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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Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Harrison Cady
1920 Printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-4th grade
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$16.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
1st edition from Viking Press
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (adapted)
by Adapted by David Blair and illustrated by John Bradley, Original by Lewis Carroll
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Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
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Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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Bellmaker
by Brian Jacques
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Pawpaw Trees
by Palmer Brown
from New York Review of Books
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Valley of Thorns
The Land of Elyon #2
by Patrick Carman
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Giant Stories
by David L. Harrison
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$3.50 (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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Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio (adapted)
by Marianna Mayer (translator and adapter), illustrated by Gerald McDermott
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator set
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$18.50 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from The Folio Society
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
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1953 Newbery Honor Book
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
City in Winter
Swan Lake Trilogy #2
by Mark Helprin, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg
from Viking Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Delver's Danger
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
from Trudy Corporation
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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
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Dorothy of Oz
by Roger S. Baum, illustrated by Elizabeth Miles
from Books of Wonder
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling
2nd Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Fables of Aesop
by Aesop, selected & illustrated by David Levine, translated by Patrick & Justina Gregory
from Gambit
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen
from Viking Press
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Four Donkeys
by Lloyd Alexander; illustrated by Lester Abrams
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Frog and Toad Are Friends
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1971 Caldecott Honor Book
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Herodia the Lovely Puppet
by Katherine Milhous
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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Hippo Lemonade
by Mike Thaler
WRBC from HarperCollins
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Horse and His Boy
by C. S. Lewis
Reprint from HarperCollins
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Horton Hears a Who!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Christmas Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
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by Theo. LeSieg
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If You Made a Million
by David M. Schwartz, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
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Igraine The Brave
by Cornelia Funke
from Scholastic Inc.
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Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy
by Kara LaReau, Illustrated by Matt Myers
from Candlewick Press
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Iron Giant
by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Laura Carlin
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Just So Stories
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by Audrey & Don Wood
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
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by David & Karen Mains
from My Father's World
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Chronicles of Narnia Book 7
by C. S. Lewis
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Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
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by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Lindbergh
Classic Starts
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
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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)
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)
Marzipan Pig
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Quentin Blake
from New York Review of Books
for 1st-5th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Meanest Doll in the World
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
from Hyperion/Madison Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mercy Watson Fights Crime
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
Library Binding from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
by Kate DiCamillo
1st edition from Candlewick Press
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Misoso
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illustrated edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
More About Paddington
by Michael Bond
from Houghton Mifflin
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny - Detectives Extraordinaire!
by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
from Schwartz & Wade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
by Chris Grabenstein
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
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from First Second
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from Dutton Children's Books
Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade
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by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum
Book Club Edition from Houghton Mifflin
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Paddington Marches On
by Michael Bond
Book Club Edition from Houghton Mifflin
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Pagemaster
by David Kirschner, Ernie Contreras
from Turner Publishing, Inc.
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Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe and Tall Timber Tales set
by Dell J. McCormick, illustrated by Lorna Livesley
from Caxton Press
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Paul Bunyan the Work Giant
by Ida Virginia Turney
from Unknown Publisher
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Peter Pan (abridged)
by J. M. Barrie, abridged by Vic Parker and illustrated by Claudia Venturini
from Viking Press
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
by James M. Barrie, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
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$9.60 (1 in stock)
Pinocchio
Windermere Readers #2
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Esther Friend
from Rand McNally
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pippi Goes on Board
Pippi Longstocking #2
by Astrid Lindgren
from Viking Press
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
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$10.00 (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)
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by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Puppy Who Wanted a Boy
by Jane Thayer, Illustrated by Lisa McCue
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Racketty-Packetty House
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Harrison Cady
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Raggedy Andy Stories
Raggedy Ann #2
by Johnny Gruelle
Book Club Edition from Bobbs-Merril Co
Personification Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees
by Johnny Gruelle
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rainbabies
by Laura Krauss Melmed
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Red Book
by Barbara Lehman
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-4th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Reluctant Dragon
by Kenneth Grahame
1st edition
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Egg
by L. M. Boston, illustrated by Peter Boston
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 3rd-6th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Secret World of Polly Flint
by Helen Cresswell
from Palgrave MacMillan
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by John Yeoman (reteller), illustrated by Quentin Blake
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Silver Nutmeg
by Palmer Brown
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Sir Bertie & the Wyvern
by Nicholas Wilde
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie Find Ragged Blossom
Young Australia Series
by May Gibbs (original characters), redrawn by Noela Young, adapted by Anne-Marie Willis
from Angus and Robertson
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Song of Paul Bunyan and Tony Beaver
by Ennis Rees
from Pantheon Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Stones of Green Knowe
Green Knowe Book 6
by L.M. Boston, Illustrated by Peter Boston
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Time-traveling fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Babar the Little Elephant
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$18.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-4th grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Stuart Little
by E.B. White
from Harper & Row
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Stuart Little
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4th Edition from Harper & Row
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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by Caroline Rush, illustrated by Dominique M. Strandquest
First Edition from Crown Publishers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tanglewood Tales
Windermere Readers #6
by Nathaniel Hawthorne, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Tassel's Mission
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
from Trudy Corporation
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
The Wand
Mesmerian Annals #2
by Allan W. Eckert, illustrated by David Wiesner
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
by Eugene Trivizas
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 1st-5th grade
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Two Bad Ants
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-3rd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Uncle Wiggily Book
by Howard Garis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Personification for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams, illustrated by Michael Green
from Running Press
Personification for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams, illustrated by Allen Atkinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Personification for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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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)
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