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The Lost Years of Merlin Series (age 10+) by T. A. Barron magic ... identity ... folklore ... adventure ... fantasy A young boy who has no identity nor memory of his past washes ashore on the coast of Wales. Only after a series of fantastic adventures does he find his true name. title: The Lost Years of Merlin title: The Seven Songs of Merlin title: The Fires of Merlin title: The Mirror of Merlin title: The Wings of Merlin |
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Magic by the Book
(age 10+) by Nina Bernstein folklore ... adventure ... spooky ... magic Publisher comments: Neither Anne nor Emily remembered choosing the book at the library, but when as they read it, the boundary between their world and the one described in the book disappears. Suddenly they are in Sherwood Forest, where they join Robin Hood's band. They had yearned for magic as strong as the spell cast by the stories they loved best. But then an uninvited guest turns up at their parents' garden party. The sinister man snatches the book with the intention of using its powers for evil, and the siblings find themselves engaged in a battle to regain possession of the book. |
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PIE |
The Circle Opens Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce action ... adventure ... mystery ... magic ... fantasy Publisher comments: While caring for her uncle in Summersea, Lady Sandrilene Fa Toren witnesses a boy working a most unusual spell. Pasco can dance magic, but he wants nothing to do with his powers. It's up to Sandry to teach him about his magic, and to convince him he can use it to get to the bottom of a series of gruesome murders. title: Street Magic title: Cold Fire |
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PIE |
The Immortals Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce adventure ... action ... magic ... fantasy Publisher comments: 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 Queen's Riders, where she meets the master mage Numair and becomes his student. Under Numair's guidance, Daine explores the scope of her magic. But she begins to sense other beings too: immortals. These bloodthirsty monsters have been imprisoned in the Divine Realms for the past four hundred years, but now someone has broken the barrier. It's up to Daine and her friends to defend their world from an immortal attack. title: Wild Magic title: Wolf-Speaker |
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Circle of Magic Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce adventure ... friendship ... magic ... fantasy Publisher comments: Here begins the tale of Daja, Briar, Tris, and Sandry--four children brought to Winding Cirle Temple for training in crafts and magic. They are outcasts in their homeland. But in this magical place, they are valued and respected for their special powers. title: Sandry's Book title: Tris's Book title: Daja's Book |
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The Goose Girl
(age 10+) by Shannon Hale folklore ... magic ... princesses ... fantasy Publisher comments: Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own. |
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The Anybodies Series (age 10+) magic ... identity ... mystery ... fantasy Publisher comments: What if I were to tell you that this is an all-true story, every word? You see, once there was a very real girl named Fern who found out that she'd been swapped at birth. This might disturb some people, but it made Fern happy because she'd never felt at home with her tragically dull parents, the Drudgers. Fern finds out about the mix-up when the Bone (er, her father) and his "son," Howard, show up at Fern's front door. Now both families decide to UNSWAP the kids for the summer, and Fern heads off with the Bone on a wild adventure into a world inhabited by the Miser, a sinister fellow; and the Great Realdo, a true hero, to name just two. This book promises suspense! Intrigue! Mystery! Fairies fall out of books! Birds turn into dogs! Nuns turn into lampposts! So I have no idea why you're still lingering here... Start reading! title: The Anybodies by N. E. Bode F BOD title: The Nobodies by N. E. Bode F BOD title: The Somebodies by N. E. Bode F BOD | |
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D'L |
The Fire Within Series (age 10+) by Chris D'Lacey knights/castles/dragons ... magic ... action ... adventure When David moves in with Liz and Lucy, he discovers a collection of hand crafted, clay dragons that comes to life and has magical powers. David's personalized dragon, Gadzooks, can forecast the future, and inspires him to write a story which reveals the truth behind an unsolved mystery close to home. The story has an unhappy ending, and when David realizes the consequences of it he is angry. Then David finds Gadzooks crying and near death, and he discovers that these special dragons die when they are not loved. Soon David is forced to save his friend and unlock the powers of the fire within. title: The Fire Within |
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The Bartimaeus Trilogy (age 10+) by Jonathan Stroud humor ... adventure ... action ... fantasy ... magic Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge in his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt. title: The Amulet of Samarkand title: The Golems Eye title: Ptolemy's Gate |
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The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (age 10+) by Diana Wynne Jones magic ... fantasy In the multiple parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic, and to hold the title Chrestomanci. . . . Cat and Christopher Chant make the most unusual friends. Christopher befriends a boy with terrible karma in a mansion where everything keeps changing. Cat meets a girl whose family of rogue witches is hiding shocking secrets. Will the Chrestomanci be able to sort out the tangle of mysteries and magic? title: The Lives of Christopher Chant title: Charmed Life title: Witch Week title: Conrad's Fate: a Chrestomanci Book |
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Tales of Gom in the Legends of Ulm Series (age 10+) by Grace Chetwin magic ... adventure ... fantasy Gom, the son of a poor woodcutter and his wife, grows up with his father after his mother leaves home and his siblings go to stay with townsfolk and discovers he has unusual abilities which bring him trouble, yet lead him to envision a different sort of life for himself. title: Gom on Windy Mountain title: The Riddle and the Rune title: The Crystal Stair title: The Starstone |
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The Runaway Princess
(age 10+) by Kate Coombs princesses ... humor ... adventure ... folklore ... knights/castles/dragons ... magic "A dragon darkens our dells. A witch haunts our woods. Bandits roam our moors" . . . King Stromgard swept on. "In the tradition of so many monarchs, I offer my daughter's hand in marriage and half my kingdom to the prince who can rid us of these evils, restoring peace and prosperity to our realm." And so the contest in the Kingdom of Greeve begins. But Princess Margaret is not your traditional princess. Meg firmly objects to her parents' giving her away, and she certainly has no intention of remaining in the tower where she is sequestered. Instead, she sets out to win the contest herself by enlisting the help of her good friend, her loyal maid, an eager guardsman, a young wizard, and a tenacious witch. Does Meg find her distinct place in the kingdom, or is she doomed to fulfill her royal duties? |
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The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy (age 10+) by Kate Constable magic ... fantasy Introducing a world in which music makes magic. Calwyn has lived all her life behind the high ice-wall that guards the sisters of Antaris from the world of Tremaris. The sisters practice ice chantment ... one of the Nine Powers of chantment, a form of magic worked through music. But when Calwyn finds an Outlander man fallen, wounded, through the wall, she is drawn to him...and drawn into a wondrous, dangerous adventure that takes her outside the wall and to the limits of her own powers, as she, the Outlander Darrow, and others unite to defeat the sorcerer Samis, who seeks to claim all Nine Powers and become the Singer of All Songs. title: The Singer of All Songs |
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YOL |
Sword of the Rightful King: a Novel of King Arthur
(age 10+) by Jane Yolen fantasy ... adventure ... historical ... knights/castles/dragons ... magic The newly crowned King Arthur is unsure of himself; worse, the people are unsure of him. Too many people want the throne, and treachery is everywhere. Merlin must do something before the king is betrayed, or murdered, or--worst of all--gets married. So Merlin magically places a sword into a slab of rock, lets it be known that whosoever removes the blade will rule all of England, and invites any man who would dare, to try to pull out the sword. After a bit of showmanship, Arthur will draw the blade (with a little magical help, of course), and the people will rally around the young king. Except someone else pulls the sword out first. . . . |
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The Two Princesses of Bamarre
(age 10+) by Gail Carson Levine princesses ... adventure ... fantasy ... magic ... illness/loss When a plague strikes Bamarre, Princess Addie must save her sister. Brave and adventureous, Princess Meryl dreams of fighting dragons and protecting the kingdom of Bamarre. Shy and fearful, Princess Addie is content to stay within the safety of the castle walls. The one thing that the sisters share is their unwavering love for each other. The tables are turned, however, when the Gray Death leaves Meryl fatally ill. To save her sister, meek Princess Addie must find the courage to set out on a dangerous quest filled with dragons, unknown magic, and death itself. Time is running out, and the sisters' lives ... and the future of the kingdom of Bamarre ... hang in the balance. |
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The Inheritance Series (age 10+) by Christopher Paolini adventure ... action ... magic ... fantasy Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy ... until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save ... or destroy ... the Empire. title: Eragon title: Eldest title: Brisingr, or, the Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular |
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
(age 10+) by Elizabeth George Speare magic ... bigotry ... historical Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft! |
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The Genie of Sutton Place
(age 10+) by George Selden magic ... fantasy A young boy recounts the events of the summer when he had the services of an Arabian genie at his disposal. |
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Inkheart Series (age 10+) by Cornelia Funke authorship ... magic ... fantasy ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called Inkheart, and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever. title: Inkheart title: Inkspell title: Inkdeath |
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BYN |
Molly Moon Series (age 10+) by Georgia Byng identity ... mystery ... magic ... adventure ... friendship ... family Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move, and he'll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret... title: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism title: Molly Moon Stops the World title: Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure title: Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine |
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Midnight Magic
(age 10+) by Avi spooky ... knights/castles/dragons ... fantasy ... magic On a stormy night in the Kingdom of Pergamontio, an insistent knocking brings Fabrizio, the servant boy, to the door. Outside stands a soldier summoning Fabrizio's master, Mangus the Magician, to the king's castle. Because Mangus has been under house arrest for confessing to be a magician, he cannot imagine why the king is calling for him. But magic is exactly what the king needs. He wants Mangus to free his daughter from the torment of a terrifying ghost. Mangus' life will depend on his success. |