HomeTop 10 Fantasy Books for Youth by Sally Estes

Top 10 Fantasy Books for Youth

Although once again there’s a scarcity of good youth sf (one exception being Hilari Bell’s Matter of Profit), this was a very rich year for fantasy. Below you’ll find the best titles, which were reviewed in Booklist from April 15, 2001, through April 1, 2002. —Sally Estes

Clement-Davies, David. The Sight. 2002. Dutton, $21.99 (0-525-46723-8).
Gr. 7–up. Transylvania is the setting for a mesmerizing, atmospheric adventure featuring a prophecy, a wolf pack and its newborn cubs, an outcast she-wolf with mysterious powers, and fearsome ordeals.

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl. 2001. Hyperion/Talk Mirmax, $16.95 (0-7868-0801-2); paper, $6.99 (0-7868-1207-0).
Gr. 6–8. In a wild, wacky story, Artemis Fowl, 12-year-old genius and scion of a legendary Irish criminal family, determines to restore the family wealth by relieving the fairies of some of their gold.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Seeing Stone. 2001. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $17.95 (0-439-26326-3).
Gr. 4–8. Crossley-Holland takes readers back to medieval England in a lush, intricately layered story of 13-year-old Arthur, whose magical obsidian allows him to slip back to the time of the legendary Arthur. See the Booklist interview with Crossley-Holland (p.1414).

Dickinson, Peter. The Ropemaker. 2001. Delacorte, $15.95 (0-385-72921-9).
Gr. 7–12. When the Valley’s protective spell begins to slip, young Tilja, her grandmother, the boy Tahl, and his grandfather set out on a daunting quest to renew the magic. A thoroughly compelling play between time and magic.

Jacques, Brian. Taggerung. 2001. Putnam/Philomel, $23.99 (0-399-23720-8).
Gr. 5–8. Jacques works his wonderful yarn-telling magic in his new Redwall tale about Taggerung, an otter kidnapped and raised by a savage ferret, who makes his way back to Redwall, where he learns his real identity and saves the abbey from the evil horde.

Kindl, Patrice. Goose Chase. 2001. Houghton, $15 (0-618-03377-7).
Gr. 6–9. A happy ending is understood from the beginning of this lighthearted fairy-tale spoof, in which magical geese help Goose Girl flee from two equally ghastly suitors.

Nix, Garth. Lirael. 2001. HarperCollins, $16.95 (0-06-027823-4); lib. ed., $16.89 (0-06-027824-2).
Gr. 7–12. In the sequel to Sabriel (1996), Lirael despairs of ever gaining the gift of sight, yet the fate of the kingdom, which is under threat from a sinister necromancer, lies in her hands and in those of Sabriel’s teenage son, Sameth.

Pierce, Meredith Ann. Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood. 2001. Viking, $16.99 (0-670-89247-5).
Gr. 6–10. To restore an enchanted knight to human form, brave Hannah flees the wizard who has held her captive, undertaking a convoluted journey linked to the changing of the seasons.

Pratchett, Terry. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. 2001. HarperCollins, $16.95 (0-06-001233-1); lib. ed., $16.89 (0-06-001234-X).
Gr. 6–9. When a cat known as the Amazing Maurice, a horde of rats, and a flute-playing kid attempt a pied-piper scam on a hamlet, they come up against the mayor’s conniving daughter, which leads to both scary mayhem and comic relief.

Springer, Nancy. Rowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest. 2001. Putnam/Philomel, $16.99 (0-399-23368-7).
Gr. 4–7. After her mother’s death, 13-year-old Rosemary, disguised as the boy Rowan, searches for Robin Hood, the father she’s never met, and undertakes a perilous journey during which she learns to use the special gifts she inherited from her mother and kin.

(Booklist/April 15, 2002)