Fantasy: June 06, 2007 Issue [#1751]
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Fantasy


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  Edited by: Texas Belle Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Howdy, y'all, yep I'm back as a guest editor and I must admit I was very happy to come back for several reasons. First, I do love fantasy/science fiction literature and because I received several emails inquirying after a list of children's fantasy. So, dear friends, we shall look at some examples of children's fantasy.


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

It's odd that so many people consider "fantasy" as an adult or teen only genre, because, in truth, it's earliest forms included as many children's tales as it did adult tales. Generally, speaking the children's versions were more cautionary tales (ie, "You think I'm a mean mother let me tell you what would happen if I died and your father remarried," Oh, you think you're so grown-up to obey? Let me tell you a story about a little girl who didn't listen to her mother.") than adventurous, and always had a moral. However, the fact that these tales are directed at children they are no less fantasy then more recognizable adult titles such as Lord Of The Rings. So, all fairy tales and folk tales are fantasy. If you read them carefully you can apply most, if not all, the rules that distinguish fantasy literature. Fear not, gentle reader, you will not have to slog through 20,000 thousand years and cross all seven continents in this newsletter (we’ll save that for another time *Laugh* oh, I do crack me up). Fast forward to modern children’s fantasy literature, below you will find a list of books published from the nineteenth century forward.

Harry Potter (series) by J. K. Rowling
Goosebumps (series ) by R. L. Stine
Anything by Dr. Seuss
Anything by Raold Dahl
Wizard of Oz (series) by L. Frank Baum
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Ralph S. Mouse (series) by Beverly Cleary
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Clifford the Big Red Dog (series) by Norman Bridwell
Stuart Little by E. B. White
The Adventures of Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Berenstain Bears (series) by Jan and Stan Berenstain
Animorphs (series) by K. A. Applegate
A Wrinkle in Time (series) by Madeleine L'Engle
Curious George (series) by Margret and Hans Augusto Rey
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Magic Tree House (series) by Mary Pope Osborne
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
Redwall (series) by Brian Jacques
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Magic School Bus (series) by Joanna Cole
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Hank the Cow Dog (series) by John R. Erickson
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson
Bunnicula (series) by James Howe


This is in no way a complete, or definitive list, it represents some of the most popular or best known examples.

You may look at some of these and wonder how they fit the fantasy model. Your challenge, then, is to read one and compare it to the fantasy model (see "Fantasy Newsletter (January 3, 2007)Open in new Window.. Of course, some of them are obvious (i)The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or Harry Potter Series; however, what makes The Velveteen Rabbit fantasy?

In an past issue the subject was the difference between fantasy and science fiction. You will not that there are examples of cross-over literature here, ie Mrs. Fisby and the Rats of NIMH and Magic School Bus Series. They, as well as others, are listed here because both fantasy and science fiction are lumped under the amorphous genre of children's literature. This ambiguity may be the reason many adults have not explored the world of children's fantasy past childhood favorites. Baum, Lewis, Dahl, and Rawlings have done a great deal to elevate the genre.

Pick a new title, or revisit a familiar one using new eyes and explore with a more critical eye. You'll be surprised the complexity you might have missed.

I humbly present samplings, hopefully to wet your whistle and try a new tune:

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Editor's Picks

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A tale of Impetuous Youth Open in new Window. (E)
This is an alternate ending to a certain fable.
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 Shaky Open in new Window. (E)
About a mouse and his hobby...
#1258314 by Kenneth Reuel Author IconMail Icon




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