Book List

Wrap Magic This Christmas

A friend of mine asked me to recommend some children’s fantasy for her son who’s already read Lewis, Tolkien, and Rowling.

Like him, I adore beautifully crafted worlds in which to lose myself, so I made a list of books that fit the bill and would make great Christmas gifts. 

Some are these are classics, some are newer. Some I’ve read, others are my own children’s recommendations. The rest I’ve heard good things about, and you can be sure that I’ll be reading them myself. 

These books are great for every age!


Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie – a favorite of mine

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Watership Down by Richard Adams – soon to be a Netflix miniseries

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The BFG by Roald Dahl – my son loves all of Dahl’s books

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm by Robert C. O’Brien

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende – my son loved this one

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty – nice series set in late 19th C./early 20th C.  North Carolina

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman – I haven’t read this one, but Gaiman is an amazing writer

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke – I just ordered this for my daughter for Christmas

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau – another Christmas gift for my daughter

The Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan – my daughter really liked these

The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins – author of The Hunger Games

The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson

Guardians of Ga’hoole series by Kathryn Lasky

Warriors series by Erin Hunter

Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander – my friend’s son loved this series

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron – Disney is working on a film adaptation of this series

The Ruins of Gorlan series by John Flanagan – I’ve heard that it will appeal to even the most reluctant reader



I hope you find magic in these pages

If I’ve left off a favorite of yours let me know! 

 

30 thoughts on “Wrap Magic This Christmas

  1. Wow, the editions on your photo are so pretty! Some great books in the list, I also loved The Neverending Story when I was younger 🙂 I would also include Terry Pratchett’s discworld books for younger readers in a list like this.

  2. That is a fabulous list. I would read and re-read the Borrowers as a child. I can’t remember when the movie came out, but I think it may have been my first book to movie disappointment.

    1. Thank you! I loved the Borrowers, too. I never saw the movie, but there is a more recent adaptation (The Secret World of Arietty) which was better reviewed. I’ve not seen that one either, though. So many book to movie disappointments!

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