Fantasy Older Readers

Ages 9-13 J ALEXAND Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three: Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper to a famous oracular sow, sets out on a hazardous mission to save Prydain from the forces of evil. (Book 1 of the Prydain Chronicles) J ALMOND Almond, David. Skellig: Unhappy about his baby sister's illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious creature who is something like a bird and something like an angel. This book is a realistic fantasy with fantasy and realism blended. J BARRY Barry, Dave. Peter and the Star Catchers: Soon after Peter, an orphan, sets sail from England on the ship Never Land, he befriends and assists Molly, a young Starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate and the native inhabitants of a remote island. J BELL Bell, Hilari, Shield of Stars: When the Justice he works for is condemned for treason, fourteen-yearold and semi-reformed pickpocket Weasel sets out to find a notorious bandit who may be able to help save his master's life J BODE Bode, N.E. The Anybodies: Although Fern’s biological parents were Anybodies--professional shapeshifters, a hospital error left Fern to be raised by the "tragically dull" Drudgers. She embarks on magical adventures with her real father and finally finds "a place that feels like home." (Sequels: The Nobodies & The Somebodies) J BODE Bode, N.E. The Slippery Map: Oyster R. Motel, a lonely boy raised as a foundling in a Baltimore nunnery, travels through a portal to the imaginary world of his parents, where he heroically confronts the villainous Dark Mouth.

J CARMAN Carman, Patrick. The Dark Hills Divide: Twelve-year-old Alexa has spent all of her life living in a city behind walls. In fact, she can't imagine a life not surrounded by walls, and yet, every chance that she gets, Alexa sneaks out and explores, hoping to find a way to see what magic the land of Elyon holds. Then one day she discovers a dark plot to destroy everything that she knows and loves. (First in The Land of Elyon series) YA COLFER Colfer, Eoin. Artemus Fowl: When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. J COLLINS Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander: When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. (Series Underland Chronicals) J DAHL Dahl, Roald. The Witches: A young boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who is an expert on witches, together foil a witches' plot to destroy the world's children by turning them into mice. J DICAMIL DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread: The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. J DICAMIL DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories. J DITERLI Diterlizzi, Tony. The Field Guide: When the Grace children go to stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda's worn Victorian house, they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and begin to have some unusual experiences. (Spiderwick Chronicles Series) J EAGER Eager, Edward. Half Magic: Faced with a dull summer in the city, Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha suddenly find themselves involved in a series of extraordinary adventures after Jane discovers an ordinary-looking coin that seems to grant wishes. (Sequel: Magic by the Lake) J FUNKE Funke, Cornelia. Igraine the Brave: The daughter of two magicians, twelve-year-old Igraine wants nothing more than to be a knight, and when their castle is attacked by a treacherous neighbor bent on stealing their singing magic books, Igraine has an opportunity to demonstrate her bravery.

J FUNKE Cornelia Funke. When Santa Fell to Earth: When Santa and his caravan come crashing down to earth during a thunderstorm two weeks before Christmas, Santa is befriended by two children, Charlotte and Ben, who try to help him save the holiday from the tricks and moneymaking schemes of Gerold Geronimus Goblynch and to take off in time for his annual rounds. J GARDNER Gardner, Lyn. Into the Woods: Pursued by the sinister Dr. DeWilde and his ravenous wolves, three sisters—Storm, the inheritor of a special musical pipe, the elder Aurora, and the baby Any—flee into the woods and begin a treacherous journey filled with many dangers as they try to find a way to defeat their pursuer and keep him from taking the pipe and control of the entire land. J HAPTIE Haptie, Charlotte. Haptie Otto and the Flying Twins: Young Otto comes to the rescue when he discovers that his family and city are the last remnants of an ancient magical world now under threat from the Normal Police. (Sequel: Otto and the Bird Charmers) J HAYDON Haydon, Elizabeth. The Floating Island: the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme: Entries from the long-lost journal of Ven, a Nain youth, relate his adventures as he faces pirates and is rescued by a mermaid and a kindly sea captain who sends Ven to an inn, where he encounters fairies, ghosts, and other strange boarders. (Series) J IBBOTSON Ibbotson, Eva. Not Just a Witch: Determined to be more than just an ordinary witch, Heckie, whose specialty is changing people into animals, settles in a small town determined to use her powers for good purposes. J JACQUES Jacques, Brian. Redwall: When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall’s inhabitants destroy the enemy. (Series) J JUSTER Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth: There’s nothing quite like this story of a boy named Milo who travels to strange lands such as Dictionopolis. Milo meets a dog with a clock in the middle of him, a watchdog, and a Whether Man who cannot tell you what the weather will be, but whether there will be weather. J KERR Kerr, P.B. The Akhenaten Adventure (Children of the Lamp Book 1): When twelve-year-old twins Philippa and John discover that they are descended from a long line of djinn, their mother sends them away to their Uncle Nimrod, who takes them to Cairo where he starts to teach them about their extraordinary powers. J KIROV Kirov, Erica. The Eternal Hourglass (Magic Keepers Book 1): Living in Las Vegas with his unsuccessful father, Nick Rostov learns on his thirteenth birthday that he is descended from a powerful line of Russian Magickeepers on his dead mother's side, and that the equally powerful but evil Shadowkeepers will stop at nothing to get an ancient relic that his grandfather gave him.

J KLADSTR Kladstrup, Kristin. The Book of Story Beginnings: After moving with her parents to Iowa, twelveyear-old Lucy discovers a mysterious notebook that can bring stories to life and which has a link to the 1914 disappearance of her great uncle. J KOLLER Koller, Jackie. A Wizard named Nell (The Keepers Book 1): In the magical world of Eldearth, where witches and wizards live side by side with humans. Princess Arenelle, a promising young witch, decides to undertake the quest to become an Apprentice Keeper of the Light. YA LANDY Landy, Derek. Skulduggery Pleasant: When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones. J LAYBOUR Laybourn, Emma. Missing Magic: In a world where everyone has magical abilities, eleven-year-old Ned has none, but when the world turns upside down his lack of powers turns out to be his best asset. J LOWRY Lowry, Lois. Gossamer: While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds. J MACNEIL MacNeil, Stephen. Woolies and Worms: While sailing to the colonies with her father, eleven-yearold Sarah is swept overboard during a pirate raid, washing up on a strange island where kidnapped children called "Woolies" are forced to weave fantastical rugs by the evil Mr. Grim, and those who anger him are cast out to live underground as "Worms." J MALONEY Moloney, James. The Book of Lies: On the night he was brought to an orphanage, Marcel's memories were taken by a sorceror and replaced with new ones by his Book of Lies, but Bea, a girl with the ability to make herself invisible, was watching and is determined to help him discover his true identity. J MCALLI McAllister, Margaret. Urchin of the Rising Stars (Mismantle Chronicles): A group of animals, led by an orphaned squirrel, learns about friendship and loyalty when they band together to defend their island kingdom against evil forces. A group of animals, led by an orphaned squirrel, learns about friendship and loyalty when they band together to defend their island kingdom against evil forces. J MIYABE Miyabe, Miyubi. Brave Story: With a determined plan to reunite his mother and father, eleven-yearold, Wataru enters a fantasy world inhabited by a goddess who has the power to change destiny. With the help of the Lizard Boy, the Cat Girl, and the Fire-breathing Dragon, Wataru faces a series of tests on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. One way or another, he must reach the Tower of Destiny and bring his mother and father back together again.

J MURPHY Murphy, Rita. Bird: Miranda, a small, delicate girl easily carried off by the wind, lands at Bourne Manor on the coast of Lake Champlain and is raised by the dour Wysteria Barrows, but she begins to believe rumors that the Manor is cursed and, aided by a new friend and kites secreted in an attic, seeks to escape. J NELSON Nelson, D.A. DarkIsle: Helped to escape from her evil guardians and a life of drudgery by a dodo and a rat, ten-year-old Morag joins her new companions on a dangerous and difficult mission involving a stone dragon, the stolen Eye of Lornish that guards the magical land of Marnoch Mor, and her own unfulfilled destiny and mysterious past. J NIX Nix, Garth. One Beastly Beast: (Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales): A collection of four fantasy tales in which a boy joins a strange navy in pursuit of video pirates, a neglected princess seeks adventure, an orphaned inventor seeks the perfect parents, and a genius girl faces a sea serpent. J POPE Pope, Elizabeth Marie. The Perilous Gard: In 1558 while imprisoned in a remote castle, a young girl becomes involved in a series of events that leads to an underground labyrinth peopled by the last practitioners of druidic magic. J PRIMAVE Primavera, Elise. The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls: In order to save the town of Sherbet, four girls with very little in common become involved with some people and events that seem to bear a resemblance to "The Wizard of Oz." J PRINEAS Prineas, Sarah. The Magic Thief: Book 1: A young thief is drawn into a life of magic and adventure after picking the pocket of the powerful wizard Nevery Flinglas, who has returned from exile to attempt to reverse the troubling decline of magic in Wellmet City. (Trilogy) J PULLMAN Pullman, Philip. The Scarecrow and His Servant: A scarecrow and his boy servant, Jack, set off on a dangerous adventure as they try to outwit the crooked Buffaloni family and stake their claim to valuable Spring Valley. YA SAGE Sage, Angie. Magyk: After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety by the Extraordinary Wizard, those she always believed were her father and brother, and a young guard known only as Boy 412--pursued by agents of those who killed her mother ten years earlier. (Book 1 of Septimus Heap) J SAUNDERS Saunders, Kate. The Little Secret: When she is invited to her new friend's home for summer vacation, eleven-year-old Jane is transported from her world to another dimension, an otherworldly kingdom that is terrorized by her friend’s mom, an evil, dictatorial queen.

J SCHADE Schade, Susan. Travels of Thelonious (Fog Mound Book 1): At a time when animals only know myths about the talking humans who once dominated and nearly destroyed the world, a young chipmunk escapes danger in the City of Ruins and, with new friends, finds the Fog Mound, where all creatures live in peace and harmony. J SENSEL Sensel, Joni. The Farwalker’s Quest: Before the Namingfest that will determine their future trades, Ariel and her friend Zeke find a mysterious artifact that sets them on a long and arduous journey that changes the course of their lives and ultimately reveals to them their true identities. J STEWART Stewart, Paul. Beyond the Deepwoods (Edge Chronicles): Twig, a foundling child of of wood trolls finds a new destiny when he strays off a marked path into the Deepwoods, where he must escape tribble/piranha hybrids, vicious Bloodoaks, and, a cooing, preteen, makeover-happy Termagant Trog. J STEWART Stewart, Paul & Riddell Chris. Hugo Pepper: A boy, orphaned and raised in the Frozen North by reindeer herders, boards his birth parents' sled and sets its special compass to "Home," where he uncovers a plot that threatens his mermaid godmothers and other friends of his family. J VANDE Vande, Velde Vivian. Wizard at Work: A Novel in Stories: A young wizard, who runs a school to teach wizards, looks forward to a quiet summer off but is drawn into adventures with princesses, unicorns, and ghosts instead. J WEATHERILL Weatherill, Cat. Wild Magic: Mari and her brother Jakob join the other children of Hamelin as they follow the Pied Piper into a world of wild magic, where they will remain until the fearsome Beast identifies the child chosen to free him from a centuries-old curse. More series: Harry Potter (under J ROWLING or YA ROWLING) Lemony Snicket (under J SNICKET) Dripping Fang (under J GREENBU) The Dark is Rising (under J COOPER) Charlie Bone (under J NIMMO) Chronicles of Narnia (under J LEWIS)