Beyond Narnia @ the Amherst Public Library

Yalsa, the young adult component of the American Library Association, has come up with a booklist for those teens looking for something beyond Narnia. With the movie bringing a new generation of readers to the classic series “Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis kids are looking for more literary journeys that go beyond the wardrobe. While the Yalsa list is nice I think they left off some great books and the fantasy series list had already been done.

Here’s books I would suggest if you stopped at my desk at the
Amherst Public Library:

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
-by Holly Black
Kaye is a sixteen year old modern nomad of sorts who knows life on the road as she travels from city to city with her mother’s rock band. Having a mother who is a rocker can be one thing, but when Kaye if forced to return to her blue-collar roots she soon finds herself involved in a struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms that puts her world, no her life, in peril. We have three copies of this book that we can’t keep on the shelf! Look for the sequel, Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
-by Lewis Carroll
What better Narnia follow-up than exploring this classic that should be on every library shelf. Written well before Narnia was even conceived, Alice was a girl ahead of her time. Take another look at Alice as she experiences a strange world that includes a violent queen, and a hookah-smoking caterpillar.

Inkheart
-by Cornelia Funke
I love a book with German roots and any book that has within it a reference to libraries or books. Score double points with this offering by a German author that introduces Meggie, a young loner who leads a quiet life with her father, a book-binder. But when a sinister stranger arrives one day, a long lost secret in her father’s past pits Meggie in a game that has her playing for her life. Don’t miss the next installment, Inkspell.

Faerie Wars
-by Herbie Brennan
I like any kid who is willing to help clean. That’s why I was drawn to Henry Atherton who agrees to help out old Mr. Fogarty clean out his house. But when Henry finds more than just your common dust and clutter he enlists the help of his sister to help him on his journey to return a member of royalty to his proper home. Hey, they time travel with the use of trapped lightening. How cool is that.

Other books to check out:
Half-Magic
-by Edward Eager
They recently printed a special 50 year anniversary edition of this classic.

A Wrinkle in Time
-by Madeleine L’Engle
There was a wrinkle in the time continuum long before Star Trek made one famous.

Summerland
-by Michael Chabon
Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy. The four alternate worlds include the Winterland, the Summerland, the Midling (Earth) and the Gleaming. If the fact that baseball has become a hang up, now Ethan must travel through time to look for his kidnapped father.