Fantasy Literature for Children ages 9-12.
Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull
Crystal Keepers (2015) is the third of five installments in Brandon Mull’s FIVE KINGDOMS series for kids. It follows Sky Raiders and Rogue Knight, which you’ll want to read first. There are a couple of spoilers for those novels in this review.
The story is about some middle grade kids who went to a haunted house on Halloween and were kidnapped and sold into slavery in a parallel universe called the Outskirts or the Five Kingdoms.
February 2nd, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Brandon Mull | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
One chilly autumn night, seven fox kits beg their mother for a scary story, “[s]o scary our eyes fall out of our heads.” Don’t go to the Bog Cavern, she tells them, because the old storyteller lives there, and the tale she would tell them would be so scary it would put white in their tails. So naturally the seven kits scamper off through the woods to the Bog Cavern as soon as their mother is asleep, and beg the spooky-looking storyteller for a scary story.
January 15th, 2021. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4.5 | Christian McKay Heidicker | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker
Over the Woodward Wall (2020) began its life as an imagined book, existing merely as a set of excerpts “quoted” at the end of certain chapters in Seanan McGuire’s Middlegame. But these excerpts were compelling enough that McGuire decided to use them as the building blocks for an actual fantasy series, using the pseudonym A. Deborah Baker (the alchemist credited with authoring this book in Middlegame).
January 7th, 2021. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | A. Deborah Baker | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Last year, Anya and her friends Ivan and Håkon defeated a bloodthirsty Viking named Sigurd, who wanted to murder Håkon for his river dragon magic. Since then, Anya’s been bat mitzvahed, Ivan’s family has settled into their lives in Zmeyreka, and the local magistrate has been expelled, with the result that Anya’s family has been openly welcomed among the other villagers, but her papa still hasn’t returned from war. When Anya learns that there’s been a miscommunication and her papa has been sent to Rûm rather than home,
December 8th, 2020. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Sofiya Pasternack | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
With just a month before her bat mitzvah, Anya’s life is mostly preoccupied with keeping her family’s goats out of the garden, her worries over being unable to see the hidden threads of magic connecting everything in the world, and staying out of trouble both at home and in the neighboring village of Zmeyreka, since the local magistrate is actively working to throw Anya’s family out of their home. If only her beloved papa would come home from the Tsar’s faraway war against Sultan Suleiman!
December 4th, 2020. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Sofiya Pasternack | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hatch (2020) is Kenneth Oppel’s continuation of his MG alien invasion tale that began with Bloom. Oppel maintains the fast-paced excitement, keeping his focus on the three young protagonists Petra, Anaya, and Seth, while adding a few new characters as well. Fans of book one will not be disappointed, save by a killer of a cliffhanger ending. Inevitable spoilers for book one ahead.
In the first book, aliens were softening up Earth and preparing it for their impending invasion by seeding our planet with various deadly plant species that weren’t just dangerous to touch or eat but were actively carnivorous,
November 13th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Kenneth Oppel | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Bloom by Kenneth Oppel
Three kids battle an invasive plant in Kenneth Oppel’s latest middle grade fantasy. Bloom (2020) is mysterious and thrilling all the way through. Our heroes are:
When black weeds appear suddenly and grow tall overnight, nobody knows what they are,
November 12th, 2020. Kat Hooper and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Kenneth Oppel | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
What caught my attention with The Wizards of Once (2017) was the opening paragraph, which describes the forests of ancient Britain thusly:
These were forests darker than you would believe possible, darker than inkspots, darker than midnight, darker than space itself, and as twisted and as tangled as a Witch’s heart.
Who wouldn’t want to read a story set in such a place? The hook continues with an introduction to the two main characters: a boy from a wizard tribe with no magic,
November 11th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Cressida Cowell | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge
A glance back at former reviews of Frances Hardinge’s work reveals that I have overused the word “weird.” Hardly the nicest word, and yet I meant it as a compliment. It’s a testament to my struggle to pinpoint what it is that makes Hardinge’s books stand out. Nevertheless, stand out they do.
Verdigris Deep (2008) is a weird book and, once again, that’s meant as a compliment. Ryan, Josh and Chelle get stranded in a forbidden village when they miss their bus home.
October 26th, 2020. Katie Burton and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Frances Hardinge | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
A dead body is an awful thing to find on the floor of a bakery, especially when you’re a fourteen-year-old baker’s assistant with just a minor talent in magic, enough to make gingerbread men dance and biscuit dough turn fluffy on command. It’s worse when the city inquisitor decides to accuse you of the murder, for no particularly good reason. It’s even worse when you realize that there’s a mysterious assassin on the loose, targeting people who have magical powers, no matter how insignificant.
September 11th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4.5 | T. Kingfisher | Children | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…