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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"?
59 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Hardcover, New Books & Materials
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
Ambush at Sorato
Ranger's Apprentice Royal Ranger #7
by John Flanagan
from Viking Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.99
Arazan's Wolves
Royal Ranger #6
by John A. Flanagan
from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.99
Bark of the Bog Owl
Wilderking #1
by Jonathan Rogers
20th Anniversary Edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$14.99
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
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
from Bantam Books
for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.95
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by P.J. Lynch
Unabridged from Candlewick Press
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
Unabridged from Palazzo Editions Limited
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$24.99
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
Unabridged from Creative Editions
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$35.00
Chronicles of Harris Burdick
by Chris Van Allsburg
1st edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$39.99
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$50.00
Door Before
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill
from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.95
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Book 2
by J. K. Rowling
First American Edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$26.99
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Book 2
by J. K. Rowling
Illustrated from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$39.99
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter Book 7
by J. K. Rowling
1st edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.99
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter Book 4
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter Book 6
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$32.99
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter Book 5
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$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
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$54.99
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter Book 3
by J.K. Rowling
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99 $15.00 (2 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter #3
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$39.99
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$39.99
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
Hush Hush
by Remy Wilkins
from Canon Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
King Arthur
by Sidney Lanier
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 6th-10th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, translated by Richard Howard
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
$18.00
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
Love from Paddington
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Daniel Miyares
from Levine Querido
for 6th-9th grade
2024 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$21.99
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 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 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
Miracle on 34th Street
by Valentine Davies
from Harcourt
Realistic Fairy Tale for 6th-9th Grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Mouse and His Child
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by David Small
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game
Mr. Lemoncello's Library #4
by Chris Grabenstein
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Outlaws of Time
by N. D. Wilson
from Katherine Tegen Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Outlaws of Time 2
by N. D. Wilson
from Katherine Tegen Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Paddington Here and Now
Paddington Bear #12
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Paddington Races Ahead
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Paddington Takes the Test
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Reissue from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$19.99
Peter Pan
Dover Evergreen Classics
by J. M. Barrie
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.79 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
Reissue from Yearling
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Alice Carsey
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
$18.00
Scary Stories for Young Foxes
by Christian McKay Heidicker, illustrated by Junyi Wu
First Ed from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-8th grade
2020 Newbery Honor Book
$16.99
Tales from the Perilous Realm
by J. R. R. Tolkien, illustrated by Alan Lee
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Time Sight
by Lynne Jonell
from Henry Holt and Company
Time Travel Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
When the Sea Turned to Silver
by Grace Lin
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
When You Trap a Tiger
by Tae Keller
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
2021 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$17.99
When You Trap a Tiger
by Tae Keller
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
2021 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
75th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$21.99
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$24.99
Wish in the Dark
by Christina Soontornvat
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$17.99
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