The best fantasy books filled with so much magic and wonder that the real world slips away

In The Lion, the Witch, And the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children discover a wardrobe: a magical portal to Narnia where old prophecies need to be fulfilled and evil spells shattered.

Time after time, I relish the amazing imagery and sensory delights pervading this quick-moving adventure. I feel the soft fur coats as the children jostle through the wardrobe. I hear the snow crunch under their feet and shiver in the bitter cold as they traipse through the forever-frozen land the White Witch has enchanted.

I love the deep magic found in Narnia: the mystical, speaking animals that are so believable…the written wonders that whisk me off to a place so real—I never want to leave.

A real page-turner, The Hobbit is an amazing tale of adventure and valor. Set in the fantasy realm of middle-earth, I love how Tolkien’s artistry with words, masterfully paints scene after scene about a magical world where creatures talk and everything from the trees to the mountains seems alive.

I adore the main character, Bilbo Baggins, a funny, fat, hairy-footed Hobbit who never-ever dreamt of leaving his comfortable Hobbit-Hole. After he’s recruited as a burglar by a party of dwarves and thrust into adventure, Bilbo discovers a magical ring, which makes him invisible. With this boon and facing adversaries such as the mighty dragon Smaug, Bilbo maturates into a confident leader and is changed, forever.

I could always use a little more magic in my life and what could be better than a world full of witches and wizards… Magic flows through Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone from the moment Dumbledore uses the Put-Outer to turn off the street lights outside Harry’s home… until the end when Harry is set up for the ultimate battle against evil and is protected by the power of love.

Looking back at my old, dull school days, how I would have loved to get that letter telling me I was accepted as a wizardry student at Hogwarts. To be in the presence of such fun, quirky characters. To experience the magic of a place where kids learn spells and potions, play Quidditch, and form everlasting, deep friendships.

The Girl Who Drank The Moon is a beautifully written book that flows like poetry. I loved the unique, interesting characters: the scar-faced boy who stands up to his corrupt town, the benefic witch who lives in the woods and rescues children sacrificed yearly out of fear, the wise swamp monster, and the beautiful child the witch rescues and enmagics by feeding her moonlight.

This book offers much to all ages: a tale of self-discovery and acceptance of who one really is, a fight against the status quo…and subsequent transcendence, plus as shown when the child’s paranormal powers first blossom, the idea that everyone has magic and can wield it without even knowing.

When you want to turn off the real world and lose yourself in a book what could be better than a world filled with dragons, their riders, and a threat known as Thread.

I loved the Dragonflight fantasy, rich in world-building, characters, and lore, where Pern’s great dragon Weyrs have diminished and belief in them abandoned. Lessa, the last of the royal Ruathans, is hiding as a mere kitchen scully. She is discovered by dragonmen searching for new dragonriders to combat the devastating Thread that falls from the sky. Lucky Lessa is impressed by the new queen dragon when the golden egg hatches. How wonderful to ride a beautiful dragon…and communicate telepathically with it (as all riders can). To top it all off, Lessa finds she can communicate with all dragons and time travels into the past, to save Pern from the destructive Thread.