Collodi, translated and adapted by Angelo Patri and illustrated by Mary Liddell
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #20
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Prickly Porky
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #17
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00
Adventures of Reddy Fox
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #5
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Sammy Jay
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #14
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th 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
Adventures of Walter the Weremouse / Adventures of Mushka the Mousewere
by John Dashney
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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 Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane, and Alexander Calder
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold & illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st Ed. from Chronicle Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
1st edition from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
Puffin Classics
by Aesop
Reprint from Puffin Books
Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.99
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold by Anne Terry White, illustrated by Helen Siegl
from California State Department of Education
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aesop's Fables for Children
by Aesop, illustrated by Milo Winter
Pap/Com from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Alice in Wonderland
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.99
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by June Goulding
from Parragon Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Puffin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 2nd-7th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by John Tenniel
from SeaWolf Press
Fantasy for 2nd-7th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.89
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Nick Hewetson
from Templar Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Justin Todd
from Lynx
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (adapted)
by Adapted by David Blair and illustrated by John Bradley, Original by Lewis Carroll
1st.Edition from Courage Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
All the Mowgli Stories
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Richard M. Powers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
American Fairy Tales
by L. Frank Baum
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Amos and Boris
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Ancient, Strange, and Lovely
Dragon Chronicles #4
by Susan Fletcher
Reprint from Atheneum
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Stories
by Edited by Walter de la Mare
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Another Celebrated Dancing Bear
by Gladys Scheffrin-Falk & Barbara Garrison (illusttrator)
from Purple House Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Arazan's Wolves
Royal Ranger #6
by John A. Flanagan
from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.99
Archer's Cup
by S. D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.95
Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Arrow
by Dawn L. Watkins
from Bob Jones University Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
Arthur, High King of Britain
by Michael Morpurgo
from Harcourt
for 2nd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Babar the King
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.95
Babar, To Duet or Not to Duet
by Elaine Waisglass
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Babe the Gallant Pig
by Dick King-Smith
1st edition from Yearling
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Scholastic Inc.
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Atlas Editions
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bartholomew and the Oobleck
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 2nd-4th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
50th Anniversary Edition from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Bedtime for Francis
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bedtime Stories
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Carl & Mary Hauge
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
Bellmaker
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Ben and Me
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Best Friends for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Best Friends for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Edge of the Map (The Mapmaker Chronicles)
The Mapmaker Chronicles #4
by A. L. Tait
from Lothian Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.99
Beyond the Pawpaw Trees
by Palmer Brown
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Valley of Thorns
The Land of Elyon #2
by Patrick Carman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
BFG
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
BFG
by Roald Dahl
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-6th grade
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)
Bilbo's Last Song
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Riverwood Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
Bilbo's Last Song
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Bill Peet Collection
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$190.97
Billy Mink
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #33
by Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrated from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Billy the Bird
by Dick King-Smith
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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