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Middle School Fantasy Book List

Wooster School

What is Fantasy?

Fantasy is imaginative fiction that deals with alternate realities, that suspends scientific explanations and natural laws; it is a search for a deeper reality and eternal truth.

Literature and the Child, 2nd edition, by Bernice E. Cullinan

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Adams, Richard – WATERSHIP DOWN

CHILDREN OF GREEN KNOWE by L.M. Boston

Avi – POPPY – A courageous girl mouse embarks on an exciting journey to save her family and defeat the tyrannical horned owl who rules the forest.

BRIGHT SHADOW by Avi

Aiken: THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE

Alexander: THE BOOK OF THREE -Taran, would-be hero and assistant pig-keeper, assembles a group of companions to rescue the oracular pig Hen Wen from the forces of evil. One book in five of the Prydain Chronicles.

Alexander: THE ARKADIANS

SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD series by Diane Duane

WITCH WEEK by Diana Wynne Jones

CART & CWIDDER by Diana Wynne Jones (The DALEMARK Series)

Coville, Bruce JENNIFER MURDLEY’S TOAD

Fletcher DRAGON’S MILK

Jacques REDWALL series

Levine ELLA ENCHANTED – In a delightful twist on the Cinderella story, a sassy heroine goes in search of a fairy to lift the spell that forces her to obey every command. A Newbery Honor book.

Moulton CHILDREN OF TIME

THE WHIPPING BOY by Sid Fleischman

THE HERO AND THE CROWN by Robin McKinley

MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

THE VOYAGES OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE by Hugh Lofting

LORD OF THE RINGS Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien

THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis - Four English children go through a wardrobe door to Narnia where Aslan, the noble lion, fights the spell of the white witch. First in the Chronicles of Narnia series.

WIZARD OF EARTHSEA by Ursula Le Guin

THE CRYSTAL CAVE by Mary Stewart

DRAGONSONG by Anne McCaffrey

THE RIDDLEMASTER OF HED by Patricia McKillip

TUCK EVERLASTING by Natalie Babbitt - The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.

Pearce, Phillipa TOM’S MIDNIGHT GARDEN

Napoli, Donna Jo. ZEL.- A sophisticated, romantic retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, complete with moral choices and redemptive love. Beautiful descriptive nature passages allow for a real fantasy experience.

Alexander, Lloyd. THE IRON RING – Having lost both his kingdom and his freedom on a wager, Tamar, the young King of Sundari sets off to reclaim his honor. An epic tale of high adventure with magical creatures and an evil villain.

Ibbotson, Eva. THE SECRET OF PLATFORM 13. - An abandoned railway platform is the gateway to a magical island— and through it come an ogre, a hag and a wizard in search of their lost prince. An inventive fantasy-mystery.

Pullman, Philip. CLOCKWORK. - An apprentice clockmaker, an innkeeper's daughter, a writer with a story that is out of his control, a murderous knight, and a prince whose mechanical heart is winding down—are all characters in this intricate and chilling fantasy.

Barron, T.A. THE LOST YEARS OF MERLIN; THE MERLIN EFFECT; THE SEVEN SONGS OF MERLIN and more

Twain A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT

White THE SWORD AND THE STONE

THE BOGGART by Susan Cooper - When an ancient and mischievous spirit is accidentally transported from Scotland to Toronto, it wreaks havoc for Emily and her brother Jessup.

THE MOORCHILD by Eloise McGraw - Feeling that she is neither fully human nor "Folk," a changeling learns her true identity and attempts to find the human child whose place she had been given.

Pullman GOLDEN COMPASS series

THE SUBTLE KNIFE. – When 12-year-old Will Parry finds a doorway to an alternate universe, he meets Lyra (heroine of The Golden Compass). Their quests intersect as they are fiercely pursued in both universes. A compelling and beautifully written fantasy. AMBER SPYGLASS

Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone plus all the others

Service, Pamela BEING OF TWO MINDS

Wrede. Patricia DEALING WITH DRAGONS series

THE DARK IS RISING by Susan Cooper - Will Stanton’s 11th birthday is the beginning of a frightening yet wonderful discovery of a special gift – immortality and power against the forces of evil.

THE NEVERENDING STORY by Michael Ende

SABRIEL by Garth Nix

FIRE BRINGER by Clement-Davies

Pierce Tamora - THE LIONESS Series

CROWN DUEL; COURT DUEL by Sherwood Smith

NBW 10.2001

 

 

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