If you'd like to know more about how Muggles perceive the world of magic, just take a glance at Madam Pince's card catalog below in order to find a book you'd like to read. Books marked with one asterisk* are recommended for readers aged 13 and up. Book titles without an asterisk are suitable for first-years and even for siblings as young as 9 years of age. Restricted Section books are reserved for faculty, staff, alumni, and upper classmen only. However, there's no harm in checking out the Restricted Section card catalog!

     Madam Pince is planning to expand the Muggle Studies section, and she is currently accepting recommendations for other books about magic written for the Muggle world. The Muggles Studies professor is assisting her by asking students to submit recommended titles, along with the author's name and a sentence or two about the book.  Please feel free to submit your unrestricted recommendation here:
 

   Recommendations for Restricted Section fantasy fiction written for Muggles should be made here.

Artemis Fowl*
by Eoin Colfer

     Artemis Fowl knows things, things perhaps he shouldn't. He knows about the existence of a hidden civilization of fairies. He knows about the the Book that details their secrets. And he knows how to make use of this knowledge for his own financial gain. But for once, his opponent may be as ruthless and clever as he is, and his own life may be on the line. And all this, at the tender young age of twelve!
     Colfer's exciting, witty new addition to the fantasy genre turns the battle between light and dark on its head, replacing the traditional hero with a shrewd, selfish anti-hero who nevertheless wins us over.

The BFG
and other titles by Roald Dahl

     When a giant kidnaps Sophie from her orphanage, she learns about the Big Friendly Giant (BFG) who makes children's dreams sweeter. But nine other giants living nearby aren't quite as friendly, so Sophie begins to devise a plan to get rid of them. With the BFG's help, Sophie insinuates herself into both the dreams and the home of none other than the Queen of England in order to convince the monarch to enlist in her cause. 
     Dahl's imaginative plot and inventive wordplay make this, like many of his other stories, an charming and enduring classic.

The Bad Beginning
by  Lemony Snicket

     The Baudelaire children have lost their parents and their home to a fire, but this is just the beginning of their bad luck. When they are forced to live with their sinister Count Olaf, they must use their own special talents -- reading, invention, and biting very, very hard --  to preserve their family fortune, their liberty, and their lives.
     Lemony Snicket promises a tale of an apparently endless curse of bad luck, and he delivers it with style, humor, suspense, incessant apologies for the gloominess of his own topic, and the occasional well-integrated "vocabulary lesson."

The Blue Sword*
by Robin McKinley

     An orphan girl named Harry moves to a distant land and comes to know the magical inhabitants of the hills on much more familiar terms than she ever would have predicted. But though she easily adapts to their customs, her allegiance remains divided. When the king calls her to battle, she must decide whether to follow him or her instincts, with the future or the Hill people, and of Harry's own heart, hanging in the balance.
     As McKinley slowly unwinds her tale, she reveals exotic landscapes and fiercely noble characters that increasingly stimulate the readers' fascination.

The Boggart
and other titles by Susan Cooper

     A mischievous spirit locked unwittingly in a desk travels from his quiet home in a dilapidated Scottish castle to the bustling city of Toronto. When he begins to explore his new home and experiment with technology he's never seen before, complications arise for his Canadian host family. 
     An experienced fantasy writer, Cooper once again succeeds at blending myth with reality in this story of two worlds, and two ages, colliding..

The Book of Enchantments
and other titles by Patricia C. Wrede

    When a mysterious stranger appears and asks for help, an old man agrees to enter the ruins of an enchanted castle which has been the site of many a person's death. A wizard creates a powerful weapon known as the frying pan of doom, and local knights compete in a cooking contest to prove their worth. 
    Wrede's book of magical short stories includes a wistful tale of an enchantment gone wrong, a playful parody of a chivalric tournament, and everything in between.

The Book of Three
and other titles from The Chronicles of Prydain
by Lloyd Alexander

    Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran wants nothing more than to become a hero. But when his homeland and his way of life are threatened by the forces of evil, his heroism is put to the test. 
    Alexander's elegant prose, his cast of unusual characters, and an exciting plot bring the myths of ancient Wales to life in this absorbing fantasy series about a boy learning to become a man.

Charmed Life
 and other titles in the Chronicles of Chrestomanci
by Diana Wynne Jones

When two orphaned children, Cat and Gwendolyn, go to live with the great enchanter Chrestomanci in his enchanted castle, Gwendolyn makes trouble for  everybody with her magic experiments. 
Jones' quirky tale of how, and, more importantly, how not, to use power, is original, suspenseful and funny.
 

Curses, Inc. and Other Stories*
by Vivian Vande Velde

     A boy seeking vengeance discovers a web site run by a witch who will place a hex, jinx, or curse on enemies for a cost, but that cost may not be what it seems. A young man with amnesia wanders alone in search of his lost identity, only to discover that his predicament is partly of his own doing.

Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine

    A child that always obeys her parents might be considered a blessing to some, but Ella thinks that the spell that compels her to obey all her parents' commands, as well as everyone else's, is a curse. But to release herself from the curse's grip, she'll have to find freedom on her own terms first. 
     Taking inspiration from the story of Cinderella, Levine's tautly written fantasy about a feisty girl on her way to womanhood is spell-binding.

Firegold*
by Dia Calhoun

     When Jonathon learns about a legendary people with magical powers and seemingly barbarous ways, it literally propels him headfirst into a quest for truth, self-knowledge, and social identity. This angst-ridden and subtly sensual novel about a young man's arduous passage into adulthood marks Calhoun's début as a fantasy writer.

The Golden Compass*
and other titles from His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman

    After Lyra and her daemon companion witness a murder in an other-worldly Oxford University, they join a quest to save the children of her world with the help of a golden compass and a band of outcasts. And though the witches see greatness in her future, she is also destined to betray someone dear to her.
     Pullman's smooth prose and indomitable heroine make the first book of his philosophical trilogy about creation and destruction a winner.

Half Magic
and other titles by Edward Eager

    Shortly after Jane finds an ancient coin, strange things begin to occur to her and her family. But things only get stranger when she and her siblings finally come to understand the power of the coin which grants only half of each wish, and decide to test it out for themselves. This charming fantasy is loaded with humorous mishaps that keep the reader laughing, and reading.

The Hobbit*
and titles from The Lord of the Rings trilogy
by J. R. R. Tolkien

    Bilbo Baggins is fond of his creature comforts and aspires to nothing more than relaxing with his pipe by the fire. Nevertheless, when Gandalf the wizard selects him to join a party of rowdy dwarves on a dangerous quest, Bilbo reluctantly agrees. Tolkien creates a completely believable universe in this classic epic which takes the reader on a fantasy adventure from which he won't want to return.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
and other titles from The Chronicles of Narnia
by C. S. Lewis

     When Lucy claims she's discovered another world, her siblings think she's gone crazy. Soon the others discover the world of Narnia, but Edmund's refusal to cooperate with his sister leads him into the arms of a evil sorceress who holds all of Narnia in her grasp. Lewis' allegorical tale of sin and redemption is a classic fantasy about magic gone wrong and deeper magic that makes everything right.

The Merlin Effect*
and other titles by T. A. Barron

    While on an expedition with her father off the coast of Baja, California, Kate is drawn into Arthurian myth and a magic whirlpool as she tries to save her companions. As Kate delves deeper into a magical underwater realm, she discovers powers both in the world around her and within herself that she never knew existed. Barron plausibly combines sci-fi with ancient legend in this exciting, fast paced fantasy.

Midnight Magic
and other titles by Avi

    Is it magic or an illusion? That's what the young magician's apprentice, and everyone else, wants to know. Unfortunately for all, the answer isn't as simple as it seems, and the magician and his apprentice must explore a maze of corridors, plots, and lies to unravel the mystery.
    Avi's lively dialog and clever plot create a spine- tingling story that combines history, suspense and fantasy in a playfully ambiguous way.

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster

Poor Milo is simply bored, bored, bored. But when a tollbooth magically appears in his bedroom, he undertakes a quirky adventure through a philosophical realm that is anything but boring. 
     Juster's clever use of wordplay and his amusing and maddening allegorical figures result in a uniquely philosophical, satirical, and humorous look at life and learning.

Redwall
and other titles in the Redwall Series
by Brian Jacques

    The famed warrior Martin the mouse is history, but when Redwall Abbey is attacked by Cluny the Scourge and his hordes, young Matthias must summon all his wits and courage to solve the secret of Martin's lost sword and save Redwall. Jacques' engaging tale of forest creatures battling despicable rats and a deadly snake is swashbuckling fun.

The Secret of Platform 13
and other titles by Eva Ibbotson

   When the prince of a magical island is kidnapped and taken to the non-magical world, the royal family sends an elderly wizard, a friendly ogre, a fey with a green thumb, and an adolescent hag to the rescue. 
     Ibbotson's light-hearted style provides the perfect backdrop for this magical story of an unexpectedly spunky and original heroine.

So You Want To Be a Wizard*
and other titles by Diane Duane

    When Nita seeks refuge from a bully in the library, she happens upon a book on wizardry written just for her. With her wizard friend Kit and a collapsed star named Fred, she discovers an alternate universe and ends up facing the biggest bully of all. 
     Duane's rapid pacing and challenging lexicon result in a compelling sci-fi story that keeps the reader glued to his seat.

 Well Wished
by Franny Billingsley

     Nuria is convinced that she can create a foolproof wish, but she is thwarted by the magical wishing well that misinterprets her. 
     In Billingsley's mesmerizing tale of a town full of interconnected but lonely citizens whose hopeful desires often result in doom, images are both haunting and beautiful, characters both helpless and strong.

A Wrinkle in Time*
and other titles by Madeleine L'Engle

    With the help of several friends from this world and from other worlds, Meg and Charles travel through space and time in search of their missing scientist father. 
    This fascinating science-fiction fantasy established itself as the new model for children's sci-fi literature when it was first published in the 1960's, and it still continues to captivate readers today.

    Three children stumble upon a princess sleeping in an enchanted garden only to discover she's not a princess at all. Much to their surprise, and hers as well, her make-believe magic somehow begins to work. As this classic fantasy novel nears its 100th anniversary, it continues to win fans and admirers who find Nesbit's storytelling as appealing as ever.

    Goblins living beneath a castle threaten to kidnap a young princess. But with the help of a young coal miner and a magical great-grandmother, the princess escapes the goblins and saves her home. Though originally published in England more than a century ago, this classic fairy tale still appeals to readers of all ages.