Fantasy

Fantasy genre

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland

Imagine that all fantasy novels–the ones featuring dragons, knights, wizards, and magic–are set in the same place. That place is called Fantasyland. The Tough Guide to Fantasyland is your travel guide, a handbook to everything you might find: Evil, the Dark Lord, Stew, Boots (but not Socks), and what passes for Economics and Ecology. Both a hilarious send-up of the cliches of the genre and an indispensable guide for readers and writers of fantasy. This is Diana Wynne Jones at her very best: incisive, funny, and wildly imaginative. This is the edition of The Tough Guide, featuring a new map, an entirely new design, and additional material written for it by Diana Wynne Jones.

A High Wind in Jamaica (New York Review Books Classics)

Richard Hughes’s celebrated short novel is a masterpiece of concentrated narrative. Its dreamlike action begins among the decayed plantation houses and overwhelming natural abundance of late nineteenth-century Jamaica, before moving out onto the high seas, as Hughes tells the story of a group of children thrown upon the mercy of a crew of down-at-the-heel pirates. A tale of seduction and betrayal, of accommodation and manipulation, of weird humor and unforeseen violence, this classic of twentieth-century literature is above all an extraordinary reckoning with the secret reasons and otherworldly realities of childhood.

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

Exhausted from his labors, a man chopping down a great kapok tree in the Brazilian rain forest puts down his ax, and, as he sleeps, the animals who live in the tree plead with him not to destroy their world. “This modern fable with its urgent message contains an abundance of information.”–The Horn Book

X Doesn’t Mark the Spot: Tales of Pirate Gold, Buried Treasure, and Lost Riches

Anyone who has fantasized about becoming fabulously rich overnight can relate to this collection of treasure hunt stories–tales of buried pirate gold, of hidden outlaw loot, of wrecked ships loaded with valuable coins and jewels, and of “lost” gold mines. Some of the stories are tall tales based on little evidence. Many a dreamer wasted money, energy and perhaps even a lifetime chasing after a pot of gold that did not exist. But some hidden treasures are real, even if the stories about them are exaggerated. Many of the stories came down to us from an age in which pirates were said to be in league with the devil and supposedly used black magic to protect their hidden plunder.

Ed Butts’s tales of adventure, of shattered hopes, and, occasionally, of dreams come true expose the greed and the challenges that motivated the searchers. A few of them got lucky. But X didn’t mark the spot for most of these adventurers–and that means undiscovered treasures still lie ready to ignite the imagination.

Castle in the Air

Young merchant Abdullah leads a humble life. Or he did until a stranger sold him a threadbare—and disagreeable—magic carpet. Now Abdullah is caught in the middle of his grand daydreams. Waking one night in a luxurious garden, he meets and falls instantly in love with the beautiful and clever Flower-in-the-Night. But a wicked djinn sweeps the princess away right before Abdullah’s eyes, leaving the young man no choice but to follow. This is no ordinary quest, however, for Flower-in-the-Night isn’t all the djinn has stolen. Abdullah will have the so-called help of the cantankerous carpet, a cranky genie in a bottle, a dishonest soldier, and a very opinionated black cat. Will this motley crew be able to find the djinn’s mysterious dwelling and rescue a castle full of princesses?

Walking The Maze

Books can be dangerous, and so can imagination. This is the story of Annice, who has too much of both. Annice is fascinated by a picture in an art gallery. Taken by surprise, she finds herself going in to the picture, and watching the lives of the people there. She doesn’t realize the danger at first. Not until it’s too late. Annice finds herself sucked further and further into the world of the painting, until it becomes more real to her than real life. Like sleepwalking, like fantasy, she becomes part of other people’s lives, until she no longer knows what is real and what isn’t. Imagination, stories, and lies become so closely linked that Annice can’t distinguish between them. She’s told so many lies that she can no longer remember them all. Soon, she knows, she’ll be found out. And all the while, inside the world of the painting, there is an alternative life, a beautiful garden, and a tragedy waiting to happen. Interest age: 12+.

Little Fur: A Fox Called Sorrow

In a Fox Called Sorrow, the adventures continue for Little Fur, the half elf, half troll girl who heals animals in a magical grove in the heart of a big city. When Little Fur discovers that the Troll King is plotting against the earth spirit that binds all living things, she sets off on a new adventure with a set of unlikely companions: the faithful cat Ginger, a reluctant rat, a pair of ferrets, and a mysterious fox called Sorrow who believes their quest is doomed.

The Secret Garden

The beloved original text now offered in a definitive gift edition by esteemed illustrator Inga Moore. First published in 1909, THE SECRET GARDEN has entranced readers with the courage and strength of two unhappy and withered children who become determined to make their lives and the lives of others around them more joyful. In this remarkable new edition, Inga Moore’s beautifully observed illustrations capture the wonder of the secret garden springing to life under the tender care of Mary Lennox; her spoiled invalid cousin, Colin; and Dickon, a Yorkshire boy.

Jin Jin the Dragon

An enchanting story of a dragon that doesn’t know what it is and sets off on a journey of adventure and discovery to find out. Beautifully illustrated in Chinese watercolor, this wonderful read aloud includes information on Chinese dragons (and how they differ from what we usually think of when we think of dragons), Chinese written characters and a picture history of 13 Chinese characters that are central to the story.

Wombat & Fox: Tales of the City

In the big city, Wombat and Fox have many adventures. They don’t go looking for trouble, but the city is a surprising place and trouble and mishaps have a way of finding them, changing the course of the day for Wombat and Fox, Croc, Bandicoot, the Hippo Sisters and the mischievous Five Monkeys. These are their stories.