We live in an era when fantasy has become the one genre to rule them all. Countless adaptations of fantasy books have gone on to become successful pop-culture franchises. The uber-popular high fantasy show Game of Thrones shook the very foundations of how television shows used to be perceived and, even, produced. Although not fantasy in the strictest sense, the over-whelming appreciation that superhero and sci-fi films receive nowadays go to show how much the entertainment industry has evolved. Simply a good plot is not enough to appease the thirst of readers and viewers anymore. Writing greats like J.R.R. Tolkein, J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman as well as screenwriters like Charlie Kaufman and Steven Moffat made sure of it. I digress. Despite being a proven success in films and TV, fantasy is a remarkable genre in every other medium as well.
You can tell where we’re going with this – this section is called Bookworm after all. Although there are numerous story mediums to choose from, books are still the best and most important one. No childhood (or adulthood) should be void of books. Here we have listed a few fantasy stories which are a must-read for young readers.
The Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia is comprised of seven extremely magical books. The stories are set in the world of Narnia where beasts talk and magic happens with various children playing central roles in shaping and improving the world. The stories are rich in mythos borrowed from Christian, Greek, Roman as well as Egyptian Mythology. The Chronicles is considered a classic in children’s literature and is also the writer’s most renowned work.
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
Matilda is a young superheroine of sorts. She has an excessively powerful mind that enables her to be the possessor of telekinesis. Dahl’s genius plot follows this little girl as she wars against the tyranny of Principal Trunchbull. Like Dahl’s other novels written for children, this should be a must read for school going children.
Peter Pan
by J.M. Barrie
Peter is a mischievous boy who can never grow up. He spends his days having adventures in Neverland with the Lost Boys. Other than Peter and the Lost Boys, Neverland is home to fairies, mermaids, pirates and weirdly enough Native Americans too. The narrative follows a teenaged Wendy Darling and her brothers John and Michael as they befriend Peter Pan and Tinker Bell to end up having the wildest adventure in Neverland.
The Harry Potter Series
by J.K. Rowling
If you’ve already read up to this point of this article, chances are that you’ve read and loved Harry Potter (or at least watched the films). Harry Potter is the book that singlehandedly brought fantasy into mainstream pop-culture (no, it never was LOTR). Never has a book been sought after as much as Harry Potter shows record breaking sales. Rowling has written the most magical world which should be a required part of every person’s childhood.
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman has proven time and again that he is one of the best fantasy writers out there with award-winning modern classics like American Gods, Stardust, and Sandman among many others. The Graveyard Book is his reinterpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Nobody Owens grew up in a graveyard raised by ghosts and a mysterious guardian Silas.
Sabriel
by Garth Nix
The first in the Old Kingdom trilogy is set in a world of neighbouring countries Ancelstierre and Old Kingdom. Ancelstierre is a society similar to early 20th century England. Old Kingdom is where the magic’s at. The story follows Sabriel’s journey into becoming a Necromancer and ridding the lands of ancient evil fighting off powerful sorcerers and Free Magic elementals. This book is clustered with high fantasy mythos and has a plot that is more original than most books in this list.
Notable Mentions
Septimus Heap by
Angie Sage and Mark Zugy
The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkein
Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum