Recommendations: Fantasy chapter books for little kids ?

I recently started reading "The Wizard of Oz" to my son (age 5) and even though he doesn't understand all of it (I sometimes have to provide synonyms for certain terms), he really likes it! I'm actually surprised because the book has no pictures. He just likes being read to.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone can recommend other fantasy chapter books for little kids (5-7 yrs). Thanks!

I read Eva Ibbitson's books when I was in third grade. I also did a book report on Dealing with Dragons in second. Everything else I remember is very girly - unicorns mostly... You might want to try this over at Children's Fiction - http://www.librarything.com/groups/childrensfiction I don't know how active they are, but they could prove helpful.

There's also Magyk and the rest of that series. Or maybe something by Diana Wynne Jones?

I'm going to date myself to growing up in the early 1990s with a lot of these. :) I worked my way through all of the Oz books the library had, and that's a great place to start! Many of the books I mention are probably out of print, but copies may still be around at your local library.

Bruce Colville's books were some of my favorites. I have very fond memories of his Magic Shop series including The Monster Ring, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, Jennifer Murdley's Toad, and The Skull of Truth, which are all standalones, and also the Alien Adventure quartet that starts with Aliens Ate My Homework.

I absolutely devoured K.A. Applegate (and ghostwriters') Animorphs series, which I see are now being reprinted, Peter Lerangis' Watchers series and John Peel's Outer Limits series which are short but have wonderful twists at the end, and pretty much everything ever by William Sleator (though I highly recommend Others See Us). Sylvia Engdahl's Enchantress from the Stars

Chris Wooding's Broken Sky series, Garth Nix's Seventh Tower series, and Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic series, and Gary Paulsen's standalone The Transall Saga are probably for a slightly older audience, but if your son likes more complex stories they may be a good fit.

I also remember really enjoying these:

Louis Sachar's Wayside School books, which are short stories about strange happenings in a school that is sideways;

Elizabeth Winthrop's Castle in the Attic and Battle for the Castle;

Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle and sequels;

Robert C. O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH;

Poppy by Avi (mice are cool, okay);

the Bailey School Kids books, which bring vampires, werewolves, and the like into a school setting (this may be good for the younger end of your spectrum);

Deborah Howe's Bunnicula and sequels (since the family's new pet rabbit arrived, all of the vegetables are turning white- is the bunny.... a vampire?);

Todd Strasser's Help! I'm Trapped in my Teacher's Body and sequels;

Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles that @pwaites mentioned;

Edward Eager's Half Magic (which evidently has sequels I never knew about!);

E.B. White's Charlotte's Web is a classic (if he isn't bothered by downer endings);

Shel Silverstein's poetry books also sometimes go off in fantastical directions (Where the Sidewalk Ends).

There's also The Hobbit, of course- I remember my sister had that read to her in elementary school, but I don't remember what grade, and Lois Lowry's The Giver, Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown (which is far superior in my opinion to the more popular The Blue Sword), and Sylvia Engdahl's Enchantress from the Stars, which are all Newbery award winners.

Hope this gives you some things to check out!

Thanks pwaites and sandstone 78 for your helpful suggestions!

My son really enjoyed hearing The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart when he was in 1st grade. Not sure if it's still in print but you should be able to find a used copy or check it out from the library.

The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Peter Pan come right to mind as books that I enjoyed hearing at a young age. Just about any of E. Nesbit's books would also work. And, of course, Alice in Wonderland.

Some newer books that might be good:
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (depending on his tolerance for scary stuff; the author has written the stories in the tradition of the unexpurgated Grimm tales, with lots of humorous side-notes)
Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones (a good introduction to DWJ, as it's written for a lower age range than many of her middle-grade and young adult fantasy novels)
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (I've used this as a read-aloud with a group, and it is excellent.)

I started reading chapter books to my son about a year ago, when he was almost five. Since then we've read a wide variety of books, but the clear favorites have been The World of Pooh (but I warn you, it's a serious challenge to do all the voices!), The Mouse and the Motorcycle and its two sequels, the Happy Hollisters mystery series, The Trumpet of the Swan, Homer Price, and The Cricket in Times Square. He also really enjoyed the Great Illustrated Classics versions of Robin Hood and King Arthur, which have simplified (but decently written) stories, plus illustrations on each page. We read Half Magic, which he liked (and talked about finding a magic charm for weeks afterwards!), but I don't think he quite understood what was going on. We also have CDs of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and the radio dramatization of The Hobbit, which he loves.

It's a bit of relief to move on from the stacks of picture books, and great fun to introduce him to all these great books. I'm glad your son enjoys it too, and I'll have to add The Wizard of Oz to my read-aloud stack!

At five my son (ever since a rabid fantasy reader) loved Ruth Stiles Gannett's Dragon books--My Father's Dragon, Elmer and the Dragon, and The Dragon's of Blueland. They're at just the right level of plot complexity and writing for that age.

I recall that I loved Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and also, works by Alan Garner.

I am going to date myself the same way as Sandstone78 did and mention that I too devoured the Animorphs books. I also read Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and since I was growing up in India, Enid Blyton (yes, the sexism and racism was rampant but I was a child!).

However, since I had educated myself by the time my little sister was old enough to be read to, she really enjoyed The Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit and she *loved* all of Diana Wynne Jones's books. I also read her Beauty by Robin McKinley. My nephew on the other hand started on the Harry Potter books early (my sister still hasn't read them!) and also loves the Percy Jackson books. These are all geared toward slightly older readers though.

I also cannot recommend the Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage enough. They are wonderful and I still enjoy reading them. They are definitely geared toward littler kids. Same goes for Eva Ibbotson. She has a set of books specifically for younger children.

Other books that seem popular among younger readers are the Lemony Snicket books as well as the Araminta Spook ones (also by Angie Sage). I haven't read either series though.

I will post more as they come to me.

>10 anatwork.k: :) Ax and Tobias were always my favorites in Animorphs. I was hoping to pick them up to read again, unfortunately it looks like the reprint was canceled after the eighth book (out of a total of about 60 including spin-offs), so it may take effort to track them down.

Also wanted to note that I picked up Bruce Coville's Aliens Ate My Homework from the library the other day and re-read about the first twenty pages; still holds up for me, now I'll have to dig out my copies of the sequels...

I agree with lots of the suggestions here, but many seem more for older kids. I don't see the Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne. They mostly came out after my time, but my younger siblings love them, and a second-grade boy I know is going through the series now. Also, if you're willing to branch out from fantasy, the first chapter book I remember reading was Little House in the Big Woods. And I remember my mom reading the first chapter of Farmer Boy to me too.

When my brother was that age (5-7), he loved to be read My Father's Dragon series. (I loved the Oz books myself).

Adding another recommendation: Tove Jansson's Moomintroll books. They're odd and quirky, fun to read, and both my 5-year-old and 3-year-old love them for bedtime stories.