8 Cozy Fantasy Books For Kids and Kids at Heart

This is an interesting cozy fantasy with a girl named Maya whose grandmother comes to live with her. I think readers will love the Korean culture and food references, which definitely added to the coziness for me. There are also recipes included, and I liked that the food literally seemed to transport Maya and her grandmother back in time. However, Maya’s grandmother does have some difficulties with her memory, so I will just note that in case that is a sensitive or difficult subject for some readers. This is a great time-travel adventure read, and I hope to see more from Ahn soon!

This is a bit of an unusual pick, at least for me. In terms of its format, it is a hybrid of picture fiction and a shorter comic book. However you classify it, I really liked this and found it to be an interesting mix of people, magic, and wooden logs going on their own adventures. A small family of beetles also plays a prominent role. For me, the cozy part is the adorable sibling devotion that shows up in the story as well as the family reunion at the end. Give it a try and see what you think, especially with younger readers.

Set in Brooklyn where the author lives, 9-year-old Jaxon and his mom are going through some tough times and are facing eviction. Jaxon’s mom decides to leave him with the older woman who raised her so she can sort out what to do about their housing situation. Suddenly Jaxon is thrust into Ma’s world and is now hanging around with someone who is clearly trying to get rid of him. I found the gruffness of Ma’s character and Jaxon’s insatiable curiosity to be very comforting and a cozy relationship to watch unfold. And of course, Jaxon discovers that some of Ma’s reticence has to do with the mysterious creatures she is keeping in her apartment. No surprise, there are dragons.

Noor is an orphan who lives with her grandmother. I picked this up because it is translated by Marcia Lynx Qualey, and I’m glad I did. This is book one and I find it cozy because the love and acceptance of Noor’s grandmother is almost palpable. Everyone needs someone like that in their corner, and I kept reading just to see what would happy next in the main character’s relationship with her beloved grandmother. I’m looking forward to continuing in the series! In the meantime, I hope Qualey’s translation of Palestinian author Sonia Nimr’s work gets more attention generally. If you like this, spread the word to other interested readers.

This has West African–inspired magic, a powerful book, and some strong friendships at its heart. While it’s not perfect, I think it has a ton of potential and is a promising start to a series with a young boy who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Cameron has some good friends around him in Zion and Aliyah, so I find that part to be cozy and very comforting. His relationship with his grandmother was also an element of coziness to me, but be aware that the main character has lost his parents as well. It may have also helped that the lightening strikes, bookshelves falling off the wall, or other events were suspenseful without being scary, which helps with the cozy atmosphere.

Everyone wants to feel that they are chosen at some point in their life, and this is a book about that to some extent. However, it’s not that simple. For the main character Ella, I really liked that she is simultaneously chosen and something of an outsider, as the first conjuror at her magical school in the sky. I find the idea of others seeing you for who you really are to be very cozy. I also highly recommend the audio version narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt. Her delivery is incredibly expressive and will make you feel like you’re in the middle of Ella’s living room. You will probably find it comforting to listen to if that is an option for you. Clayton is also well known as the author of The Belles series, so you may want to try those after you sink into Ella’s world in the Marvellers series.

This is a lovely story set in the magical world of Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, with 12-year-old Felicity Pickle, her mom, and her 6-year-old sister Frannie Jo at its heart. Their mom has had to move a lot and of course the girls have felt the effects of this. Since they have had to start over several times, little Frannie Jo has a special suitcase packed for unexpected middle of the night departures. This is something a child might see as a necessity while an adult might see it as a little bit of heartbreak.

While we can understand the need to move as adults, kids don’t have much choice when it comes to the changes we put them through. So I felt a particular sympathy with these little ones right from the start. I also loved the sweet way Felicity Pickle enjoys words like popsicle, paper star, and poppy-seed muffin. For me, the loving bond between Felicity and her little sister Frannie Jo is the cozy heart of this book.

I know what you’re thinking: this looks like a book that will just suck me in. Yes, I said it. Okay, now that is out of the way, I thought the characters and setting were really engrossing and the writing is lovely. The story revolves around Simi, a girl living with her grandmother in a small Nigerian village while her mother tries to piece their lives back together after a divorce. Simi is sharp and observant, and moving from Lagos to live with her mother’s estranged mother is a big, jarring change for her. I found the development and relationship building with her grandmother to be the cozy part for me. However, note that this story has some suggestions of children disappearing and at least one child who drowns. These are topics I usually avoid, so some other readers may want to know this before they start reading. This is very well written and I am hoping to get my hands on more titles from Traoré in the near future.