Top 25 Best Children's Fantasy Books

Fantasy books are great for younger children, because fantasy involves imagination and suspension of beliefs about reality -- a feat that children have a natural aptitude for. Fantasy literature is appealing to children and can introduce them to the joys of reading from a young age. Children's fantasy novels can help develop positive reading habits in children that they will keep for life.

It seems like every publisher is trying to cash in on the Harry Potter phenomenon; the YA/Children's section of the bookstore is packed with all manner of children's fantasy books. Not all of them are good; in fact, most of them are quite bad. Just because a book is written for a younger audience does not give the author an excuse to write lazy, derivative dreck -- which many currently do. This list aims to remedy that, giving you a selection of the best of the best in children's fantasy literature.

I've selected the Top 25 best children's fantasy books that are guaranteed to please younger kids under the age of 12. These are nice, clean fantasy books for kids that you can read with your children. A few of the books on this list may have some violence and adult themes, but younger children can certainly appreciate the book from a young child's perspective. Quite a number of the books are children's classics and can be read both by children and adults; there's something for both audiences.

For a similar list that targets a slightly older audience (i.e. the Young Adult audience) in the 12 - 18 age range, take a look at the Best Fantasy Books for Young Adults. The books you think are missing on this list are probably on that list.

Children's Fantasy For Adults

Many of the best children's classics (or YA classics) tell a double story -- a story for children and a story for adults who read through the lines. This is perhaps the dividing line between a mere “story” and a classic work of literature. There is something to find in the story no matter what stage of life you are in – child or adult. Each read-through can provide a different layer of interpretation to draw from. There are many children's fantasy novels out there, but only a few works that actually transcend the age barrier and become a tale for all ages.

Young Adult Fantasy vs. Children's Fantasy

There is overlap between Young Adult fantasy and Children's fantasy books, but there are some marked differences too. For one, Chidren's Fantasy books are aimed at young readers under 12 years old, while Young Adult Fantasy is marketed torwards ages 12 - 18. It follows that the themes and stories present in YA (Young Adult) fantasy may feature teenage protaganists, grittier settings, darker themes and more mature subject matter. Unfortunately, publishers just lump most YA fantasy and children's fantasy books together under the same marketing category (as Young Adult fantasy).

September 2012 Update: Vastly updated the list with new entries (taking some of the list's comments into account) to make it a Top 25 list instead of a Top 10, removed books that are more suitable for a slightly older audience to the new Best Young Adults Fantasy Books list.