There exists no finer joy than sharing a beloved story with someone dear to you—save, perhaps, for discovering such a story together for the very first time. We have observed, with considerable delight, that the reading of fantasy novels between mothers and daughters has become rather the thing, and we cannot help but applaud this most civilized practice.
For what is fantasy, after all, but an invitation to believe in impossible things? And who better to accept such an invitation than two hearts bound by love, curled up with a book between them?
We have assembled here a collection of wholesome fantasy books—cozy, enchanting, and entirely suitable for sharing across generations. Each possesses that rare quality of being equally delightful to the reader of fourteen as to the reader of forty. They are the sort of books one reads aloud in the evening, or passes back and forth with eager questions: “Have you reached the part where—?” followed by a hasty “No, no, don’t tell me!”
Let us proceed, then, to the recommendations.
1. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
We begin with a masterwork of wit and wonder. Sophie Hatter, eldest of three sisters and therefore doomed (by fairy tale logic) to a dull fate, finds herself cursed into the body of an old woman by a witch of considerable spite. Her only recourse? To march straight into the moving castle of the infamous Wizard Howl and make herself useful.
What follows is a delicious tangle of magic, mischief, and surprising self-discovery. Sophie, freed by her transformation from the timidity of youth, becomes wonderfully bold—organizing the wizard’s chaotic household, striking bargains with fire demons, and discovering that she possesses far more magic than she ever suspected.
The relationship between Sophie and her sisters provides lovely material for discussion, and the found family she creates within that peculiar castle will warm even the most sensible heart. Diana Wynne Jones received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and this book demonstrates precisely why. It is whimsical without being silly, romantic without being improper, and thoroughly enchanting from beginning to end.
2. The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky & Steven Brown
We confess a particular fondness for this reimagining of certain familiar characters—a Peter Pan retelling that transforms Wendy Darling into the protagonist she always deserved to be. Set in 1780s England, it follows young Wendy from her days as an orphan dreaming of the sea, through her training in navigation and swordplay, to her eventual encounter with the mysterious flying figure known as Peter Pan.
This Wendy is clever, determined, and gloriously ambitious. She wishes to captain her own ship, and the world’s insistence that girls cannot be sailors only makes her more resolute. The wit of the narration—dry, affectionate, and occasionally conspiratorial—creates the impression that someone rather delightful is telling you a story by firelight.
USA Today bestselling author Lydia Sherrer declared it to have “all the markings of a classic,” and we must agree. Mothers will appreciate Wendy’s grit and good sense; daughters will cheer her adventures. The complete trilogy—comprising The Wendy, The Navigator, and The Captain—is now available, so you need not wait between adventures. As one reviewer reported, her teenage daughters (ages 13 and 16) both loved it, “each for her own reasons, as they are very different, which tells me that this book is multi-faceted and has a little something for everyone.”
3. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Herewith, one of the most perfect fairy tale retellings ever committed to paper. At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a gift from a foolish fairy: the gift of obedience. She must obey any command given to her, no matter how absurd or dangerous. If someone tells her to hop on one foot for a day and a half, she must hop. If someone tells her to stop breathing—well, one hopes no one would be so cruel.
But strong-willed Ella does not accept her fate meekly. Against a backdrop of ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and a particularly charming prince, she sets out to break her curse—not by waiting for rescue, but by her own determination and wit.
This Newbery Honor book has enchanted readers for decades, and with good reason. Ella is the heroine we all wish we had encountered in our youth: clever, kind, rebellious when rebellion is warranted, and possessed of excellent taste in princes. The book has generated many fruitful discussions in reading groups—what gift would you consider a curse? When is obedience a virtue, and when is it a trap? These are questions worth pondering together.
4. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
We turn now to a story that proves magic can be found in the most bureaucratic of places. Linus Baker is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth—a by-the-book inspector who has spent forty years following rules and eating lunch alone. When he is sent to a remote orphanage to determine whether six dangerous magical youngsters might bring about the end of the world, he expects to file his report and return to his quiet, gray existence.
What he finds instead is a peculiar family: a gnome with a penchant for gardening, a wyvern, a sprite who never speaks, and a small boy who happens to be the son of the devil himself. Also, the orphanage master Arthur Parnassus, who would burn the world to keep his charges safe.
This is a book about tolerance, found family, and the revolutionary act of seeing people for who they truly are rather than what others fear they might become. It is cozy in the truest sense—warm blankets and tea and the slow bloom of belonging. Mothers and daughters will find much to discuss here about kindness, judgment, and the families we choose.
5. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
In the valley of Fruitless Mountain lives a girl named Minli with her parents. Her father tells her stories—of the Jade Dragon, of the Old Man on the Moon who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Her mother sighs and wishes for better fortune. One day, Minli decides to find the Old Man herself and ask how she can change her family’s fate.
What follows is a quest story woven through with Chinese folklore, beautifully illustrated by the author herself. Minli encounters dragons and kings, magic fish and paper tigers. Each chapter contains stories within stories, fairy tales nested like gifts waiting to be unwrapped.
But the true heart of this Newbery Honor book lies in the relationship between Minli and her mother. While Minli journeys outward, her mother journeys inward—learning, in her daughter’s absence, what truly matters. This is a book about adventure, certainly, but also about mothers and daughters coming to understand one another. It has been called “a Chinese Wizard of Oz,” and we can think of no higher praise for intergenerational reading.
6. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Mika Moon is one of the few witches in Britain, and she has always followed the rules: hide her magic, keep her head down, stay away from other witches lest their combined power draw attention. Then a message arrives, begging her to come to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their gifts.
She should say no. It breaks every rule she has ever followed. But Mika has been alone her entire life, and something about those three young witches calls to her.
What she discovers at Nowhere House is an eccentric found family: a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, an absent archaeologist, and a prickly librarian who sees Mika as a threat to everything he holds dear. Also, three small girls with enormous magic and larger hearts.
This is a story about belonging—about discovering that the family you choose can love you as fiercely as any blood relation. It has been described as “one of the coziest reads,” and we must concur. Mothers and daughters will delight in the witchy atmosphere, the gentle romance, and the central question: what does it mean to finally, truly belong somewhere?
7. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
High on Mount Eskel, fourteen-year-old Miri works in the quarries alongside her father and the rest of her village, mining the precious stone that is their only trade. When the priests announce that the prince’s future bride will be found among the young women of Mount Eskel, Miri is sent—along with all the eligible young women—to a hastily established Princess Academy.
What could have been a simple competition story becomes something far more interesting in Shannon Hale’s capable hands. Miri discovers that education itself is a kind of magic: learning to read and write, to understand diplomacy and economics, transforms not only her prospects but her entire village’s future.
This Newbery Honor book offers wonderful material for discussion about the power of learning, the strength found in community, and the difference between what others expect of us and who we truly wish to become. There is romance, but it is not the center—Miri’s growth into her own power and her loyalty to her mountain home take precedence. Two sequels continue the story for readers who fall in love with Miri and her world.
8. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
After decades of swinging a sword and collecting bounties, the orc barbarian Viv decides she is finished with violence. She hangs up her weapon and sets out to accomplish something far more difficult than any battle: opening the first coffee shop in a city where no one has ever tasted coffee.
This is cozy fantasy in its purest form. There are no world-ending threats, no epic battles, no dark lords to defeat. Instead, there is the warm struggle of starting a small business, the slow building of friendships, and the deep satisfaction of finding your place in the world.
Viv’s found family—a succubus baker, a rattkin handler, and a hob carpenter among them—demonstrates that the most worthy adventures sometimes happen in the smallest spaces. Mothers and daughters who have ever dreamed of escaping the chaos of daily life to run a charming little shop will find particular comfort here. This book practically demands to be read with a warm beverage in hand.
9. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is the foremost expert on faerie folklore. She is meticulous, brilliant, and utterly hopeless with people. When she travels to a remote Scandinavian village to complete her encyclopaedia of faeries, she expects academic triumph. What she encounters is far more complicated: dangerous fae, village politics she cannot navigate, and her exasperating colleague Wendell Bambleby, who keeps appearing to help whether she wants him to or not.
Written in the form of Emily’s field journal, this novel creates an irresistible atmosphere of snowy villages, ancient magic, and scholarly determination. The faeries here are properly dangerous—wild and unpredictable, not the sanitized creatures of lesser tales—yet the overall feeling remains cozy, like reading by firelight while a storm rages safely outside.
Mothers and daughters who love folklore, academic settings, or stories about brilliant women making their way in fields that do not always welcome them will find much to admire here. The complete trilogy is now available for those who cannot bear to leave Emily’s world.
10. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
We conclude with another offering from Shannon Hale—her debut novel, and a retelling of the Brothers Grimm tale that inspired it. Princess Anidori-Kiladra (Ani for short) has always felt more comfortable speaking with birds than with people. When she is sent to a neighboring kingdom to marry its prince, her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting stages a mutiny, stealing Ani’s identity and leaving her alone and penniless.
To survive, Ani takes work as a royal goose girl, hiding in plain sight while she discovers abilities she never knew she possessed. This is a story about finding your voice—literally and figuratively—and about the difference between the person others believe you to be and the person you truly are.
The New York Times praised it as “a beautiful coming-of-age story” about “learning to rescue yourself rather than falling accidentally into happily-ever-after.” For mothers and daughters who appreciate fairy tale retellings with substance, heroines who save themselves, and prose so lovely it deserves to be read aloud, The Goose Girl is a treasure.
Final Thoughts on Reading Together
Here are ten doorways into wonder—ten books that mothers and daughters might share, discuss, and remember for years to come. Each possesses that essential quality of the finest fantasy: the ability to make believers of us all, regardless of our age or our supposedly sensible opinions about what is and is not possible.
Reading together is itself a kind of magic. It creates a shared language, a private world that belongs only to those who have traveled there together. When you close one of these books, you will have a new territory mapped between you—a place to return to in conversation, in memory, in the quiet understanding that passes between people who have loved the same story.
Choose your adventure. Begin reading. And may you find, in these pages, all the magic you are seeking.
