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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"?
52 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
Abiyoyo
by Pete Seeger
from Scholastic Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
by Lewis Carroll
from Dell Yearling
Fantasy for 2nd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
BFG
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Birthday for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Scholastic Inc.
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Borrowers
Borrowers Series #1
by Mary Norton
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1952 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Candymakers
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Cattus Petasatus
by Dr. Seuss
from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
Rhyming fantasy (in Latin) for 1st-3rd grade
in Latin Resources & Reference (Location: FL-LATREF)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Champion of the Titan Games
Dragonwatch #4
by Brandon Mull
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web - Full Color Edition
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Doctor De Soto Goes to Africa
by William Steig
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Geronimo Stilton #01
Geronimo Stilton #1
by Geronimo Stilton, Translated by Edizioni Piemme
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
Canadian edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Jazz Man
by Mary Hays Weik
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.00 (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)
Knee-Knock Rise
by Natalie Babbitt
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harvest House
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er Vol. 1
by Jack Dublin
1st edition from J. Dublin Media
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Many Moons
by James Thurber
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Miss Bianca
by Margery Sharp
from Yearling
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$1.50 (4 in stock)
Miss Bianca in the Orient
by Margery Sharp
from Yearling
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines
by Margery Sharp
from Yearling
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mouse of Amherst
by Elizabeth Spires, Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
Limoncello's Library #2
by Chris Grabenstein
from Yearling
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
My Father's Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1
by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1949 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Once a Mouse
by Marcia Brown
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1962 Caldecott Medal Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
2013 Newbery Award Winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pecos Bill
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit
by Dr. Seuss
from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
Christmas Stories (in Latin) for 3rd-6th grade
in Latin Resources & Reference (Location: FL-LATREF)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Real Thief
by William Steig
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Seven-Day Magic
by Edward Eager
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Silver Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from Collier Books
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Stanley's Christmas Adventure
by Jeff Brown
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Stories Julian Tells
by Ann Cameron
Reprint from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Summer Magic
by Ruth Chew
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Time Garden
by Edward Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Tucker's Countryside
by George Selden; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1964 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Whisper of Glocken
The Sequel to The Gammage Cup
by Carol Kendall, illustrated by Imero Gobbato
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Wicked Nix
by Lena Coakley, illustrated by Jaime Zollars
from Amulet Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz Book 1
by L. Frank Baum
Unknown from Dover Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Paul Granger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz Book 1
by L. Frank Baum
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
World of Christopher Robin
by A. A. Milne
from Dutton Children's Books
Animal Stories: Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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