Children's Book Suggestions | Fantasy 2025

Some of our favorite fantasy books for readers in Grades 2-7, published in 2024 and early 2025. You can view more fantasy fiction books for kids in last year's Fantasy book list, the Level Up At Your Library gaming themed book list, or in our online catalog. This is a popular genre with kids (and many librarians!), so we also have Animal Fantasy, Fairy Tales, and Mythology & Folklore book lists for young fantasy readers with very specific tastes.

Updated April 17, 2025
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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Wicked Marigold
Carlson, Caroline
Paper Book
A People Magazine Best Books for Summer Selection "A richly imagined middle-grade examination of sibling dynamics with plenty of endearing fantasy elements." --People Magazine In a funny and charming fantastical romp, overlooked Princess...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Gwelf: into the Hinterlands
MacDougall, Larry
Paper Book
Dear adventurer, It is our belief that this is one of the most important texts you will read should you plan to adventure in Gwelf. Once more our dear Wilburton sets off on adventure in Gwelf, but this time he ventures into the North into the territory of the Ravens. As adventures often do,...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Vanya and the Wild Hunt
Mandanna, Sangu
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches comes an action-packed, enchanting middle grade fantasy about a neurodivergent heroine, a mysterious school, and a world of magical creatures. Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Roshani Chokshi. <...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Medusa
Marsh, Katherine
Paper Book
"You won't be able to stop turning pages . . . it is so stinking good!" --Colby Sharp, author of The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection From National Book Award finalist Katherine Marsh: Percy Jackson meets Wednesday Addams in this fantastical adventure about...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Juneberry Blue
Ransom, Candice F.
Paper Book
Part gentle mystery, part ghostly fairy tale, this contemporary novel celebrates small towns, cozy storytelling, and one very determined ghost cat. Eleven-year-old Andie Jennings, of Morning Glory, Virginia (population: 8), is set to inherit her family's magic on Midsummer's Eve....

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Kingdom riders
Denton, Shannon Eric
Paper Book
Race through an exciting and dangerous fantasy world on the back of a toad in this wildly original combination of Hunger Games and Amulet. Kayla is a peasant who cares little about the world outside her town or the wildly popular Kingdom Races. That is, until her...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

The happy shop
Olsen, Brittany Long
Paper Book
Welcome to the Happy Shop! Eleven-year-old Darcy just moved to a new country. She's feeling lost and misses her friends back home. That's when she stumbles upon a shop full of mysterious glowing jars labeled with things like "Picking up the last sweater on the rack and it's on sale" and...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Hilda and Twig hide from the rain
Pearson, Luke
Paper Book
A brand-new adventure featuring our favourite blue-haired heroine Hilda, and her trusty deerfox companion Twig. Hilda and Twig would never let a bit of rain get in the way of an adventure, but it's different when your forest exploration is interrupted by a BIG storm.

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Unicorn Boy
Roman, Dave
Paper Book
Go on a magical journey with this quirky, young reader's graphic novel about a boy who sprouts a unicorn horn and uses his newfound powers to help those in need! The first few years of Brian Reyes' life were unremarkable--nothing weird about this kid, no sir. Then, one day, a...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

Rune: the Tale of a Thousand Faces
Sanchez, Carlos
Paper Book
Chiri is a fun-loving super cook looking for fresh adventures and ingredients, but her love of exploration has landed her in some serious magical trouble and she's going to need all the help she can get to find home again. Chiri and best friend Dai live in an orphanage right next...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

You wish
Victor, Jeff
Paper Book
What if you found a genie's magic lamp, and rubbed it only to discover that YOU were the genie? Avery McLean is just your normal ten-year-old tomboy, helping her dad run a tiny, run-down gas station in the middle of the desert. With no friends and no fun to be had, Avery has been...

Children's Graphic Novel (Grades 3-5)

The selkie's daughter
Brennan, Linda Crotta
Paper Book
A cozy, richly imagined fantasy where a young selkie girl must save her family from a vengeful king. Brigit knows all the old fisherman songs and legends by heart: sea goddess, warriors, and people who are not quite human. But Brigit also knows the truth. It's evident in the...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

True colors
Cooper, Abby
Paper Book
Turning Red meets The Giver in this novel about a town where everyone agrees to think positively-but one girl, whose emotions manifest as colors, can't hide her true feelings. In Serenity, Minnesota, everyone looks on the bright side, and that's on purpose- to live...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

A game of Noctis
Fagan, Deva
Paper Book
An "exciting, fast-moving" (School Library Journal) middle grade fantasy about a girl who must participate in a deadly game with a ragtag team of players to save her grandfather from a terrible fate--perfect for fans of James Riley and Shannon Messenger! In the opulent,...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The last Rhee witch
Lee-Yun, Jenna
Paper Book
A 2025 Children's Book Council Favorites Award Winner in three categories: Middle-Grade, Teacher, & Librarian! For fans of The Last Fallen Star, Witchlings, and Ghost Squad, a heartfelt middle grade debut where Korean folklore is all too real and summer...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Daughters of the lamp
Lewers, Nedda
Paper Book
A USA Today Bestseller · A stunning middle grade fantasy inspired by Arabian legends about a girl who becomes the guardian of Ali Baba's treasure. Believe in fairy tales. Sahara Rashad lives by logic. Loves science. And always has a plan....

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

The Princess Protection Program
London, Alex
Paper Book
Where can a princess hide if her Ever After isn't all that Happy Bestselling author Alex London turns classic fairy tales on their heads in this fast-paced, funny fantasy about embracing change and taking control of your own story. For fans of The School for Good and Evil and the...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Rougarou magic
Marsh, Rachel M.
Paper Book
After discovering that the creatures from Cajun folklore actually exist, Feliciana is torn between hiding her Southern heritage and starting fresh at her new school--all while caring for an unexpected magical friend. Rachel M. Marsh's debut novel is for fans of Tracey Baptiste's The Jumbies...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Jax Freeman and the phantom shriek
Mbalia, Kwame
Paper Book
"I loved everything about this book."--Rick Riordan, New York Times #1 best-selling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series 12-year-old Jax Freeman discovers a secret world where a diverse group of students with unique talents wield magic by summoning the power of...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Splinter & Ash
Nijkamp, Marieke
Paper Book
"An essential middle grade fantasy where all readers will find heroes to love and to cheer!" --Alex London, author of Battle Dragons and The Princess Protection Program "Every kid deserves to see themselves as princesses or knights or whatever role they wish to play, and...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Impossible creatures
Rundell, Katherine
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Two kids race to save the world's last magical place in the first book of a landmark new fantasy series, from "a writer with an utterly distinctive voice and a wild imagination." (Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass) *This...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Plain Jane and the mermaid
Brosgol, Vera
Paper Book
Already love Vera's work? Don't miss her first novel Return to Sender! A New York Times Best Children's Books of the Year An NPR Best Book of the Year On ALA's 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

Tiffany's griffon
Siddell, Magnolia Porter
Paper Book
2024 Best Graphic Novels for Children (BGNC) Reading List Nominee Marnie Plummer is a bookish, lonely girl with a chip on her shoulder. There's nothing she cares about more than her favorite book series, The Griffon Riders of Crystalfall. When it miraculously turns out that the...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

First test
Pierce, Tamora
Paper Book
This eagerly awaited graphic novel adaptation of the iconic fantasy novel First Test reimagines the classic knight's tale, but with a twist. In a world not quite ready for her ambition, a determined girl seeks knighthood and finds herself on a mission to prove it. Keladry...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

Nell of Gumbling : my extremely tiny forest adventure
Steinkellner, Emma
Paper Book
Nell of Gumbling and her diary are back! From the bestselling author of The Okay Witch comes another adventure from a twelve-year-old girl living an ordinary life in a magical land. Will an epically enchanted camping trip gone wrong...turn out fantastically right? Welcome...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)


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