Fantasy
... for grades 3 and 4
Click a title to check the Skokie Public Library catalog for the status of the book in the Youth Services collection. Titles marked with * are also available on audio.
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- Cleary, Beverly. The Mouse and the Motorcycle. 1965. *
Youth Fiction CLE - When Keith Gridley stops with his parents at the run-down Mountain View Inn on their way to California, he expects a pretty boring night. How wrong he is! For hidden in a little knothole in the wall, watching Keith’s every move, is Ralph – a mouse with a craving for action. And when Ralph spies Keith’s toy motorcycle, his little heart sings. He just has to ride it – no matter what!
- Coville, Bruce. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. 1991. *
Youth Fiction COV - Twelve-year-old Jeremy has a problem: Mary Lou Hutton wants to kiss him! Running away from her, he finds himself in a strange part of town where he enters a magic shop and buys a beautiful colored ball. When the ball turns out to be an egg that hatches, Jeremy's problems really begin!
- Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach. 1996. *
Youth Fiction DAH - James is forced to live with his two horrible aunts after his parents are eaten by a rhinoceros. It's a miserable life until he meets an odd little man in the woods, who gives him a bag full of magic crocodile tongues. When the bag accidentally spills, amazing things happen.
- Eager, Edward. Half Magic. 1954. *
Youth Fiction EAG - Jane thinks that the coin she has found on the sidewalk is just an ordinary nickel – until she makes a wish with the coin in her pocket. If you think her wish is granted, you're only half right!
- Farmer, Nancy. The Warm Place. 1995. *
Youth Fiction FAR - Ruva is a young giraffe who has been captured and sent to a zoo near San Francisco. Ruva wants with all her heart to go back to Africa, the warm place that is her home. She gets help from some unusual friends – a rat, a chameleon and a homeless boy named Jabila.
- Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father’s Dragon. 1986. *
Youth Easy Fiction GAN - When a baby dragon falls out of the sky on Wild Island, the lazy animals who live there force him to carry them back and forth over the river. A young boy hears about the little dragon and runs away from home, determined to rescue him. What's the problem? No one has ever come back from Wild Island alive.
- Griffin, Adele. Witch Twins. 2001.
Youth Fiction GRI - If you liked The Parent Trap you will like this story of twins determined to get rid of their father’s fiancé. Twins Claire and Luna are normal fifth graders – except, of course, for the fact that they are witches!
- Hurwitz, Joanna. PeeWee’s Tale. 2000.
Youth Easy Fiction HUR - PeeWee is no ordinary guinea pig. He comes from an academic background – his mother was born in a kindergarten. PeeWee can read – a skill that comes in very handy when he is left all alone in New York's Central Park.
- King-Smith, Dick. Pretty Polly. 1992.
Youth Fiction KIN - Poor Abigail is not allowed to have a pet parrot, so she decides to try to teach one of the baby chicks in the barn to talk. Read and find out if Abigail can produce the first talking chicken!
- Korman, Gordon. Nosepickers from Outer Space. 1999.
Youth Easy Fiction KOR - All Devin's friends have cool student-exchange buddies – but not Devin. His buddy, Stan, is a complete nerd. He has huge glasses, his pants are too short, he wears polka-dot ties and he keeps sticking his finger in his nose! Gradually, Devin begins to realize that Stan is not just from another state – he's from another planet!
- Le Guin, Ursula. Catwings. 1988.
Youth Easy Fiction LEG - Thelma, James, Harriet, and Roger are four young cats who are determined to leave the city slums to try to find a decent place to live. They are ordinary tabby cats in every way, with one small difference – they have wings.
- Lofting, Hugh. The Story of Doctor Dolittle. 1997. *
Youth Fiction LOF - Did you ever wish that you could speak your dog's language? Dr. Dolittle can! He used to be a doctor for humans, but all his beloved pets frightened his patients away. One night his parrot teaches him animal language, and convinces the doctor to take care of animals instead. Read – and find out what animals are really saying!
- Lubar, David. Punished! 2006.
Youth Fiction LUB - While playing a game of tag in the stacks at the library, Logan bumps into an old man, who says, “Maybe you need to be punished.” Then the man blows on the book he is holding and a strange cloud of dust tickles Logan’s face. Want to know what kind of punishment Logan gets for running in the library? Read for your-shelf!
- MacDonald, Betty. Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. 1957. *
Youth Fiction MCD - Philip Carmody is an impossible show-off. Melody Foxglove cries at the drop of a hat. Nicholas Semicolon is a horrible bully. What are their parents to do? Call Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, of course! Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle changes bad habits to good behavior, using a combination of kindness, understanding – and magic. Hilarious results guaranteed!
- Pinkwater, D. Manus. The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. 1977.
Youth Fiction PIN - It is Thanksgiving morning, and something has gone terribly wrong at Murphy's Meat Market – the Bobowicz's Thanksgiving turkey reservation has been lost! Desperate, Arthur Bobowicz looks all over town and finally finds the only poultry left in all of Hoboken – a chicken. There is only one slight problem – this chicken weighs 266 pounds!
- Quindlen, Anna. Happily Ever After. 1997.
Youth Easy Fiction QUI - Kate is the star shortstop of the local Little League team and runs faster than anyone else in the fourth grade. But sometimes she wishes she were a princess. A magic baseball mitt makes her wish come true, and she discovers the real truth about knights in shining armor, dragons, and witches.
- Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. 1998. *
Youth Fiction SAC - Oops! Wayside School was accidentally built wrong – it's thirty stories high, with only one classroom on each floor! It looks ridiculous, but that's not the only strange thing about Wayside School. Read these thirty hilarious stories about the craziest school on the planet!
- Sanvoisin, Eric. The Ink Drinker. 1998.
Youth Easy Fiction SAN - Not all vampires suck blood. Some of them suck ink. The hero of this story is a boy who works in his father's bookstore – but hates books. One day, looking out for shoplifters, the boy notices a very creepy customer who seems to be drinking the contents of the books with a straw. Should he follow him?
- Scieszka, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. 1991.
Youth Easy Fiction SCI - Joe and his two best friends, Fred and Sam, suddenly find themselves back in medieval times, facing the murderous Black Knight, who is galloping his horse towards them shouting, "Prepare to die!" How did they get here, when a moment ago they were all sitting in Joe's kitchen opening his birthday presents? And what do they do now?
- White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web. 1952. *
Youth Fiction WHI - Wilbur is a young pig who needs a friend. All the animals in the barn – even the rat – seem too busy to spend much time with him. One dark, lonely night, as he cries himself to sleep in his stall, Wilbur hears a voice. Looking around, he discovers a most remarkable spider named Charlotte, and his life changes forever.
- Yep, Laurence. The Magic Paintbrush. 2000.
Youth Fiction YEP - Orphaned Steve must live with his mean grandfather in a run-down apartment in Chinatown. The one joy in Steve's life is painting, but his paintbrush has worn out. Looking in an old suitcase, his grandfather finds a brush that was made in China. It's a beautiful brush, but the real surprise is what happens when Steve uses it!
- Yolen, Jane. The Wizard’s Map. 1999.
Youth Fiction YOL - From the moment the Dyer kids arrive in Scotland to visit their elderly relatives, strange things begin to happen. Jennifer gets caught in a thunderstorm that only rains on one place. Peter finds a card game that plays itself. And those events are mild compared to what happens next!