Best Fantasy Book Series for Children

Children are full of imagination from a young age, and so their attention is often captured by fantasy novels--stories full of magic, dragons, adventures, and all sorts of mystical creatures held together with a strong plot and likeable characters.

Lots of excellent fantasy novels are standalone stories, but children also often want to know what happens next--what becomes of the character they've grown to love?

Read on for the best fantasy book series for children.

Patricia C. Wrede's "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" is actually a series of four books, starting with "Dealing with Dragons." The heroine of the novels, Princess Cimorene, is decidedly modern and independent--she decides being a princess is a bit too boring and finds a dragon (Kazul) to work for. Though Kazul is skeptical, they soon grow fond of each other and are soon trying to foil a devious plot cooked up by the kingdom's wizards.

In later books, Cimorene meets and falls in love with the King of the Enchanted Forest, Mendanbar, but remains a spunky, interesting character.

"The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" are whimsical and fun, and children will love the wise-cracking dragons.

Any list of best fantasy book series for children must contain the Harry Potter novels as one of its entries--as one of the most beloved and popular series of all times, even adults read it voraciously.

In the series, written by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy up until the age of 11, when he finds he's actually a wizard. He's able to escape his cruel aunt, uncle, and cousin each school year to attend classes at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he quickly makes best friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Being a wizard doesn't fix Harry's problems, though--in fact, it makes them worse. It turns out Harry is famous as being the only wizard who survived an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort, who spends the seven-book series trying to return to power and destroy Harry.

The various plots and characters are too extensive to summarize into one short article, but needless to say even children who don't love to read will probably love this fantasy series.

C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" is another beloved fantasy series that children have been discovering and enjoying since the publication of the first book, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" in 1949.

Totally seven books in all, "The Chronicles of Narnia" shares stories from the fantastical land of Narnia and the lands around its borders; the stories are full of adventure, exotic lands and characters, and strong protagonists (most of them children).

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is the most famous of the series, and tells the story of the four Pevensie children, who stumble into Narnia through an enchanted wardrobe and find themselves in a fight against the White Witch, who has cast Narnia into perpetual winter. They are aided by the mighty lion Aslan, a symbol of faith and goodness (the books themselves are allegories for Christianity but don't have to be read as such).

Children who love fantasy novels will especially love the adventure and characters of Narnia, including talking mice and other creatures, marshwiggles, and more.

• The Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper)
• Redwall (Brian Jacques)
• Young Merlin trilogy (Jane Yolen)
• The Oz books (L. Frank Baum)

Lloyd Alexander's "The Chronicles of Prydain" is a five-book series about Taran, an assistant pig-keeper who turns out to be so much more. While the books themselves are slender, the stories inside are packed with adventure and heroism.

Taran begins the series as a young man who is discontent, longing to be a hero, and he finds himself lost in the forest after chasing his charge, a white pig. From there, his adventures begin--he meets the confident and lively Princess Eilonwy, begins to learn more about himself, and goes up against the evil Arawn.

These books are a little less whimsical than the others on this list, and are also a little darker, but nonetheless should be an engaging read for a child who loves fantasy novels.

There are so many great fantasy novel series to choose from--this article just skims the surface! What's your favorite fantasy novel series from childhood?