Fantasy Literature for Children ages 9-12.
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Having recently seen Saving Mr. Banks, a film that purports to examine the strained relationship between author P.L. Travers and film-maker Walt Disney when it came to adapting Mary Poppins for the big screen, it was only natural that I finally got around to my long overdue reading of the classic children’s story Mary Poppins (1934).
Having grown up with the Disney film, it’s quite shocking to realize how little one resembles the other.
July 29th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | P.L. Travers | Children | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Nominated this year for a Best Novella within the 1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards category, The Little Prince is a slight, yet powerfully thought-provoking work. Originally published by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 1943, who filled each page of his story with charming watercolor illustrations, it tells the story of a pilot who has crash-landed in the Sahara Desert with “only enough drinking water for eight days” and who, upon his very first night, is visited by an extraordinary child who asks for a drawing of a sheep.
July 26th, 2019. Jana Nyman´s rating: 5 | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Bonfires and Broomsticks by Mary Norton
In Bonfires and Broomsticks (1947), part two of Mary Norton’s BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS duology, it’s two years after events of the first book, The Magic Bed-Knob. The three young siblings, Carey, Charles and Paul, get the chance to leave London and spend the summer in Bedfordshire with their spinster friend, Miss Price, who was a witch in training. And they still have the magic bed-knob that enables them to fly through time and space on Paul’s old bed,
July 15th, 2019. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Mary Norton | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Magic Bed-Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons by Mary Norton
I was a child when I first saw Disney’s 1971 movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks and have fond memories of it. So when I found out that the book that inspired the movie, Mary Norton’s The Magic Bed-Knob (1943), was nominated this year for a 1944 Retro Hugo award, I was excited to read it. It’s charming and old-fashioned … but not everything I had hoped for. Also, it’s not much like the Disney movie,
July 8th, 2019. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Mary Norton | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: The Serpent’s Heir by Dean DeBlois, Richard Hamilton, & Doug Wheatley
This graphic novel takes place shortly after the events of the film How to Train Your Dragon 2, which finds Hiccup as the new chief of Berk in the wake of his father’s death. Amidst the rebuilding of the village, the suspicious nature of Berk citizens at the presence of outsiders, and the ongoing training of new dragons, it’s a struggle for Hiccup to adjust to his new role as leader.
So when an envoy named Calder arrives from the island of Nephenthe,
July 1st, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Over the Wall by Peter Wartman
Warned off by a demon not to enter the empty city, the girl from the country village persists in her desire to pass through the invisible barrier around the city that keeps the demons in. This young girl is the main character of Peter Wartman’s Over the Wall, a charming coming-of-age fantasy graphic novel for young readers. It is a quick read and is light on text to make room for the wonderful art that uses only purple in addition to the black and white drawings,
June 15th, 2019. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword by Henry Lien
Peasprout Chen and her little brother Cricket have been chosen by the dowager empress to represent their province at the Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword in the famously beautiful city of Pearl. In exchange, the mayor of Pearl has sent two of his children to Shin, the poor rural area where Peasprout and Cricket grew up.
The Chen siblings were chosen because Peasprout is the best wu liu competitor in her entire province. She’s a celebrity there.
May 8th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Henry Lien | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
XANDER AND THE RAINBOW-BARFING UNICORNS: Fairies Hate Ponies & Who Turned Off the Colors? by Matthew K. Manning & Joey Ellis
XANDER AND THE RAINBOW-BARFING UNICORNS is a sweet, silly children’s series written by Matthew K. Manning and illustrated by Joey Ellis; the two most recent entries are Fairies Hate Ponies (2019) and Who Turned Off the Colors? (2019). The series is marketed toward kids in the 8-to-10-year-old range, though some of that is going to be dependent upon the reading proficiency and intestinal fortitude of the kid in question.
March 1st, 2019. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Rick Riordan Presents imprint’s mission statement is, in part, “to publish great middle grade authors from underrepresented cultures and backgrounds, to let them tell their own stories inspired by the mythology and folklore of their own heritage,” leading to the publication of novels like Roshani Chokshi’s Aru Shah and the End of Time and J.C. Cervantes’ The Storm Runner, and most recently joined by Yoon Ha Lee’s Dragon Pearl (2019),
February 21st, 2019. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Yoon Ha Lee | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro
Gregory Funaro’s just-published Watch Hollow (2019) is a charmingly spooky (or perhaps spookily charming) contemporary fantasy featuring an 11-year-old girl, Lucy Tinker, her 13-year-old brother Oliver, and their clockmaker father … and also a fearsome giant, a boy who mysteriously appears and disappears, and a full dozen magical talking animals sure to warm the hearts of middle grade readers.
After a brief prologue with a heart-stopping chase involving the giant, a traitorous crow, and a rat named Fennish Seven,
February 12th, 2019. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Gregory Funaro | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
As an old fan of '60s-era Marvel comics, I must say that this book looks FUN!
COMMENT Book #3 of this trilogy is very much a heist story, and I quite enjoyed it!
Pirate stories and heist stories... Do we ever get enough of them?
Very interesting, Ulrich! Thanks for clueing me in!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this article, Spacewaves! It was something of a labor of love for me,…