The Paper Dart
An ode to creativity and distraction

The Great Escape: The Best Adult, YA and Children’s Fantasy Books

It’s shaping up to be a pretty weird week in America. With a hotly contested election on the horizon, the threat of protests from both sides of the aisle, and an ongoing pandemic, we could all use a break, and a little lightness in our lives.

Below, I have compiled a list of my favorite adult, YA, and children’s fantasy books to help you escape the chaos of the real world, and enter the more magical chaos of the made-up. While YA is written for a teen audience, it is the most popular genre among all readers–and for good reason. These books are all bursting with magic, romance, and a healthy dose of drama, and many were ones that my middle and high school students enjoyed just as much as I did.

I hope you find a book you love, and one that allows both you and your kids to take a nice little mental vacation!

Young Adult Books

Cinder – Marissa Meyer

Cinder is a take on Cinderella, but the protagonist is a cyborg, who may have a secret identity that even she doesn’t know about, and is trying to save a kingdom from evil, as well as a mysterious and deadly pandemic. It might sound like there’s too much going on here, but somehow it works. This book has just the right amount of tension, romance, and surprise factor to keep you hooked for the long haul. I read the entire series with a few of my eighth graders several years ago, and we all thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. (And so did their moms.)

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is my #1 most recommended book, to both teens and adults. The world-building in this book is second to none, and the characters are so real that I honestly feel like I know them.

The story follows a teen named Jacob who almost witnesses his grandfather’s mysteriously violent death, and then begins having nightmares about the imaginary “monsters” his grandpa used to tell him stories about when he was young. In an attempt to calm his anxious mind and come to terms with his personal tragedy, Jacob decides to pay a visit to his grandfather’s childhood home. Once there, he embarks on an adventure that transports him back in time, to a world full of magic, danger, and unexpected friendship.

It’s a story unlike any other, and I can still vividly picture so many of the scenes from this story, despite the fact that I read it several years ago. This is one of those books that honestly makes me question whether Riggs made this world up, or actually lived it…

The Selection

The Selection Series is the definition of fluff, which is exactly why it’s so wonderful. It’s about a girl who attends the “selection” event (which is basically The Bachelor, but without the cameras, plus a royal twist), and is “forced” to vie for the heart of the prince. It’s chock full of romance, rebellion, a juicy love triangle, and everything else you need to totally escape from reality for a few blissful hours. AND it’s a four book series, so you can set up camp in this alternate reality for a long time…

The Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard

The Red Queen is set in a world with two castes of people–the “Reds” who are essentially the lowly humans, and the “Silvers,” whose silver blood awards them supernatural abilities. The protagonist, Mare Barrow is the “regular” girl turned super hero we all dream of becoming. After tragedy strikes her already suffering family, Mare is forced to take up a position at the Silver palace. It is here, that she, and those around her, discover that she is more than she appears to be. Mare does some pretty bad-ass fighting, takes a stand for the little guy, and falls in love a time or two. It’s a fun read, and a great escape, and sends an important message about the dangers of divisiveness that is pretty perfect for our current moment.

The Watchmaker’s Daughter

The Watchmaker’s Daughter because it was different than most other fantasy novels I’ve read recently. The protagonist, India Steele, is the daughter of a watchmaker who dies unexpectedly, leaving his business to her two-faced fiancée instead of his own daughter. Desperate for work, India finds a job as the “assistant” to an American stranger–one who ends up having a very special watch that’ he is in urgent need of fixing. There’s a lot of mystery, a bit of magic, and a great romance, all set against a historical backdrop that will make you feel like you’ve been sent back in time. I listened to this one on audio, and highly recommend that format as well.

Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi

I read Children of Blood and Bone at the prompting of one of my students last year, and I am so glad I did. The book takes place in a divided world, where the reigning powers have suppressed the magic of the maji: white haired diviners who once wielded incredible power. The protagonist–Zélie–“accidentally” embarks upon a quest to restore power to the maji when she happens upon the young princess when trading in town. The story is full of shifting allegiances, and some pretty great plot twists, in which a few of the characters learn that power can be easily abused, and that the two castes of society who have grown to hate each other so much, might not be as different as they once thought. All the drama and intrigue, along with a subtle theme concerning the way in which violence and revenge will only ever breed more violence and revenge, as well as a diverse cast of characters, make this book a must-read for both teens and adults.

Adult Books

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

Gah, what do I even say about this book? The Night Circus is unique, and complex, and completely engrossing. It follows the story of a group of magicians who set up a “circus” in the late 1800s. Two of the most preeminent magicians are life-long rivals, and each find a protegee to use as a tool in their competition with one another.

As the night circus evolves and the protegees grow up, their talents, and the magic of the circus becomes darker and more complex. Relationships get tricky, tragedy strikes, and the two young competitors find a surprising connection in one another.

This book was surprising at every turn, beautifully written, and incredibly fresh. A great read for lovers of the fantasy genre, and a perfect introduction to those who want to test the waters for the first time.

A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches is a truly wonderful book. It follows the story of a witch (Diana) who would rather distance herself from her growing powers, and a vampire (Matthew) who is both drawn to her, and wary of the power she seems to possess.

When Diana stumbles upon an ancient book in the library, she sets in motion a chain of events that will turn her world upside down. The story follows Diana and Matthew as they travel back in time in search of answers about what kind of power the book really contains, as well as the secrets Diana’s family hid from her for so long. A great strong, smart female protagonist, and a thrilling love story, make this one of my most favorite fantasy books of all time.

The Vine Witch – Luanne Smith

Witches, romance, France and wine. What could be better? The Vine Witch’s unique take on the world of witchcraft transports readers to a vineyard in France, where a witch named Elena is just emerging from a 7-year curse. She returns to her home amongst the vines in order to reclaim what was once hers, and take revenge on the fiancée she thinks cast the spell on her in the first place. The characters in this novel are interesting and complex, and the setting will entrance you. I was delightfully surprised by both the romance, and a few of the plot twists, and very much enjoyed reading this one with a glass of red by my side.

Children’s Books

Flotsam – David Wiesner

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. It’s a wordless picture book about a little boy who finds a camera on the beach. He takes the film in to get developed, and the pictures that are returned to him are a little more than surprising. It turns out that this lucky boy is one of a chain of children who have discovered the camera and have thus become privy to the secrets of some pretty amazing underwater creatures. This book will make your imagination run wild, and your heart feel full of the wonder of childhood.

Uni The Unicorn – Amy Rosenthal

Uni The Unicorn is a very cute story about a world where unicorns rule, and children are the real “mythical creatures.” Uni is a one-of-a-kind unicorn who ends up finding the little girl he has been waiting for, and who has also been waiting for him.

The Paper Bag Princess – Robert Munsch

The Paper Bag Princess is a great book for little girls, as it tells the story of a beautiful princess who is also intelligent and brave enough to outsmart the dragon who destroyed her home, and stole her “true love.” After the princess succeeds in her quest, she discovers that her prince doesn’t quite live up to her standards, and ends up deciding to move on to bigger and better things.

The Not Quite Narwhal – Jessie Sima

Not Quite Narwhal""” target=”_blank”>The Not Quite Narwhal tells the story of a little “narwhal” named Kelp who adventures across the ocean, only to learn that he is not, in fact, a narwhal at all. Kelp spends some time debating whether he should continue to live as an “imposter” narwhal, or join the unicorns he seems to have more in common with. In the end, he learns that you don’t have to be the same to fit in, and that our choices don’t always have to be so black and white.

My Father’s Dragon

This wonderfully whimsical story brought as much joy to me in adulthood as it did when I was a child. The story follows Elmer and his alley cat friend as they travel to the island of Tangerina. Here, they survive on tangerines and outsmart a crew of crocodiles in order to save an imprisoned baby dragon. It is a lovely read-aloud that will keep your kids hooked for nights on end, and is sure to make the whole family smile.

Honorable Mentions and The Classics:

What My Kids Are Reading: The Paper Flower Tree

The summer before sixth grade, I was still pretty hopeful that my letter to Hogwarts was coming in the mail. I knew that my older brother probably wasn’t a wizard, or he would’ve been able to “magic” himself out of all the trouble he got into. My little brother might have been a wizard, but only because he had glasses, and a neighborhood kid had once told him he looked like Harry Potter. If anyone in the family really deserved to be a witch—really had the potential for magic—it was me.

When the first day of sixth grade arrived and I had not, in fact, received a visit from Hagrid, or an owl from Dumbledore, I wouldn’t say I was crushed. In my heart of hearts, I knew that none of it was real. In fact, at that point in time, I had already met J.K. Rowling herself (and yes, I am no longer the fan of hers I once was), and I knew for a fact that she was a mere mortal like myself. I knew that she had created the fantasy land where lonely, forgotten children were suddenly transported into a world of adventure, danger, and heroism, out of the depths of her very human, albeit extraordinary, imagination, and that I was going to have to continue to muddle through muggle school for another 7 years.

Yet in spite of this fact, I had still held on to a shred of hope—even up to that last look back at our mailbox as I hopped in the car. I refused to stop believing because even when we know that something is fake, or a fantasy, or a figment of your own, or someone else’s imagination, the idea of it can still liven up our lives a little bit, and infuse whimsy, wonder and magic into the sometimes mundane business of the everyday.

As I grew up, I didn’t always allow myself to suspend disbelief in this way. By the time I reached high school, I still loved to escape into books, but I also started learning how to mask my sensitivity and insecurity with sarcasm and cynicism. By the time I was an adult, I had practiced myself into a pretty negative outlook on life—always more certain that the worst would happen, than hopeful for the best.

Becoming a parent made me reflect on a lot of things, the most significant of which was my own perspective on the world, and the way I express that to others—both intentionally, and not. When I think of the character traits I want to gift my daughter, cynicism and negativity definitely don’t make list. Instead, I would love to show her that even grown-ups can be happy, hopeful, dreamers, who still believe that their wildest dreams are possible. I would love for my daughter to hold on to her sense of wonder and imagination, and to always see the world as a magical place, even when it tries to prove itself otherwise.  

The Paper Flower Tree by Jacqueline Ayer is a story about a girl named Miss Moon who refuses to see the world through anything other than rose-colored glasses. When a travelling caravan of artists, magicians and musicians comes to town, Miss Moon is enthralled by one old man’s “paper flower tree.” The old man offers to sell her a paper flower, but she can’t afford it, so he ends up gifting her one of the smallest flowers—one with a “seed” (or bead) inside that he tells her she can plant. “Plant it,” he says. “and perhaps it will grow. I make no promises. Perhaps it will grow. Perhaps it will not.”

Miss Moon plants the flower and waits all year for it to grow. Her friends and neighbors tell her she is wasting her time—that she was swindled and lied to. But Miss Moon can’t forget how beautiful the paper flower tree was, and she continues to believe. Eventually, the old man returns with his caravan of travelling entertainers, and Miss Moon confronts him about her tree (or lack thereof).

The old man repeats what he had told her before, and Miss Moon heads off, seemingly undeterred, to enjoy the festivities. In the morning, lo and behold, a paper flower tree has grown in her backyard. When Miss Moon’s neighbors once again attempt to convince her that she’s been tricked, Miss Moon continues to ignore them. “The didn’t think her tree was real. She knew it was. She was as happy as a little girl could be.”

Honestly, this book (written for children, of course) blew my mind. So many of us (myself included) ARE those cynical neighbors. When people share their wildest hopes and dreams, and we find them too wild, or weird, or unrealistic, we cut them down, tell them it’s impossible, and perhaps even laugh and their “ignorance” of the way the world really works.

While I may be “right” in taking such a position, reading this book made me wonder: what’s the point in refusing to believe?

Why dwell on the fact that people sometimes want to trick and manipulate us? Or the reality that life tends to be composed of more moments of suffering than sunshine? Or the truth that magic, most likely isn’t real, and we’ll be stuck adhering to the oh-so limiting laws of nature for the rest of our tragically short lives? NO POINT AT ALL, that’s what.

In this story, Miss Moon refuses to give in to the negativity of those around her, or to stop believing in the possibility of magic. The travelling salesman, no doubt, sees this most enviable quality in her, and the strength of her belief inspires him to play into it—to make it “real” for her.

When my daughter was almost three years old, we saw Santa at the mall. She gleefully sat on his lap, asked for an Elsa doll, and told him that yes, Rudolf was her favorite reindeer. When we left, I held her hand, and asked if she enjoyed meeting Santa.

“Yes,” she said, somewhat matter-of-factly, “but he’s just pretend.”

Needless to say, I was shocked. When I reflected on it later, I remembered that we had visited Disneyland about a month prior to meeting Santa, and had spent the day talking about how the “scarier” characters (like Chewbacca and the Queen of Hearts) were “just pretend,” so her application of that truth to the Santa scenario wasn’t too surprising. But it definitely crushed me a little. I remember not really knowing what to say, and definitely not wanting to lie, so I told her the truth: yes, Santa was pretend.

But I also told her that, sometimes, we like to pretend that pretend things are real, because it makes life a little more fun, and exciting and magical. She nodded, and seemed to understand, and asked if I was going to buy her the Elsa doll for Christmas.

This year, Margot seems to be pretty excited for Santa to come. And, if she had any inkling that the woman who played Elsa at her birthday party wasn’t the real Elsa, she never let on. I’m not sure if she remembers our experience at the mall, or if she’s just becoming less literal in her middle-toddlerhood, but either way, I’m happy about it.

Whether we know in our hearts that the magic is real or not doesn’t really matter. It’s when we allow ourselves to believe—even when it’s crazy, or stupid, or a little bit weird—that we can create a more magical world for ourselves, and start really living again, in the possibility-filled reality so many of us left behind in childhood.

So, in short, keep dreaming, and imagining, and stop worrying about what your neighbors think. You’ll be the one with a paper flower tree in the end.

The Book: Click to Purchase

What My Kids Are Reading: The Moon Keeper

Over the past week or so, I haven’t been feeling my best. I had stopped reading the news, or watching TV, or looking at anything other than books and my real-life friends’ accounts on social media. The internet had begun to feel like a toxic place, and I knew I needed a break in order to protect my heart, and my physical well-being. But, with the election quickly approaching, and social unrest continuing to simmer in my own community, and around the country, I felt like it was time to re-engage.

And guess what? It was worse than I thought it would be. But this time, instead of feeling scared, and sad, and anxious (all of which I had been feeling earlier in the summer), I got mad. Really mad.

I feel like anger, especially in women, is often viewed as a very undesirable emotion. It’s something we all feel, but no one really wants to talk about or acknowledge. It feels messy, and sometimes inappropriate: as if it’s a feeling we should have all outgrown in childhood.

So last week, I didn’t really share with anyone just how angry I was. Or, for that matter, what I was angry about.

But the thing about anger, for me at least, is that it tends to fester when left unexpressed. My husband has the enviable ability to notice his feelings (even those of anger), quietly process them, and then let them go. (Is he human? I’m still not sure.) But for me, the letting go part usually only happens after I allow myself to put words to my feelings.

In the first draft of this post, I laid all of my feelings bare. And then I went back and deleted them.

While I have been mad about a lot of things that are legitimately maddening, worrisome, and hurtful, they are also all things that are in no way under my control. As much as I would like to, I can not change many of the problems we are continuing to experience across the country, and within my own community. But even though I know I can’t control them, I still have trouble letting them go, and I have found myself allowing all of these uncontrollable triggers and the anger they elicit in me take up WAY too much room in my mind, and in my heart. Room that should be filed with love for my children and gratitude that I get to be home with them every day during this wildly uncertain time.

Last weekend, my brother-in-law and his soon-to-be wife came to visit, and left us with a few new children’s books, which I’m sure they realized would be a gift for Margot, but also a gift for me.

One of those books is called “The Moon Keeper” by Zosienka, which is absolutely lovely and conveys a message that is so incredibly timely for me, and possibly for some of you as well.

The book is about a bear (at least, I think he’s a bear?), named Emile, who has been assigned the job of “moon keeper” by the council of night creatures.

He takes his job very seriously, and diligently watches the moon from his perch on a tree branch every night. One night, Emile is alarmed to notice that the moon appears to be shrinking. He calls on many of his friends for advice, but none of them seem to know how to help. Eventually, a bird comes along and listens to Emile’s concerns. In response, the bird flies away, and then back again, and tells Emile, simply, “Things come and go—you’ll see.”

Things come and go. They do. Always. In September of 2020, it feels like “things” are sticking around longer than any of us would like, but, eventually, they will go. Politicians will leave office, and new ones will take their place (likely providing us with a new set of things to be mad about). People will continue to come together against hate and ignorance, and, I truly believe, my faith in humanity, and my neighbors, will be restored. People will hear the stories teachers have to tell this year, and maybe our society will begin to take a long hard look at the ways in which educators are treated and regarded, and the impact that treatment has on the education and moral development of our kids. The pandemic will end, and maybe it will come back again, but it will always ebb and flow. And I think now, finally, I am beginning to understand that my anger will do the same as well.

I am allowed to feel mad, just like I am allowed to feel joyful, or sad, or overwhelmed, or confused. But I can’t let my anger linger, in a state as perpetually full as Emile wants his new moon to be. While I won’t compromise my beliefs, or what I know is right, there are many things I have to let go of. I have to let my feelings wane, while also being prepared for when they resurface again, as they surly will.

So, on this lovely Sunday night during this beautiful season of waning summer and waxing fall, I hope you all take a moment to remember that whatever your struggle is right now, it will eventually, and probably slowly, become less and less. And even though a new problem will inevitably arise, each journey through the cycle helps make us strong enough to weather the next. Sending strength to anyone who needs it, and hugs to all. And, most importantly, happy reading!

The Book: Click To Purchase

Where to next?