Fantasy for 9 to 12 Year Olds:
Borrowers, Boggarts, Broomsticks and Beyond
Compiled by Merri V. Lindgren© 2004 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Book selection for this bibliography was driven by subject matter, literary quality, and age range. The titles included all fit somewhere within the wide scope of the fantasy genre, and are at a reading and interest level suitable to children between the ages of nine and twelve. Books were placed in the thematic category where they were thought to fit best, but many would be appropriate in multiple categories. The age range for all the books includes a portion of the nine- to twelve-year-old window, but some extend below the younger end for independent reading, others could be read aloud to children under the age of nine, and several will appeal to young teenagers as well as children.
Looking for ideas for middle and high-school age readers? Check out Fantastic Fiction: Great Fantasy Books for Ages 11-17.
Click on underlined book titles to see the CCBC review of the book, and/or the cover image.
Quests and Quandries
Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander. Scholastic Press, 2003. 311 pages. Ages 9 - 14
Cooper, Susan. Over Sea, Under Stone. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1965. Ages 10 - 14
Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Seeing Stone: Book One in the Arthur Trilogy. U.S. edition: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2001. 342 pages. Ages 10 - 15
Garner, Alan. The Well of the Wind. Illustrated by Harve Blondon. A Richard Jackson Book/DK Ink, 1998. Ages 8 - 10
L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1962. Ages 9 - 12
McCaughrean, Geraldine. The Stones Are Hatching. HarperCollins, 2000. Ages 9 - 13
Rodda, Emily. Rowan of Rin. U.S. edition: Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 8 - 11Magical Mayhem
Furlong, Monica. Wise Child. (A Borzoi Book) Alfred A. Knopf, 1987. 228 pages. Ages 10 - 14
Jones, Diana Wynne. Howl's Moving Castle. U.S. edition: Greenwillow, 1986. 212 pages. Ages 10 - 14
Jones, Diana Wynne. Mixed Magics. U.S. edition: Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 9 - 12
Kraan, Hanna. The Wicked Witch Is At It Again!. Translated by Wanda Boerke. Illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen. U.S. edition: Front Street, 1997. Ages 8 - 10
Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Illustrated by Mary Grandpre. U.S. edition: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1998. Age 9 and older
Wrede, Patricia C.. Dealing with Dragons. Jane Yolen Books/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990. Ages 9 - 13Twists on Reality
Billingsley, Franny. Well Wished. Jean Karl/Atheneum, 1997. Ages 9 - 12
Cooper, Susan. The Boggart. McElderry Books, 1993. 196 pages. Ages 9 - 12
Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart. Translated by Anthea Bell. U.S. edition: The Chicken House/Scholastic, 2003. 534 pages. Ages 9 - 14
King-Smith, Dick. The Water Horse. Illustrated by David Parkins. U.S. edition: Crown, 1998. Ages 8 - 10
Norton, Mary. The Borrowers. Illustrated by Diana Stanley. Harcourt, 2003. Ages 8 - 12
Pearce, A. Phillipa. Tom's Midnight Garden. Illustrated by Susan Einzig. U.S. edition: Lippincott, 1958. Ages 9 - 12
Pearson, Kit. Awake and Dreaming. U.S. edition: Viking, 1997. 228 pages. Ages 11 - 13Ghostly Shivers and Spine-Tingling Tales
Bauer, Marion Dane. Ghost Eye. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Scholastic, 1992. Ages 8 - 11
Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. Illustrated by Dave McKean. HarperCollins, 2002. 162 pages. Ages 10 - 14
Ibbotson, Eva. Dial-A-Ghost. Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. U.S. edition: Dutton, 2001. 195 pages. Ages 9 - 12
Mahy, Margaret. The Haunting. U.S. edition: Atheneum, 1982. Ages 9 - 12
Mahy, Margaret. Dangerous Spaces. U.S. edition: Viking, 1991. Ages 10 - 13
Paton Walsh, Jill. Birdy and the Ghosties. Illustrated by Alan Marks. U.S. edition: Farrar Strous Giroux, 1989. Ages 7 - 9
Pullman, Philip. Clockwork. U.S. edition: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1998. 112 pages. Ages 10 - 14FutureScapes
Bawden, Nina. Off the Road. Clarion, 1998. Ages 10 - 12
Butler, Susan. The Hermit Thrush Sings. A Melanie Kroupa Book/DK Ink, 1999. Ages 9 - 12
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. Random House, 2003. 270 pages. Ages 10 - 14
Farmer, Nancy. The Ear, the Eye and the Arm. A Richard Jackson Book/Orchard, 1994. Ages 10 - 14Extraordinary Animals
DiCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux. Illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering. Candlewick Press, 2003. Ages 7 - 11
Hoban, Russell. The Mouse and His Child. Illustrated by David Small. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic Press, 2001. Ages 10 - 14
Johnson, Annabel. I Am Leaper. Illustrated by Stella Ormai. Scholastic, 1990. Ages 8 - 10
LeGuin, Ursula K.. Catwings. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. Scholastic, 1988. Ages 5 - 9
Morpurgo, Michael. The Sandman and the Turtles. Philomel, 1994. Ages 8 - 10
Reiche, Dietlof. I, Freddy. Translated by John Brownjohn. Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. U.S. edition: Scholastic Press, 2003. Ages 8 - 11
This list may be reproduced and distributed by educational and/or nonprofit organizations so long as credit is given to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
