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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: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
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)
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
Windermere Readers #5
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 edition from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Macmillan
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Black Cauldron
Prydain Chronicles #2
by Lloyd Alexander
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Merlyn
by T. H. White
from University of Texas Press
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Camelot
by Jane Yolen
First Edition from Philomel Books
for 6th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
Unabridged from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Erak's Ransom
Ranger's Apprentice #07
by John A. Flanagan
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Ersatz Elevator
Series of Unfortunate Events #6
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen
from Viking Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Gypsy Rizka
by Lloyd Alexander
from Dutton Children's Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Halt's Peril
Ranger's Apprentice #09
by John A. Flanagan
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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 $16.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$29.99 $16.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
Invaders
by John A. Flanagan
1st edition from Philomel Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (3 in stock)
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne
from Reader's Digest
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
$10.00 (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)
$12.00 (2 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)
$15.00 (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 (1 in stock)
Legend of Luke
Redwall #12
by Brian Jacques
1st Us Edition from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Little Bookroom
by Eleanor Farjeon
from New York Review of Books
for 4th-8th grade
1955 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Long Patrol
Redwall #10
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Merlin's Mistake
by Robert Newman, illustrated by Richard Lebenson
First Edition from Atheneum
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Miserable Mill
Series of Unfortunate Events #4
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mistress Masham's Repose
by T. H. White
from New York Review of Books
Fantasy for 7th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.50 (1 in stock)
Mountain of Truth
by Dale Carlson; illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Atheneum
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie
from Barnes & Noble
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
by James M. Barrie, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
for 2nd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress (retold)
by John Bunyan (retold by Gary D. Schmidt)
from Eerdmans
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Pinocchio
Windermere Readers #2
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Esther Friend
from Rand McNally
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Caspian
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Princess Academy
by Shannon Hale
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
by Rush Limbaugh
1St Edition from Threshold Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ryann Watters And The King's Sword
by Eric Reinhold
1st edition from Creation House
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Siege of Macindaw
Ranger's Apprentice #06
by John A. Flanagan
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Sorcerer of the North
Ranger's Apprentice #05
by John A. Flanagan
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
String in the Harp
by Nancy Bond
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Swiftly Tilting Planet
Wrinkle in Time Series #3
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
This Present Darkness / Piercing the Darkness
by Frank E. Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
Heritage Illustrated Library
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Heritage Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Anna Leplar
from Parragon Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by John Burningham
from Viking Kestrel Books
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by James Lynch
from The Folio Society
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Winged Colt of Casa Mia
by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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