Magic. Isn’t it just the best?
It just makes everything better. Bigger. Brighter. Faster. More sparkly.
Can you imagine a world with just a little bit of magic sprinkled on top, what an incredible place that would be?

It’s therefore no surprise that the whole team at LoveReading4Kids are big fans of magical reads. Books that possess or use magic or feature characters with supernatural powers. Ever since I watched the Peter Pan film and read The Worst Witch when I was five I have been bewitched by magic.

Well, here we have a batch of brilliant books that deserve to be future classics. An awesome foursome. Books that we think will stand the test of time. Books that we believe will still be charming our middle grade readers for years and years to come. A quartet of terrific titles that merit being in every school library and in the reading corner of every key stage two classroom.

In Saving Neverland, the reimagining of the classic story of Peter Pan could not have been in safer hands than with the multi-award-winning Abi Elphinstone.

Wild magical adventures with real heart and a strong moral compass are her forté and she has crafted a wondrous tale.

Martha Pennyworth and her younger brother Scruff have come to live in 14 Darlington Road, which once belonged to the Darling family, and discover the permanently open window and mysterious golden dust in a drawer.

Enticed to save Neverland from an icy curse cast upon it by Captain Hook, Martha is only one of a fantastic cast of well-rounded and believable new characters, including new Lost Kids and a much more likeable new Fairy called Muddle. In Neverland she must battle frostbears, icesharks and snowtigers before a thrilling showdown with the truly dreadful pirates. The peril feels genuine and the bravery immense. Adventure laced with magic powered by genuine emotion, this is thrilling, heartwarming and utterly enthralling. A triumph!

From Maria Kuzniar, the acclaimed writer of Ship of Shadows comes a brand-new fantasy following the magical journey of one girl and her bear. The Girl Who Dreamed in Magic is an enchanting magical adventure and I could not put it down. In a land of ice and stars, where constant troll invasions threaten to shake the moon from the sky, lives a girl with a magical destiny. A girl braver than a Viking, who will one day hold the fate of the North in her hands. That girl is Saga Thorolfsdottir.

But there's just one problem: ever since her parents died wielding powerful runes, Saga has been deathly afraid of magic.

 She would much rather stay within the safety of       her village and play with her pet bear, Bjørn, than     pursue any kind of magical destiny.

So when Saga accidentally disturbs a clan of trolls in the mountains, leading to her whole village being taken prisoner, she has to face her fears head on. No amount of rune magic will defeat these monsters, and Saga has only one option - to compete in the Fifth Winter contest, an incredible tournament where only the bravest may enter and only one champion can win. The prize? A horn of magic, powerful enough to rattle the gods themselves . . .

In Lights Up you will find a magical, theatrical adventure about friendship, acceptance and putting the ghosts of the past to rest, from the award-winning author of The Secret of Haven Point. 

Richly atmospheric, Lisette Auton’s Lights Up is a fine novel for readers who like meaty magical adventures. Boasting a unique blend of theatre, arachnids, and family connections through time, it explores love, loss, friendship and putting past ghosts to bed through thoroughly engaging, well-formed characters whose journeys linger long in the heart.   

Lights Up begins in classic style, “Way Back When”, in 1767, when two sisters ask Mam to “Tell us about the spiders’ diamond that lets you say goodbye to the dead!” In reality, Araine is alone in the world.  

Skip forward to 1878, and we meet Jack, who’s bursting with anticipation before visiting the Machiavelli Empire theatre. Turns out, Harus and Ariane Machiavelli have been waiting for Jack and he’s invited backstage…

Meanwhile, a third present-day narrative features Hettie Lightfoot, whose grandad was Artistic Director of the Free Spirits theatre. Now both are gone, with a new theatre building standing in place of the former, and Grandad still very much in Hettie’s heart. Everything changes when she finds a letter to her from a certain Jack Redwood: “We are the only ones who understand the fire burning deep in your heart. If you want to see your grandad for one final time, come to our theatre”.

As connections between the characters come to light, emotional truths around loss and grief, love and friendship are subtly unveiled, making Lights Up a magical novel that’s also illuminating on handling raw real-life situations.

A magical story full of ghosts, theatre, love, friendship and family from disabled writer, activist, spoken word artist and theatre maker Lisette Auton.

Welsh wonder, crazy weather, and a chaos-creating giant — this third Last Firefox novel is a sparky nugget of magical Middle Grade fiction in The Lost Sunlion.

When out-of-control weather brings danger to his home town, Charlie Challinor suspects that more than climate change might be to blame. Heading back to Fargone with Cadno the firefox, Lippy and Roo, Charlie discovers the magical realm is also in dire peril.

The sinister giant Gawr has stolen the Cariad, the Heart of Fargone, mixing up the world's magic and plunging the land into chaos. With the Cariad's ancient guardian, the sunlion Llew, missing in action, only Charlie and his friends can save the day - but at what cost . . . ?

Serving a moreish feast of magical adventure and courageous characters at one shadowdragon-y swoop, The Lost Sunlion is a cwtch of a book (that’s Welsh for a hug that feels like home). It also delivers brilliant dialogue that’s often funny, and always engagingly authentic, with Laura Catalan’s illustrations further amplifying the story’s characterful charm.

We hope that these four books enchant you and put you and your children in as much of a magical spell as they have done us. 

Head over to our competitions page for your chance to win this awesome foursome. Why not increase your chances of winning by encouraging your school community to enter for you?

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Click on the books below to read our expert reviews, download an extract or add the books to your basket, knowing that with every purchase on LoveReading4Kids a school close to your heart benefits.