A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony

A Spell for Chameleon is the first of the Xanth books. There are currently 41 books with 42 and 43 scheduled for publication. In the land of Xanth, all people are born with a magical talents that they have to perform at some point to stay in the land of Xanth, otherwise they are banished to Mundania (our world). Some of these talents are ordinary like making a spot appear on the wall, others are magician caliber. Bink has magician level magic, unfortunately he has no idea what it is therefore he cannot manifest it. He is thrown out of Xanth where he meets the “Evil” Magician Trent who was thrown out of Xanth years ago. He is trying to get back into Xanth and decides to use Bink to do so. And by the end, it is Bink and his mysterious talent that will indeed save the day. A great introduction to a wonderful world.

The Wolf's Children by Amanda Kuhs

Duncan Faolchú, Earl of Grayscale is unsure what to do when a young boy with extrodinary talents is thrust upon him. But then Duncan is not ordinary himself, being the Alpha Wolf of the Seelie Court with connections to two royal houses. When he is called upon by the King and Queen of Spring to find their runaway youngest daughter, Duncan is plunged into a mystery that has spanned the centuries and has influence upon his own life. Then there is the possible romance with the King and Queen oldest daughter…
This book is available on both Nook and Kindle.

The Argonautica by Apollonius

Strictly speaking the Argonautica is a myth and not a fantasy. The ancient Greeks believed that the events detailed in this ancient epic actually happened in that time before time when gods and monsters stalked the earth. It is here that the complete story of the Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece is detailed. It tells of his relationship with the priestess Medea and how she helped him win the Golden Fleece away from the King of Colchis. The story is fragmented in parts, but interesting in its entirety, as long as you take it in the spirit of which it was written. Worth a study when reading ancient mythology.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003)

Sabrina was based on the Archie comic about the same title character. It tells the story of Sabrina Spellman, a teenager who finds out that she has magical powers. She lives with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda because it is implied in the series that her warlock dad is off doing warlock things and she can’t currently live with her mortal mom without killing her until she gets her powers under control. There is also Salem, a warlock being punished for trying to take over the world, who is currently a cat. (Hilda joined in his revolution. Her punishment is that she has to take care of Salem.) The series involves Sabrina’s attempts to get control of her powers and have a normal teenage life along with her boyfriend, Harvey, her arch nemesis Libby and her various friends.

One of my favorite episodes is Troll Bride where a troll that helped Sabrina find her math book claims her as his bride. Harvey then has to rescue Sabrina in a fairy tale sort of way to bring her back to the mortal world.

The Borrowers

The Borrowers was written in 1952 by Mary Norton. It tells the story of Arrietty Clock, a miniature “borrower” who along with her family borrow items from the “human beans” so that their family can survive. They live under the floorboards of near the clock, thus their name. When Arrietty is “seen” by the Boy. They actually start up a friendship, but the evil cook decides to get rid of the borrowers by fumigating the house, the Clocks manage to escape and have many more adventures.

The Borrowers (1997)

When the Lender family move into their aunt’s home they find that it appears that she didn’t leave a proper will behind. Her lawyer, Mr. Potter, wants to demolish the house and tells that they have until Sunday to move away. Pete Lender has struck up a friendship with Arrietty Clock and tells them that they will have to move as well. Arietty and her brother PeaGreen fall out of their transport and go back to the house finding out that Potter lied about the will. They then start on a quest to retrieve the will and get the house back to the Lenders and the Clocks. This was one of my favorite movies growing up.

A fun fact, three of the actors in the Borrowers went on to play characters in the Harry Potter franchise: Jim Broadbent, Tom Felton, and Mark Williams. 

Darkwing Duck (1991-1992)

Darkwing Duck is an egotistical superhero who protects St. Canard from the strange and bizarre criminals that haunt it. He does this with the help of Lauchpad McQuack (a crossover with DuckTales) and Gosalyn, his adopted daughter. The story is a good one that plays not only on Disney’s genius at making humanoid animals, but also the idea of superheroes and super villains. He is the terror that flaps in the night!

Neverland

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrrie

Peter Pan first appeared as a character in 1902. This is the boy that will never grow up. He lives in a magical place called Neverland with pirates, mermaids, and fairies. One day he takes a normal girl, Wendy and her two brothers to live with them so that they too can experience the joy of never growing up. But the Darlings decide to return to the real world, leaving Peter Pan alone.

Peter Pan (1953)

Disney’s foray into the classic tale; it is actually fairly close adaptation of Barrie’s original story. One thing I love is the ending where Mr. Darling says he remembers seeing Hook’s ship before.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

An origin story of Peter Pan and the first of the Starcatcher series. In it Peter discovers extraterrestrial gold “star stuff”. It is this that gives him the ability to fly and keeps him a child. He has to keep it out of the hands of nefarious people who would use the star stuff for their own personal gain. It is really a charming series.

Peter Pan (2003)

Following the plot of the play a little more, Peter in this version is displayed as a sort of demigod of Neverland. When he is away from Neverland everything becomes cold and wintery. He is also able to get people to magically say they believe in fairies when Tinker Bell lies dying. (In the original play this is accomplished by Peter breaking the fourth wall and asking the audience to clap if they believe in fairies). A good adaptation of the original story.

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine

One of the many authored Disney Fairies of Pixie Hollow books, Levine introduces us to Prilla. As a fairy she seems to be a failure, acting more like a human than any proper fairy should. But Prilla does have a Talent that only she possesses and when Mother Dove is threatened, it is Prilla who has the power to save the day.

Hook (1991)

This movie brings up an interesting concept, where Peter has grown up and doesn’t remember who he is. When Hook kidnaps his children, Peter is forced to go back to Neverland and reclaim his legend in order to save them. Robin Williams plays Peter to perfection.

Neverland (2011)

Another origin story. Peter is an orphan in the back streets of London. He thieves for his mentor James Hook. When they magically get transported to Neverland, Peter suddenly has to decide who he can really trust in this strange new world.