Beyond Harry Potter: 50 Fantasy Adventures stories for girls
From A Mighty Girl, 50 well known and well loved and some not so familiar stories, many available in your local library or favourite book shop. Here is a list of titles well worth exploring. Each title is annotated and gives a recommended age. Here’s are some samples:
The Worst Witch
Written by: Jill Murphy
Illustrated by: Jill Murphy
Recommended Age: 8 – 12
At the top of a mountain surrounded by a deep wood stands Miss Cackle’s Academy, where young witches train in all the witchy arts. Mildred Hubble is the worst witch in the school, struggling with everything, but she’s getting by until she accidentally makes an enemy of Ethel, the teacher’s pet. But when she decides to run away and overhears people plotting against the school, Mildred is faced with a choice: leave the Academy to its fate or see if the worst witch might actually save the day. Fans this series, originally published in the 1970s, can find seven of her adventures in The Worst Witch: Complete Adventures box set.
Inkheart
Written by: Cornelia Funke
Recommended Age: 8 – 12
Meggie’s father, Mo, has refused to read to her since she was a baby, and she’s never known why until the day a man called Dustfinger appears and calls her father Silvertongue. It turns out that Mo has a wonderful but terrible ability: if he reads a book aloud, the characters literally come to life — and the last time he did, he not only freed a wicked villain named Capricorn from the book Inkheart, he also accidentally read Meggie’s mother into the book. Now, though, Capricorn wants to put Mo’s abilities to evil use, and he’s planning to use Meggie to make him do it. In order to stop Capricorn, Meggie and her family will have to find the author of Inkheart… in hopes that they can write a new ending. This unique story-within-a-story will fascinate young fantasy fans! The story continues in Inkspell and Inkdeath.
Dragon Slippers
Written by: Jessica Day George
Recommended Age: 9 – 13
When her aunt uses the orphan girl Creel as bait for a dragon — and therefore a prince — as a way to drag the family out of poverty, Creel befriends the dragons instead! With encouragement from her new friends, and a gift of a mysterious pair of slippers, Creel moves to the city and opens a dress shop, only to find herself drawn into a conflict that could spell the end of both the kingdom and the dragons. With an epic world, exciting action, and vivid description, this book is sure to captivate young readers. Creel (and the dragons’) story also continues in the sequels, Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear.
Find more recommended Reading Lists at the
StoryLinks Reading Resources page.
