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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"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Nursery-1st grade
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
49th Mystic
Beyond the Circle #1
by Ted Dekker
from Revell Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
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Adventures of Raggedy Ann
by Johnny Gruelle
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
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Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Macmillan Classics
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
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Fantasy for 7th-Adult
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$14.40 (1 in stock)
Angelina's Baby Sister
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Annotated Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Deluxe from Random House
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Atlantis Rising
by Robert Sullivan, drawings by Glenn Wolff
from Simon and Schuster
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Babar and His Children / Tale of Benjamin Bunny
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar); Beatrix Potter (Benjamin)
from Grolier Society
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Babar and His Children OSI
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Babar and Zephir / Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar) and Beatrix Potter (Squirrel Nutkin)
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Babar's Picnic
by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated by Merle Haas
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Bartholomew and the Oobleck
by Dr. Seuss
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1950 Caldecott Honor Book
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Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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Beejum Book
by Alice O. Howell
Revised
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$9.00 (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)
Book of Giant Stories
by David L. Harrison
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Borrowers
by Mary Norton
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$4.00 (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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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Caldera
Brotherband Chronicles #7
by John Flanagan
from Philomel Books
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$5.60 (1 in stock)
Camelot
by Jane Yolen
First Edition from Philomel Books
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio (adapted)
by Marianna Mayer (translator and adapter), illustrated by Gerald McDermott
from Four Winds Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator set
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
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$14.80 (1 in stock)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
by Roald Dahl
Fifth Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Charlie at the Zoo
by Marcus Pfister
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
Collectors from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
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$11.20 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
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1953 Newbery Honor Book
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$4.80 (2 in stock)
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
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Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Don Daily
from Running Press
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Crying for a Vision
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cunning Little Vixen
by Rudolf Tesnohlidek
First Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Dancing Man
by Ruth Bornstein
from Weekly Reader
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Danny the Champion of the World
by Roald Dahl
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
David and the Ice Elf
by Winifred Morris, illustrated by Maureen Hyde
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Day with Whisker Wickles
by Cynthia Jameson, illustrated by James Marshall
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Dear Peter Rabbit
by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Leslie Tryon
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Delver's Danger
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
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Discovery of Dragons
by Graeme Base
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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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Duck for President
by Doreen Cronin
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling
2nd Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
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$7.20 (1 in stock)
Ellison the Elephant with Dramatized Audio CD
by Eric Drachman, illustrated by James Muscarello
from Kidwick Books
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Erak's Ransom
Ranger's Apprentice #07
by John A. Flanagan
from Philomel Books
for 4th-8th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eric Carle's Animals Animals
by Eric Carle
First Edition from Philomel Books
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Ersatz Elevator
Series of Unfortunate Events #6
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Fables of Aesop
by Aesop, selected & illustrated by David Levine, translated by Patrick & Justina Gregory
from Gambit
for 2nd-4th grade
$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
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Farfallina & Marcel
by Holly Keller
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Farthest Shore
Earthsea #3
by Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrated by Gail Garraty
First Edition, 4th Printing from Atheneum
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
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$20.00 (1 in stock)
George and Martha Back in Town
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
George and Martha Encore
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Giant John
by Arnold Lobel
Weekly Reader Book Club Ed. from Harper & Row
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Graven Images
by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Andrew Glass
1st edition from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Great Big Elephant & the Very Small Elephant
by Barbara Seuling
from Crown Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Great Kettles
by Dean Morrissey
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Time-Traveling Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Green Smoke
by Rosemary Manning, illustrated by Constance Marshall
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (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
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Gypsy Rizka
by Lloyd Alexander
from Dutton Children's Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.40 (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)
$28.04 $12.00 (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)
$25.49 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Harvey's Hideout
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Four Winds Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Hat
by Jan Brett
from Penguin Putnam
Animal Stories: Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hedgie's Surprise
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Herodia the Lovely Puppet
by Katherine Milhous
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.40 (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)
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)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Horse and His Boy
by C. S. Lewis
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hot Air
by Marjorie Priceman
from Atheneum
for Preschool-3rd grade
2006 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
House on East 88th Street
by Bernard Waber
1999 edition from Weekly Reader
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
from Blue Sky press
for 1st-5th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
I'm Not Moving, Mama!
by Nancy White Carlstrom, Illustrated by Thor Wickstrom
from Macmillan
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
If You Made a Million
by David M. Schwartz
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy
by Kara LaReau, Illustrated by Matt Myers
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Invaders
by John A. Flanagan
1st edition from Philomel Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Invisible Moose
by Dennis Haseley, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (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)
$4.00 (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)
$13.60 (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)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
by Audrey & Don Wood
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (2 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 (3 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)
$12.00 (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)
$7.20 (2 in stock)
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
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Little Rose of Sharon
by Nan Gurley
from Chariot Victor Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Little Whistle
by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Tim Bowers
from Harcourt
for Preschool-1st grade
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Little Whistle's Dinner Party
by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Tim Bowers
from Harcourt
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (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)
Lost in a Good Book
Thursday Next Book 2
by Jasper Fforde
First American Edition from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Lost in the Woods
by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
from Carl R. Sams II Photography, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Maggie Muggins in the Meadow
by Mary Grannan, illustrated by Pat Patience
from Thomas Allen
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #44 (Merlin Mission #16)
Magic Tree House
by Mary Pope Osborne
from Random House
in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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