Want to Read Middle Grade Fantasy? Here's Where to Start
- Allison Alexander
- 8 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you'd like to read middle grade fantasy novels, or you're looking for books for your kids but aren't sure where to start, here are some recommendations listed in order of publication date.
I personally picked all of these titles and had so much fun doing so! Fantasy is the genre I read the most. Many of these are my absolute favourites, while some are not necessarily for me but have a beloved following; I wanted to include a lot of different types of fantasy, since the genre and its subgenres are so varied.
CLASSICS
Date Published: 1865
Series: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1
Number of Books in Series: 2
Summary: An absurd, whimsical story about a girl who follows a rabbit down a hole into a strange world where nothing makes sense.
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Date Published: 1872
Series: Princess Irene and Curdie #1
Number of Books in Series: 2
Summary: A charming fairy tale about a princess, a miner boy, and goblins who are terrified of poetry. There was a cartoon movie version of this that I was also obsessed with as a child.
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Date Published: 1900
Series: Oz #1
Number of Books in Series: 14
Summary: Swept away from her home in Kansas to a magical land, Dorothy follows the yellow brick road to try to get to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get back home. On the way, she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, a witch, and flying monkeys, who all have a lot more backstory in this version than they do in the movie.
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Date Published: 1937
Summary: This is a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, but a much more light-hearted story about a hobbit going on an adventure with a group of dwarves. It is delightful.
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Date Published: 1950
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia (Publication Order) #1
Number of Books in Series: 7
Summary: Four children discover a door to a magical world that a witch has cursed to be forever winter. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first book in publication order, but chronologically, the series starts with The Magician's Nephew; either works as a starting point.
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Date Published: 1965
Series: The Dark is Rising #1
Number of Books in Series: 5
Summary: Three children discover a map while on vacation with their great-uncle and get caught up in an Arthurian quest for an artifact that will stop the forces of darkness. A classic adventure story!
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Date Published: 1968
Summary: A unicorn learns she might be the last of her kind and sets off to discover what has happened to the other unicorns. She's accompanied by a mediocre magician, a wise woman, and a spoiled prince. This is a beautiful, sad fairy tale about love and hope and discovering yourself.
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Date Published: 1977
Series: Chrestomanci #1 (Jones's Recommended Reading Order)
Number of Books in Series: 6
Summary: This series is about a powerful enchanter and government official, Chrestomanci, in a world similar to ours but with magic. In this book, he takes in two siblings—Gwendolen, a girl with magic, and Cat, a boy (seemingly) without. Gwendolyn makes all sorts of trouble trying to impress Chrestomanci and Cat has to clean up her messes. This entire series is great; book two, The Lives of Christopher Chant, is my favourite.
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Date Published: 1979
Summary: A story inside a story, Bastian escapes bullies to enter a bookstore and discover a novel he steals and reads. It's set in a fantasy land that's being attacked by "the Nothing," about a boy warrior named Atreyu on a quest to cure the empress of an illness. At times, the characters seem aware they are in a story Bastian is reading.
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Date Published: 1986
Series: Redwall #1
Number of Books in Series: 22
Summary: Apprentice monk and mouse Matthias goes on a quest to find a legendary lost weapon. The descriptions of food in this series are particularly wonderful.
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INFLUENTIAL TITLES
Date Published: 1996
Series: His Dark Materials #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: 12-year-old Lyra travels to the arctic to find a missing friend and her imprisoned uncle. Accompanied by her daemon, an animal that is connected to her soul, and a truth-telling device, Lyra discovers secrets and gets into all sorts of trouble. This series explores philosophy, science, and religion.
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Date Published: 1997
Summary: A fairy gives Ella the "gift" of obedience at her birth, which doesn't turn out to be a very nice present. This is an enchanting Cinderella retelling with a feisty protagonist, a kind prince, ogres, centaurs, and magic.
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Date Published: 1997
Series: Silverwing #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: About a bat who gets separated from his colony and his journey to find them again.
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Date Published: 1999
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1
Number of Books in Series: 13
Summary: After the three Baudelaire children are orphaned due to a fire, their distant relative, Count Olaf, takes them in. Unfortunately (pun intended), Olaf just wants their fortune and does everything he can to get it. It's dark, funny, and told by a very sarcastic narrator.
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Date Published: 2000
Series: Deltora Quest #1
Number of Books in Series: 8
Summary: If you love puzzles and quests, this series is for you! It's about two kids and a man searching for the seven gems of a magic belt that can save the land from the Shadow Lord. It's got magical creatures, riddles, tests, competitions, animal companions, and loveable characters.
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Date Published: 2001
Series: Artemis Fowl #1
Number of Books in Series: 8
Summary: 12-year-old Artemis Fowl, a millionaire and criminal mastermind, kidnaps a fairy and holds it for ransom to restore his family fortune. A fun series where the protagonist is a supervillain.
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Date Published: 2003
Series: Bartimaeus #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Apprentice Nathaniel is on a quest for revenge against a wizard who made fun of him. He summons a wily, 5,000-year-old djinni, Bartimaeus, to help him steal a powerful amulet, and the djinni is less than pleased to have a boy for a master.
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Date Published: 2003
Series: Tintenwelt #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: This is about a 12-year-old girl and her father who have the power to bring fictional characters to life by reading books aloud.
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Date Published: 2003
Series: Warriors #1
Number of Books in Series: 6
Summary: A house cat ventures into the wild and discovers groups of cats divided into clans fighting to stay alive. My niece loves this series.
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Date Published: 2005
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1
Number of Books in Series: 7
Summary: In this story, Percy Jackson, a boy with dyslexia and ADHD from New York City, attends a summer camp for demigods and discovers his dad is none other than the Greek god Poseidon. He and his two friends get sucked into a quest to locate Zeus's stolen lightning bolt.
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MODERN GEMS
Date Published: 2012
Series: Wings of Fire #1
Number of Books in Series: 15 (it's really three series of five books each)
Summary: My goddaughter was reading this series, so I decided to read the first couple books with her so we could chat about them. I ended up reading all fifteen books. I did not have to do that, y'all. I got sucked in with all the dragon lore, and the adventure is very fun. It's about five young dragons who are prophesied to stop a war between the dragon tribes.
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Date Published: 2017
Series: Nevermoor #1
Number of Books in Series: 4
Summary: Morrigan Crow is cursed to die on her eleventh birthday, but instead, a strange man appears and whisks her way to a magical city called Nevermoor, where she enters a competition to join the Wundrous Society.
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Date Published: 2017
Series: Tales from the Chocolate Heart #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Aventurine is a young dragon determined to prove to her family that she's capable of adventuring on her own, but a mage tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate and transforms her into a human. She travels to a city to find more of this delicious chocolate stuff, becomes an apprentice at a chocolate house, makes friends, and discovers her passion. Aventurine's horror at becoming a puny, weak human is very funny, and the story is heartwarming.
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Date Published: 2018
Summary: 12-year-old Marinka just wants a friend, but she lives in a sentient house with her grandma, who is a Yaga that guides the dead into the afterlife, and they don't stay in one place for long. She's not supposed to stray far from the house, but when she breaks the rules, the house runs off, and her grandma disappears, Marinka has to learn more about what being a Yaga means and take responsibility for her actions.
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Date Published: 2020
Summary: When Lily moves in with her sick halmoni (grandmother), a tiger appears and promises to heal her grandmother if Lily returns the stories Halmoni stole. But dealing with tigers is a tricky business. Inspired by Korean folklore, this is a beautiful tale of grief, family, friendship, and the value of stories.
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Date Published: 2021
Series: Supernatural Investigations #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: 13-year-old Amari's missing brother leaves her a nomination to try out for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, and she discovers a world of magic and supernatural creatures that she didn't know existed during her search for him. With themes of friendship, perseverance, and Black girl magic, this is basically Men In Black meets magic school.
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Date Published: 2021
Series: Wilderlore #1
Number of Books in Series: 7
Summary: Barclay is happy to be a mushroom farmer's apprentice, but when he accidentally bonds with a beast, he has to find the town of Lore Keepers to try to get rid of the bond so he can go back to his normal life. He finds himself making friends, entering a competition, and discovering secrets about a strange new world he wants no part of, thank you very much. This is a dark, magical world for fans of Pokémon and How to Train Your Dragon.
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Date Published: 2022
Series: Sir Callie #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Callie is nonbinary and doesn't fit in a world where boys become knights and people see them as a girl. When their father is called to the capital city to train the prince, Callie goes along as his squire, determined to become a knight. Callie battles gender binaries and adults trying to force them to conform while forming strong friendships and going up against an abusive bad guy. A wonderful story about queerness and belonging.
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Date Published: 2022
Series: The Conjureverse #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: As the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, 11-year-old Ella faces stigma about her magic being "bad and unnatural." A criminal escaping, a missing teacher no one seems concerned about, and growing rumours contribute to a stunning magic school adventure.
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Date Published: 2024
Summary: Bernadette Crowley is a witch from a long line of witches, able to summon demons with a drop of blood. She's also a diabetic, and accidentally summons demons every time she tests her blood sugar, which causes problems at school. She and her older sister hatch a plan to summon a low-order demon to monitor her blood sugar, but they accidentally summon something much bigger and more dangerous, and get involved in a witchy conspiracy. This story, with memorable characters (including adorable cats and demons), is so much fun and has a lot of heart.
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