SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY FOR CHILDREN

SCIENCE FICTION | FANTASY

SCIENCE FICTION

JF Auc I Was a Third Grade Science Project - by Mary Jane Auch (3^rd grade)

96 pp. While trying to hypnotize his dog for the third grade science fair, Brian accidentally makes his best friend Josh think he's a cat.

JF Baw Off the Road - by Nina Bawden (5^th -6^th grade)

189 pp. It's the year 2040, and Tom begins an adventure by following his grandfather through the Wall into the forbidden Outside, seeking his grandfather's boyhood home.

JF Bec Star Hatchling - by Margaret Bechard (4^th -5^th grade)

152 pp. Shem encounters humans for the first time when a human girl, separated from her family, lands on his planet.

JF Bre The Mystery Machine - by Herbie Brennan (3^rd - 4^th grade)

91 pp. After discovering who his neighbor, Mrs. Pomfrey-Parkinson, really is and about her evil plan, Hubert must stop her!

JF Bri The Shape-Changer - by Bill Brittain (4^th - 5^th grade)

108 pp. Two friends join forces with a shape-changing policeman to save the planet from a crazy and evil space alien.

JE Bul Baseball Camp on the Planet of the Eyeballs - by Jon Buller (2^nd - 3^rd grade)

48 pp. After being kidnapped by aliens and taken to their planet, Hugo teaches them how to play baseball.

JF Cam The Wonderful Flight to Mushroom Planet - by Eleanor Cameron (4^th - 5^th grade)

195 pp. When David and Chuck read an advertisement asking for a small space ship built by two boys, they meet the mysterious Mr. Bass and with him attempt to save the mushroom planet.

JF Chr The White Mountains - by John Christopher (5^th grade)

214 pp. Will attempts to escape from the Tripods, huge, three-legged machines, who long ago took control of Earth, making slaves of the people.

Followed by:

• City of Gold and Lead
• Pool of Fire

JF Cou Virtual Fred - by Vincent Courtney (3^rd grade)

90 pp. Fred's favorite computer game is called Dumb. When an alien race invades the Earth through the game, Fred must play the game for real!

Followed by:

• Virtual Fred and the Big Dip

JF Cov Aliens Ate My Homework - by Bruce Coville (5^th - 6^th grade)

179 pp. A miniature spaceship lands in Rod's science project and five tiny aliens enlist his help in catching an interstellar criminal.

Other titles in Bruce Coville's Alien Adventures are:

• I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X
• The Search for Snout
• Aliens Stole My Body

JF Cov Space Brat - by Bruce Coville (3^rd grade)

68 pp. Blork is labeled a brat when he is hatched on the planet Splat, but when his pet is taken away, he discovers that even his noisiest tantrum won't help.

Other titles in the Space Brat series are:

• Space Brat 2: Blork's Evil Twin
• Space Brat 3: The Wrath of Squat
• Space Brat 4: Planet of the Dips
• Space Brat 5: The Saber-toothed Poodnoobie

JF Etr Aliens for Breakfast - by Jonathan Etra (2^nd - 3^rd grade)

64 pp. Finding an intergalactic special agent in his cereal box, Richard joins the little alien in a fight to save Earth from the Dranes, one of whom is masquerading as a student in Richard's class.

Followed by:

• Aliens for Lunch

JF Gre Max and Me and the Time Machine - by Gery Greer (4^th - 5^th grade)

114 pp. Steve buys a time machine at a garage sale and takes his friend Max to the year 1250, where they land in the middle of a jousting match.

Followed by:

• Max and Me and the Wild West

JF Gut Virtually Perfect - by Dan Gutman (3^rd - 4^th grade)

123 pp. Yip creates a computer simulation of the "perfect boy" and trouble comes when the "boy" breaks out of cyberspace.

JF Hug The Iron Giant: A Story in Five Nights - by Ted Hughes (2^nd - 3^rd grade)

79 pp. Only one boy understands the Iron Giant who eats barbed wire, tractors, and rusty chains.

JF Joc The Invisible Day - by Marthe Jocelyn (3^rd - 4^th grade)

134 pp. While playing in Central Park one day, 10-year-old Billie finds a bag of make-up that makes her invisible.

Followed by:

• The Invisible Harry

JF Kor Nose Pickers from Outer Space - by Gordon Korman (3^rd -4^th grade)

137 pp. Devin is disappointed in the exchange student who comes to live with his family, until he discovers that Stan is not from Chicago but from outer space.

JF Mac Can of Worms - by Kathy Mackel (4^th grade)

146 pp. Unhappy at school and feeling like he might be an alien, 13-year-old Mike sends a distress call out into space which attracts a strange bunch of actual aliens.

JF Mag Five Alien Elves - by Gregory Maguire (3^rd - 4^th grade)

170 pp. Arriving on the night before Christmas, five aliens disguise themselves as elves and set out to rid Earth of its evil dictator, a fat man in a red suit!

JE Mar Jed and the Space Bandits - by Jean and Claudio Marzollo (1^st - 2^nd grade)

48 pp. Jed's Junior Space Patrol helps Molly rescue her parents from space bandits.

See also:

• Ruthie's Rude Friends

JF Pat The Green Book - by Jill Paton Walsh (5^th grade)

71 pp. A group of refugees from earth must learn how to find food, shelter and other basic necessities on their strange new planet.

JF Pin Fat Men from Space - by Daniel Pinkwater (4^th - 5^th grade)

57 pp. When William hears a radio transmission through his radio tooth, he learns of spacemen who are taking all of the earth's supply of junk food.

JF Rob The Girl with the Silver Eyes - by Willo Davis Roberts (5^th - 6^th grade)

198 pp. A girl with strange silver eyes, different from all the other children, discovers she has unusual powers and that there are others like her.

JF Scr The Nose from Jupiter - by Richard Scrimger (5^th - 6^th grade)

156 pp. When a tiny alien from Jupiter takes up residence on Alan's nose, everyone thinks he is a master ventriloquist. Soon there is big trouble when Norbert, the alien, helps Alan and his team beat the school bullies at soccer.

JF Ser Stinker from Space - by Pamela Service (3^rd - 4^th grade)

84 pp. When an alien agent crash lands on earth, he transfers his mind into the body of a skunk and soon enlists Karen and Jonathan to help him get back to his home planet.

Followed by:

• Stinker's Return

JF Sku Cyberstorm - by Gloria Skurzynski (4^th - 5^th grade)

137 pp. In 2015, Darcy escapes into her neighbor's Virtual Reality Rent-a-Memory machine when she discovers that the Animal Control Division is trying to take away her dog.

JF Str Help! I'm Trapped in an Alien's Body - by Todd Strasser (5^th grade)

137 pp. Jake Sherman has switched bodies with an alien and now lives on a planet where everyone is a couch potato, watching TV and eating junk food all day.

Other Help! I'm Trapped... titles are:

• Help! I'm Trapped in My Lunch Lady's Body
• Help! I'm Trapped in My Principal's Body
• Help! I'm Trapped in My Sister's Body

JE Yol Commander Toad in Space - by Jane Yolen (1^st - 2^nd grade)

63 pp. The crew of the space ship "Star Warts" lands on a planet covered in water. They soon discover that it is inhabited by a horrible, hungry monster, Deep Wader.

Other Commander Toad titles are:

• Commander Toad and the Big Black Hole
• Commander Toad and the Dis-Asteroid
• Commander Toad and the Planet of the Grapes

FANTASY

JF Ale The Book of Three - by Lloyd Alexander (5^th grade)

219 pp. Taran, an assistant pig-keeper longs to be a hero. He soon gets his chance to be a hero when he teams up with a strange assortment of companions and embarks on a dangerous mission to save the Land of Prydain.

The other titles in The Prydain Chronicles are:

• The Black Cauldron
• The Castle of Llyr
• Taran Wanderer
• The High King

JF Avi Perloo the Bold - by Avi (5^th grade)

225 pp. After learning that he will be the new leader of his underground world, Perloo finds himself in danger when Jolaine, the current leader, dies and her evil son takes control.

JF Bel The House with a Clock in Its Walls - by John Bellairs (6^th grade)

179 pp. When Lewis goes to live with his Uncle Jonathan, he discovers that his uncle is a magician and that in their house is a clock which is ticking off the time until doomsday.

Followed by:

• The Figure in the Shadows
• The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring

JE Bul 20,000 Baseball Cards under the Sea - by Jon Buller (2^nd - 3^rd grade)

47 pp. Kenneth and Roger travel under the sea and find an underwater cave which contains treasure, including a lot of very valuable baseball cards.

See also:

• Mike and the Magic Cookies

JF Coo The Boggart - by Susan Cooper (5^th - 6^th grade)

196 pp. After visiting an old castle in Scotland, Emily discovers that she accidentally brought back a boggart, an invisible and mischievous spirit who loves practical jokes.

Followed by:

• The Boggart and the Monster

JF Con The Frog Princess of Pelham - by Ellen Conford (3^rd - 4^th grade)

106 pp. When Danny kisses Chandler, she turns into a frog. The two are soon off on a hilarious adventure as they attempt to turn her back into a human.

JF Cov Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - by Bruce Coville (5^th grade)

148 pp. Jeremy discovers a strange magic shop and buys what turns out to be a dragon egg. The egg hatches into a tiny dragon named Tiamat and as he grows, so does trouble.

Other Magic Shop Books are:

• Jennifer Murdley's Toad
• The Monster's Ring
• Skull of Truth

JF Eag Half Magic - by Edward Eager (4^th - 5^th grade)

192 pp. During a long summer, four children find a coin that grants wishes, but the strange thing is that it only grants half of the wish.

See also:

• Knight's Castle
• The Time Garden
• The Well-Wishers

JF Fei A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears - by Jules Feiffer (4^th grade)

180 pp. Prince Roger is sent on a quest in order to teach him how to be a worthy king. He gets it all wrong, but everything turns out all right.

JF Gre Great-Grandpa's in the Litter Box - by Dan Greenburg (2^nd - 3^rd grade)

59 pp. After finally getting permission to get a kitten, 10 year old Zack ends up with an old, tough, talking tomcat that claims to be his great grandfather Julius!

Other titles in The Zack Files are:

• Through the Medicine Cabinet
• A Ghost Named Wanda
• Bozo the Clone

JF Ibb Which Witch? - by Eva Ibbotson (4^th - 5^th grade)

231 pp. In order to find a wife, the Great Wizard Arriman holds a competition among the witches of Todcaster.

JF Jon Charmed Life - by Diana Wynne Jones (6^th grade)

218 pp. Gwendolyn Chant, a promising young witch, and her brother Cat leave Coven Street when they are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle.

The other titles Chrestomanci Quartet are:

• The Magicians of Caprona
• Witch Week
• The Lives of Christopher Chant

JF Ken The Gammage Cup - by Carol Kendall (5^th grade)

283 pp. When the Minnipins rebel against the Periods, they are exiled to a mountain where they soon discover that an ancient enemy of their people is about to attack.

JF Key The Forgotten Door - by Alexander Key (5^th grade)

140 pp. After falling through a door that leads to a dangerous, strange planet and losing his memory, Jon must find a way back to his home.

JF Lee Islands in the Sky - by Tanith Lee (5^th grade)

249 pp. In the year 1867, Hope tries to rescue a kite from a tree and finds herself on a small, beautiful ship, the Basset. She travels to a magical world, where she must find a solution to the war between the centaurs and the winged horses.

The other title in the Voyage of the Basset series are:

• The Raven Queen by Terri Windling and Ellen Steiber
• Journey to Otherwhere by Sherwood Smith

JF Mac The Wish in the Bottle - by Morna Macleod (5^th grade)

130 pp. Capturing what they believe to be an exotic glowing butterfly, Laurie, Lani, and Mark are astonished when they realize that they have actually captured feisty fairy queen Octavia, who promises to grant their wishes if she is returned home.

JE Mar Troll Country - by Edward Marshall (1^st - 2^nd grade)

56 pp. Elsie Fay's mother claims to have once met a troll. So Elsie Fay goes searching for one in the woods called Troll Country.

JE O'Co Dragon Breath - by Jane O'Connor (1^st grade)

48pp. There are no boys in the town of Wyllylldrydyn and that's not all, the whole place smells like smoke, and an old guy named Owen keeps talking about dragons!

JF Row Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (5^th grade)

309 pp. While living with mean relatives, Harry is summoned to HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY and discovers that unlike most people he is a wizard.

Other Harry Potter titles are:

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

JF Sci Knights of the Kitchen Table by John Scieszka (3^rd grade)

55 pp. When Joe, Fred, and Sam are sent back in time by a magical book, they find themselves face-to-face with dragons, wizards and the Knights of the Round Table.

The other titles in The Time Warp Trio series are:

• The Not-So-Jolly Roger
• The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
• Your Mother Was a Neanderthal
• 2095
• Tut, Tut
• Summer Reading Is Killing Me
• It's All Greek to Me

JF Sny Song of the Gargoyle by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (6^th grade)

232 pp. When Tymmon's father, the court jester, is kidnapped, Tymmon hides in the forest nearby and is adopted by a gargoyle. Together, they try to find a way to rescue Tymmon's father.

JF Tur Elfsong by Ann Turner (4^th - 6^th grade)

165 pp. While searching for her missing cat, Maddy sees an elf and discovers that she is now able to understand the speech of animals and birds.

JF Van A Hidden Magic by Vivian Vande Velde (4^th - 5^th grade)

117 pp. A plain princess named Jennifer falls in love with a handsome, but conceited prince named Alexander. When Alexander falls under an evil witch's spell, it's up to Jennifer to save him.

JF Yep Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep (5^th - 6^th grade)

211 pp. Shimmer, the dragon princess, and Thorn, an orphan boy go on a dangerous quest to save Shimmer's home.

JF Yep The Imp That Ate My Homework by Laurence Yep (3^rd - 4^th grade)

87 pp. Jim teams up with his grandfather, known as the meanest man in Chinatown, in order to defeat a powerful demon.

JF Yol Passager by Jane Yolen (4^th - 5^th grade)

76 pp. Abandoned in the woods of Medieval England, an eight-year-old boy begins a journey of hardship, danger, and magic that will one day make him the most famous wizard of all time.

Other titles in the Young Merlin Trilogy are:

• Hobby
• Merlin

JF Yol The Wizard's Map by Jane Yolen (3^rd - 4^th grade)

132 pp. While visiting relatives in Scotland, Molly, Jennifer and Peter become involved in the plans of a diabolical wizard.

Other books in the Tartan Magic series are:

• The Pictish Child

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