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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188 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold by Anna Milbourne and illustrated by Linda Edwards
from Usborne
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
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Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
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Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Readers #5
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 edition from Rand McNally
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All the Mowgli Stories
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Richard M. Powers
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Ambush at Sorato
Ranger's Apprentice Royal Ranger #7
by John Flanagan
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Annotated Christmas Carol
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Arazan's Wolves
Royal Ranger #6
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Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
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$21.95
Bambi
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Girard Goodenow
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
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Bark of the Bog Owl
Wilderking #1
by Jonathan Rogers
20th Anniversary Edition from Rabbit Room Press
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Beyond the Pawpaw Trees
by Palmer Brown
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Beyond the Valley of Thorns
The Land of Elyon #2
by Patrick Carman
from Scholastic Inc.
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bilbo's Last Song
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Illustrated by Pauline Baynes
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$16.99
Black Cauldron
Prydain Chronicles #2
by Lloyd Alexander
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Honor Book
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Borrowers
by Mary Norton
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Box of Delights
by John Masefield
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$11.00 (1 in stock)
Box of Delights (abridged)
by John Masefield
from Macmillan
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Bunnicula
Bunnicula #1
by James Howe
2nd edition from Atheneum
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
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$28.99
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Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
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$10.99
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator set
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$13.88 (1 in stock)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
by Roald Dahl
Fifth Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
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$16.99
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
Collectors from HarperCollins
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
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1953 Newbery Honor Book
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Chronicles of Harris Burdick
by Chris Van Allsburg
1st edition from Houghton Mifflin
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City in Winter
Swan Lake Trilogy #2
by Mark Helprin, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg
from Viking Press
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Colonel Meacham's Giant Cheese
by Rosemary S. Nesbitt
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D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
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Danny the Champion of the World
by Roald Dahl
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dinotopia: The World Beneath
by James Gurney
2012nd edition from Calla Editions
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Doll People
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
Reprint from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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Door Before
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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Dragon of Lonely Island
by Rebecca Rupp
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Dragon Used to Live Here
by Annette LeBlanc Cate
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Edison
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Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
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Erak's Ransom
Ranger's Apprentice #07
by John A. Flanagan
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Ersatz Elevator
Series of Unfortunate Events #6
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Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
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Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen
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Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them
by J.K. Rowling (as Newt Scamander)
from Scholastic Inc.
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Farmer Giles of Ham
by J. R. R. Tolkien, Pauline D. Baynes
50 Anv from Houghton Mifflin
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$23.00
Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill
from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
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$9.95
Graven Images
by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Andrew Glass
1st edition from Harper & Row
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1983 Newbery Honor Book
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Green Smoke
by Rosemary Manning, illustrated by Constance Marshall
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Halt's Peril
Ranger's Apprentice #09
by John A. Flanagan
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Handbook for Dragon Slayers
by Merrie Haskell
from HarperCollins
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Book 2
by J. K. Rowling
First American Edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
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$26.99
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Book 2
by J. K. Rowling
Illustrated from Arthur A. Levine Books
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$39.99
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter Book 4
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Scholastic Inc.
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter Book 5
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
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$29.99
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter #5
by J. K. Rowling; illustrated by Jim Kay
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-10th grade
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$54.99
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter Book 3
by J.K. Rowling
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter #3
from Arthur A. Levine Books
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$39.99
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
from Scholastic Press
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
from Arthur A. Levine Books
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$39.99
Harry Potter Collection
by J. K. Rowling
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in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Herodia the Lovely Puppet
by Katherine Milhous
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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$13.50 (1 in stock)
High in the Clouds
by Paul McCartney, Geoff Dunbar, Philip Ardagh
1st edition from Dutton Juvenile
for 2nd-5th grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Deluxe Hardcover Collection
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$136.00
Hobbit, The
by J.R.R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$40.00
Hobbit, The
by J.R.R. Tolkien, author and illustrator
from William Morrow & Company
for 5th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$75.00
Holes
Holes Series #1
by Louis Sachar
10th Anniversary Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 4th-6th grade
1999 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Horse and His Boy
by C. S. Lewis
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
House of Arden
by E. Nesbit
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
from Blue Sky press
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hush Hush
by Remy Wilkins
from Canon Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Icebound Land
Ranger's Apprentice #03
by John A. Flanagan
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Igraine The Brave
by Cornelia Funke
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Indian in the Cupboard
Indian in the Cupboard #1
by Lynne Banks
from Weekly Reader
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Into the Jungle
by Katherine Rundell, Illustrated by Kristjana S. Williams
from Walker Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$24.99
Iron Giant
by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Laura Carlin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Jungle Books Volume 1
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Aldren Watson, introduction by Nelson Doubleday
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.75 (1 in stock)
King Arthur and His Knights
Windermere Readers #18
by Philip Schuyler Allen, illustrated by Mead Schaeffer & John R. Neill
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Kingdom Tales
by David & Karen Mains
from My Father's World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.95 $21.00 (5 in stock)
Knee-Knock Rise
by Natalie Babbitt
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 5th-8th grade
1971 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$11.25 (1 in stock)
Last Battle
Chronicles of Narnia Book 7
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Lightlings
by R. C. Sproul
from Reformation Trust Publishing
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Lindbergh
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
1st edition from Harcourt
for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, translated by Richard Howard
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
$18.00
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Little Prince - Russian language edition
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Eksmodetstvo
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in Russian (Location: FL-GEN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Wizard Stories of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
1st edition from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$14.99
Loretta Mason Potts
by Mary Chase, illustrated by Harold Berson
2014 printing from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Love from Paddington
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Mary Poppins
by P. L. Travers
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Mary Poppins Comes Back
by P. L. Travers
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
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$16.99
Mary Poppins from A to Z
by P. L. Travers
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Mary Poppins from A to Z
by P. L. Travers, illustrated by Mary Shepard
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Poppins in the Park
Marry Poppins Series #4
by P. L. Travers
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Mary Poppins Opens the Door
by P. L. Travers
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Mary Poppins Opens the Door
Mary Poppins Series #3
by P. L. Travers
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Marzipan Pig
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Quentin Blake
from New York Review of Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Meanest Doll in the World
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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