Sorry about the slight delay in getting this post out; it's been very busy of late in Library Towers. So, as everyone knows, kids love fantasy. Whether in play, books or films, magic makes great stories, and great fun! But what if your boy won't read anything other than Beast Quest, or your girl won't read anything other than Rainbow Magic? (sorry to generalise there, but I've never seen a boy read Daisy Meadows) Here's a selection of brilliant fantasy books, both new and old. I'm assuming you've heard of the ones about Harry and Bilbo...
The Ice Palace by Robert Swindells
I read this when I was 6 or 7, and I genuinely believe it steered me on to fantasy. It's the tale of a boy, Ivan, whose little brother is kidnapped by the terrifying Starjik, who comes in the night with his wolves. Ivan decides to rescue his brother, and so sets off alone in the snow to find Starji
k's ice palace. On the way, he's beset by wolves, the cold, and hope-destroying hallucinations. Looking back on it now, it's surprisingly dark for a book for quite young children, but it's a wonderful adventure. And through it I learnt about bravery, determination, love and redemption.
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The lovely image of dreams being blown through your window by an old man with a trumpet, is countered by the nastiness of the big giants blowing nightmares at you. And what nasty giants they are! But surely the little girl Sophie and her new BFF the BFG (that's Big Friendly Giant, of course) can stop their evil plan - perhaps with a little help from the Queen... From Snozzcumbers to Bone Crunchers, this story will have you whizzpopping til bedtime!
The Silver Chair by CS Lewis
If your kids are ready for slightly larger books, then The Chronicles of Narnia are a must-read. They're wonderful adventures of children getting transported to the land of Narnia, fighting evil, and meeting Aslan the Lion. Most people start with The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is a very good starting place (and the best known), but my personal favourite is The Silver Chair. In a series of fantasy books, this is the most fantastic of them all, as Eustace (who's been to Narnia before) and Jill arrive in Narnia with a mission to find the lost Prince Rilian, the only heir to the throne of Narnia. But to do that, they must face a paliament of owls, avoid getting eaten by giants, and defeat the sinister Lady in the Green Kirtle. Accompanying them on their quest is Puddleglum, a marshwiggle whose gloominess cannot quite overcome his loyalty and steadfastness. The three main characters have a really good chemistry: whether bickering with or supporting one another, they have well-developed and individual personalities. And the climax, deep, deep underground is just thrilling.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
This book is the first in the Chronicles of Prydain series. It's inspired by Welsh mythology, and it's perfect for Narnia fans. In fact it's frequently called Lord of the Rings for kids, and justifiably so (the 'for kids' bit doesn't degrade it. No sirree!). You may be more familiar with its sequel, The Black Cauldron, which was a Disney film in the 80s. It's not got a great reputation with either Prydain fans or Disney fans, which is a shame, because I think it's a really good film, and true to the books (and I only saw it recently).
Taran wants to be a hero fighting glorious battles, but instead he's an Assistant Pig Keeper. Even though the pig can see the future (yes, that's right), he's still longing for an adventure. Which is exactly what he gets when the ferocious Horned King comes to take the pig. The heroic Prince Gwydion sends Taran on a quest of his very own, and the fate of all Prydain depends on it. Along the way, he meets the odd creature Gurgi, the aspiring bard (without the talent) Fflewdur Fflam, and the wonderful Princess
Eilonwy. She's a perfect (romantic) foil for Taran: he's an Assistant Pig-Keeper, and she's a magical princess, who can be opinionated and sarcastic. As with the best love stories (that barely counts as a spoiler), they rub each other up the wrong way for a good long time, before finally, finally admitting their love for one another (much later on in the series).
The book does share a lot with Tolkien: Gurgi is terribly good-Smeagolly, and Prince Gwydion is very Aragorny, but none of that matters. If you read this five-book series, you'll fall more and more in love with it, and the emotional payoffs in the last book are the sort that makes life better for having read them.
The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
How do I describe this series? A brilliantly imaginative and adventurous saga set on the Edge (of the world), with three trilogies within the series, spanning three generations.The first (and original) trilogy features Twig, a boy raised in the Deepwoods by woodtrolls. After straying off the path, he's thrown into adventure after adventure, until he meets his father, the dashing skyship captain, Quint (the ships fly in this series). And that's only the beginning. The other trilogies follow Quint as a Beyond the Deepwoods.
boy, and Twig's protegee Rook, and they're just as good. Try Twig's first book,
I could say far more about this, but the wonderful Paul Stewart (writer) and Chris Riddell (illustrator) are dead certs for a Booky Hero post someday, because that's what they are.
If you like your stories spiced up with a bit of mythology, then Percy Jackson is the series for you! After a teacher turns into a monster and attacks him, Percy Jackson discovers that he is the son of the Greek sea-god Poseidon, that Greek gods are alive and well in America (they reside in the current cultural power of the western world), that the children of such gods live in relative safety in Camp Half-Blood, and that mosters are real and want to kill them.
And more than that, the slain father of head god Zeus - Percy's Grandfather - is reawakening and plotting to destroy the world. But Percy is a hero, and with his friends AnnaBeth (sassy and strategic daughter of Athena) and Grover (a satyr), he's the world's best hope! At first I dismissed this series as wannabe Harry Potter, but this series is exciting and original enough to stand on its own two feet. It's sequel-series, The Heroes of Olympus, is just as good if not better.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
This action-packed series is as much sci-fi and action as fantasy. Its (anti)hero, Artemis, is a boy who believes in fairies - and he's also a criminal genius. His first adventure sees him attempt to steal fairy gold, after kidnapping fairy police officer Holly Short. The fairy seige that takes place afterwards earned the book the marketing accolade "Die Hard with fairies". Artemis is brilliant, exact and ruthless - but is there any good in him? Holly packs all the punch of a trapped John McClane (but shorter, and with wings), and the supporting characters - hulking manservant Butler, tech-genius centaur Foaly, and mud-tunnelling, farting dwarf Mulch Diggums compliment the story perfectly. It's always witty but never an out-and-out comedy, this unique adventure series will have you on the edge of your seat. 
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