Fablehaven by Brandon Mull December 4, 2007

If I were looking for the next best series to turn into a movie it would be Fablehaven.  I’m a little late to the party of praising this gem of a fantasy read.  But this is one of those books you could easily recommend to Harry Potter fans, Spiderwick Chronicles fans, and other fantasy fans in general.  Although most of our copies of Fablehaven have been put into the children’s fiction section, this book has wider appeal ranging from fourth graders to adults like myself.  It fills a nice niche of being age appropriate for the younger set but having a fully developed plotline to satisfy more sophisticated readers. 

While their parents go away on a mandatory cruise, Kendra and Seth are sent to stay with grandparents whom they’ve only met on a few occassions.  At first they find their grandfather’s rules oppressive and they assume he does not like them.  Later when they discover a new world that they thought only existed in fairytales and myths do they begin to understand why their grandfather has set so many rules.  A new world of fairies, golems, satyrs, and witches enchants and frightens the two protagonists as they venture forth into a quest to find their grandfather who has been mysteriously abducted.   

I don’t want to give too much away on this blog so for more details on Fablehaven check out the Fablehaven wiki.  Oh, and just to whet your appetite: giant cow.