Children's Book Suggestions | Animal Fantasy

Some of our favorite animal fantasy books for readers in Grades 2-7, telling traditional fantasy stories where animals are the protagonists. You can view more animal fantasy books for young readers in the library catalog.

For more fantasy book suggestions, check out our Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Mythology & Folklore book lists.

Updated June 6, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
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The ember stone.
Charman, Katrina.
Paper Book
Magic, fantasy, and adventure combine to create this fast-paced series perfect for young readers!Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and...

Scholastic's Branches imprint features lots of amazing beginning chapter books perfect for newly independent readers, including this story about a squirrel and an owl who set out on an epic quest to save their world. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

The last.
Applegate, Katherine
Paper Book
I REMEMBERED with a sudden pang, my mother's words the last time we were together: It's never wrong to hope, Byx. Of course, she'd also said: Unless the truth says otherwise. Byx is used to being the youngest and the smallest. But for all her life, she's also been part of...

Katherine Applegate is one of the most prolific authors of animal stories for children! While The One and Only Ivan and others are more realistic, this one features human-like animals engaged in a classic fantasy quest. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The familiars. [online electronic book]
Epstein, Adam Jay.
Ebook
For fans of Warriors and Wings of Fire comes a magical adventure story about a street cat who's mistaken for a wizard's familiar. "Whether furry, flippered or feathered you'll be taking a closer look at your family pet." --Michael Buckley, author of The Sisters Grimm and NERDS When...

Three animals are chosen to be familiars for young wizards in training and must learn to work together to protect their human companions. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Guardians of the taiga.
Hinojosa, Stacy, 1983-
Paper Book
New York Times bestseller! From StacyPlays, creator of the mega-popular YouTube series Dogcraft, comes a thrilling illustrated novel about a girl raised by a pack of wolves and her quest to protect their shared forest home. The first in a new Minecraft-inspired...

A popular YouTuber and animal lover crafts a story about a young girl raised by wolves who works together with her animal companions to protect their home. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Into the wild.
Hunter, Erin.
Paper Book
Join the legion of fans who have made Erin Hunter's Warriors series a #1 national bestseller! Epic adventures. Fierce Warrior cats. A thrilling fantasy world. It all begins here with Warriors #1: Into the Wild. For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to...

A young housecat runs away to join a clan of warring cats in the woods. Easily the most popular animal fantasy series in the library! There is literally a new Erin Hunter book published every month, so you will never run out of books to read if you like the Warriors series and its spinoffs. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The taken.
Iserles, Inbali
Paper Book
The first book in a thrilling fantasy trilogy starring one of the animal kingdom's most hunted heroes. Foxcraft is full of excitement and heart, and a touch of magic.Isla and her brother are two young foxes living just outside the lands of the furless -- humans. The life of a fox is filled with...

One of the secrets to Erin Hunter's prolific success is that she's actually multiple authors writing under a pen name! One of those authors, Inbali Iserles, took the skills she developed writing the Warriors books to create a story about urban foxes seeking to reunite with their parents. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Lucky duck
Kurtz, Chris
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed author of The Adventures of a South Pole Pig comes a heartwarming middle grade animal adventure story about Frank, the odd one out in a family of ducks, who discovers both his courage and unique identity as he braves the unknown to save his family from...

A sweet, engaging story loosely based on The Ugly Duckling. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The wind in the willows.
Grahame, Kenneth, 1859-1932
Paper Book
Another beautiful book by renowned artist Robert Ingpen in the popular Union Square Kids Illustrated Classics children's books series, one of the most beloved and widely read classic books of all time--The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. For more than a century, this...

While it's not an epic fantasy quest tale, this cozy classic features a group of humanesque animals living their best lives in the English countryside. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The capture
Lasky, Kathryn.
Paper Book
A classic hero mythology about the fight between good and evil, Guardians of Ga'Hoole is filled with adventure, suspense, and heart.Soren is born in the forest of Tyto, a tranquil kingdom where the Barn Owls dwell. But evil lurks in the owl world, evil that threatens to shatter Tyto's peace and...

A group of imprisoned young owls must break free from their prison camp in this suspenseful tale for older elementary readers. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Mez's magic
Schrefer, Eliot
Paper Book
The magical rainforest of Caldera has forever been divided into those animals who walk by night and those who walk by day. Nightwalker panthers, like young Mez and her beloved sister, have always feared daywalkers as creatures of myth and legend. Until the eclipse. Now Mez...

A group of rainforest animals set out on a magical quest in this series opener from Eliot Schrefer. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Legend of the Yearling
Paper Book
In the first installment of the action-packed Guardians of Horsa graphic novel series, four young horses from clashing herds must join forces to solve a mystery and save magic. Welcome to the realm of Horsa, a world of magic, wild horses, and danger. The four elemental herds of...

My Little Pony fans looking for a more traditional fantasy setting will enjoy this graphic novel set in a realm of magical horses. (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)

Wild born
Mull, Brandon
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Mull comes Spirit Animals, an epic book series that leaps from the page into a riveting online game. Your book is the key to claim your spirit animal!In the world of Erdas, four children are about to discover if they have a spirit animal bond, a rare...

In a magical worlds where a handful of lucky 12-year-olds forge powerful bonds with magical animals, four young teens and their spirit companions set out to save the world. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

DnDoggos: Get the Party Started
Paper Book
Four adorable dogs are tail-waggingly excited to play their favorite role-playing game in DnDoggos: Get the Party Started, the middle grade graphic novel debut from online comic creator Scout Underhill. They've picked their characters and favorite dice, and are ready to...

A slightly quirky take on the animal fantasy theme, this graphic novel features a group of dogs who enjoy fantasy role playing games. Perfect for avid D&D fans! (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)

Mellybean and the giant monster
White, Mike (Children's author)
Paper Book
"Mike White hits a heartwarming hat trick with this cute, funny, and action-packed adventure. Mellybean will bounce off the page and into your heart." -Mo O'Hara, New York Times bestselling author of the My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series and Agent Moose The Secret...

A spunky dog accidentally falls through a hole into a fantasy world and tries to get back home in this funny portal fantasy adventure. (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)

Starfire
Alvarez, Jennifer Lynn
Paper Book
Riders of the Realm author Jennifer Lynn Alvarez "will lift the reader on the wings of danger and destiny, magic and hope"* in this first book in an action-packed fantasy adventure series. Perfect for fans of the Warriors and Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. Once every hundred years, a black...

A classic fantasy adventure with a twist: the characters are all winged horses! A great choice for horse lovers as well as fantasy fans. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Wild magic.
Pierce, Tamora
Paper Book
Thirteen-year-old DaIne has always had a knack with animals, but it's not until she's forced to leave home that she realizes it's more than a knack -- it's magic. With this wild magic, not only can Daine speak to animals, but also she can make them obey her. Daine takes a job handling horses for the...

A young teen girl who can speak to animals is recruited to help protect her kingdom from a wave of dangerous magical creatures who've found a way to leave the world of immortals. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)


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