Why Middle Grade Fantasy Isn’t About Magic

Middle-Grade Genres Pt 2

Last week, we explored Middle Grade horror—not the kind that aims to traumatize, but the kind that trains kids to be brave. The kind that tells them: you can be scared and still keep walking. This week, let’s look at a genre that’s often more sparkly, more sweeping, and arguably just as misunderstood: Middle Grade fantasy.

Photo by Jeff Finley on Unsplash

Fantasy might be the most beloved genre in children’s literature. Generations have grown up following the Pevensie kids through the wardrobe, trailing Harry Potter through Hogwarts, or watching Garion grow from a kitchen boy to a sorcerer in David Eddings’ The Belgariad. We’ve cheered for Percy Jackson, soared with Eragon, and ridden dragons with Dealing with Dragons. These are the classics for a reason. They take kids somewhere else—somewhere wondrous, wild, and thrilling.

But here’s the thing. The best Middle Grade fantasy isn’t really about magic.

It’s about meaning.

Magic is the vehicle, not the destination. It's the spark, not the story. Fantasy, at its heart, is about the ordinary kid who gets pulled into the extraordinary—and has to figure out what kind of person they’re going to be when things get real.

The magic is fun, of course. We love the glowing swords, the talking animals, the secret portals and mysterious powers. We love the sense of possibility. But none of that sticks if the characters don’t matter. And in Middle Grade fantasy, the characters matter most because they start out ordinary. They’re the kid no one noticed. The kid who failed the test. The kid who lost someone. The kid who was left out. And then through hardship, courage, and the occasional fire-breathing obstacle, they become something more.

Not because they cast the biggest spell. But because they made the hardest choice.

Middle Grade fantasy at its best teaches kids that they are capable of becoming heroes—not someday, not when they’re older, but now. It’s not about chosen ones in the traditional sense. It’s about characters who choose themselves. They choose to stand up. They choose to act. They choose to believe in something, and then do the work to fight for it.

Let’s be honest: kids today are facing a world that doesn’t always make sense. Digital overload, injustice, anxiety, broken systems—all of it is part of their background noise. And even though they’re young, they’re not blind to it. They see the cracks. They hear the arguments. They know something isn’t right.

Fantasy gives them a framework to work through it. It gives them space to imagine what resistance looks like. What justice feels like. What a hero does—not because they’re the strongest, but because they refuse to ignore what’s wrong.

And here’s where we, as writers, come in.

We can write Middle Grade fantasy that doesn’t hinge on flashy spells or ancient prophecies, but on characters who notice something unjust and decide to do something. Who protect someone smaller. Who refuse to follow a rule that’s hurting people. Who lead, not with power, but with purpose.

We can give kids stories that reflect the world’s complexity without collapsing under it. Stories that whisper, You can do hard things. You can make a difference. You’re not too small to matter.

It doesn’t have to be grim or preachy. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Middle Grade fantasy should still have humor. It should still have joy. It should be full of cleverness and laughter and the weird, wonderful energy of kids who find a talking mushroom and immediately try to ride it. But under that sparkle, there’s steel. There’s something true.

Because if we’re doing it right, our stories aren’t just transporting readers to another world, they’re helping them better understand their own.

When we give kids characters who figure out what they believe and then fight for it in their own unique, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking ways, we’re giving them tools. We're giving them models of courage and compassion and problem solving. We're telling them they don’t need a wand to make a difference.

One of my favorite things about Middle Grade readers is that they’re still open to wonder, but they’re also beginning to see the world as it is. That’s a powerful combination. They’re still dreamers, but they’re becoming thinkers. Still imaginative, but increasingly aware. That’s why fantasy hits so deeply at this age. It lets them dream bigger while also challenging them to think sharper. To ask harder questions. To care more deeply.

So yes, bring on the dragons. Give us the portals, the skyships, the enchanted forests. But let’s also give our readers something real to carry with them when the story ends.

Let’s write fantasy where the hero doesn’t need a sword to fight, just a voice. A sense of justice. A deep desire to help. Let’s write kids who learn how to stand their ground, speak up, and make hard choices, not just in fantasy worlds, but in the very real one they’re growing up in.

Middle Grade fantasy isn’t about escaping reality. It’s about equipping kids to face it with courage, creativity, and conviction.

Because sometimes, the most magical thing we can give them… is hope.