Gentle Fantasy

If you like princesses, fairies, dragons, and talking animals, this is the list for you. These novels are geared to 3rd grade and up, but many will make great read-alouds for younger children. Animal fantasy is good for families who prefer no magic in their fantasy books.

This booklist was contributed by Appleton Public Library Children's Services Staff, 11/2006 

Fairy Tales, Princesses, and Dragons

• The Barefoot Book of Princesses by Caitlin Matthews (1998)
This collection contains much loved favorites, including "The Princess & tthe Pea" from Denmark & "The Sleeping Beauty" from Germany, as well as some less familiar tales such as "The Beggar Princess" from China & "The Horned Snake's Wife" from the Iroquois of North America.
• The Boggart by Susan Cooper (1993)
After visiting the castle in Scotland which her family has inherited and returning home to Canada, twelve-year-old Emily finds that she has accidentally brought back with her a boggart, an invisible and mischievous spirit with a fondness for practical jokes.
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1998)
Miniature people who live in an old country house by borrowing things from the humans are forced to emigrate from their home under the clock.
• The Charm Bracelet by Emily Rodda (2003)
When Jessie searches for her ill grandmother's missing charm bracelet, she is led to a magical world and finds she has a reason and right to be there.
• Davey's Blue-Eyed Frog by Patricia Easton (2003)
Davey finds a talking frog that claims to be a princess and plans to take her to school to show off, until he begins to consider the consequences of his actions.
• Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede (1990)
Bored with traditional palace life, a princess goes off to live with a group of dragons and soon becomes involved with fighting against some disreputable wizards who want to steal away the dragons' kingdom.
• Disney's Princess Collection by Sarah Heller (1999)
Disney princesses embark on royal adventures, learn lessons of love, and live happily ever after in this volume of fourteen tales and illustrations from feature-length Walt Disney films.
• Dragon's Nest by Emily Rodda (2003)
Everybody in Deltora thinks the dragons have disappeared. But the young king Lief knows this isn't true-and that the time has come to find them. The evil Shadow Lord has poisoned the land with four vile creations of sorcery buried with such stealth that only the bravest of heroes will find them. Lief and his companions Barda and Jasmine must struggle to reveal the origins of the sorcery and destroy them. Their only clue is a fragment of an ancient map. And their only hope of help lies with seven unlikely allies-the last of Deltora's dragons.Book Jacket
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Levine (1997)
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
• The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (2005)
Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead.
• The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi (2003)
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.
• Fire and Wings: Dragon Tales from East and West (2002)
A collection of stories about all kinds of dragons, by such authors as Jane Yolen, Patricia MacLachlan, Eric A. Kimmel, Vida Chu, and E. Nesbit.
• Five Children and It by E Nesbit (1976)
"It" is a Psammead, a sand fairy which gives the children a wish a day. And their wishes bring much excitement but often a lot of trouble too.
• The Great Good Thing by Rod Townley (2001)
Nothing ever changes inside the storybook kingdom inhabited by twelve-year-old Princess Sylvie, her parents, and many other characters until Sylvie discovers that by allying herself with the Reader she can experience new adventures beyond the confines of the book.
• Happily Ever After Stories (2004)
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J Rowling (1997)
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.
• If the Shoe Fits by Jane Mason (2004)
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (2003)
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.
• Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville (1994)
Having jumped into the fantasy land of Luster, Cara joins Lightfoot the unicorn in the search for Queen Arabella Skydancer
• Just Ella by Margaret Haddix (1999)
In this continuation of the Cinderella story, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape.
• Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris (2002)
A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father.
• Once Upon a Princess (2003)
Vol. 1. The story of Ariel -- The story of Jasmine -- The story of Esmeralda. Vol. 2. The story of Belle -- The story of Pocahontas -- The story of Cinderella.
• The Ordinary Princess by M Kaye (2002)
At her christening, a princess is given the gift of "ordinariness" by a fairy, and the consequences of that eventually take her to a nearby palace where, as the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid, she meets just the prince for her.
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1996)
A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom.
• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1999)
A little princess is protected by her friend Curdie from the goblin miners who live beneath the castle.
• Princess Tales by Gail Levine (2003)
v. 1. The fairy's mistake. The princess test. Princess Sonora and the long sleep. v. 2. Cenderellis and the glass hill. For Biddle's sake. The fairy's return.
• Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda (2001)
Because only he can read the magical map, young, weak, and timid Rowan joins six other villagers to climb a mountain and try to restore their water supply, as fears of a dragon and other horrors threaten to drive them back.
• The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt (1696)
The Prime Minister is compiling a dictionary and when no one at court can agree on the meaning of delicious, the King sends his twelve-year-old messenger to poll the country.
• Spindle's End by Robin McKinley (2000)
The infant princess Briar Rose is cursed on her name day by Pernicia, an evil fairy, and then whisked away by a young fairy to be raised in a remote part of a magical country, unaware of her real identity and hidden from Pernicia's vengeful powers.
• Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen (2003)
Merlinnus the magician devises a way for King Arthur to prove himself the rightful king of England--pulling a sword from a stone--but trouble arises when someone else removes the sword first.
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2003)
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.
• Wizard at Work by Vivian Vande Velde (2003)
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.
• The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (2000)
Mildred Hubble's first term at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches starts badly when, unlike her classmates, she can't control her broom, her kitten, or her spells.