The Secret of the Attic by Sheri Cooper Sinykin

Blue-eyed Alison is the ultimate tomboy, who loves sports and playing outside. Red-haired Megan is a reader and a writer, imitating her journalist father. Keisha is African-American and loves to sing and play with animals, while dark-haired Heather is an artist who just moved into town a few months ago.

What do these four different girls have in common? Well, besides their fast friendship, they all have a secret: a magic attic that transports them to different times, places, and adventures!

The girls' plans to go sledding on Christmas Eve are interrupted when they meet Allison's next-door neighbor. Ms. Goodwin has long silver hair and eyes as blue as the heart of a flame, and always wears colorful clothing. When the girls return a golden key to her, she invites them in to explore the attic the key belongs to - just for a few minutes before they go sledding.

But the discovery of a trunk full of beautiful dresses leads the girls into a very different sort of adventure - when they look into the mirror they find themselves in a very different house, in the middle of nowhere. Why do the newspapers have headlines about President Roosevelt? How does a stranger know their names? And who is the young girl who seems so upset about her Christmas party?

Join Alison, Heather, Keisha, and Megan in this first book of the Magic Attic Club series!

Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine

The author of Ella Enchanted brings a unique mixture of two classic fairytales into one funny adventure!

Ellis (always called Cinderellis) lives on a farm with his two brothers. Burt and Ralph are the best of friends, but they never include Cinderellis in anything that they do. Not even when Cinderellis shows them all the amazing inventions he's perfected - growing powder to make things grow, shrinking powder to make them shrink, flying powder to make them fly, and so many more! Even when Cinderellis stops their hay from mysteriously disappearing once a year, his brothers don't pay any attention to him. He's got one last chance: the King has just announced a contest. If Cinderellis can win, his brothers will be sure to start including him!

Princess Marigold is widely known to be the sweetest, kindest, least uppity, and prettiest of princesses. Which is wonderful. Truly. But Marigold is also the lonliest of princesses. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father spends all of his time off on quests, bringing back really rather foolish things to put into the Royal Museum of Quest Souvenirs. The only good thing he ever brought back was a tiny orange-and-yellow kitten who promptly became Marigold's best and only friend. But now, the King has decided to hold a contest to find Marigold the perfect husband. Marigold is hoping that maybe - just maybe - the person who wins the contest will be funny and polite and nice to animals... but it could just as easily be: a monster?!?!

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville

Aren't dragons just about the coolest things ever?

Jeremy Thatcher has always thought so. He likes to draw them, read about them, daydream about them - sometimes he even wishes that his dad's vet practice had a few dragons to take care of, instead of Fat Pete, who hisses and scratches at everybody.

Then one day, trying to escape Mary Lou Hutton (who for some reason, as the whole school knows, wants to kiss him - Yuuuuuuck!), Jeremy hides inside a store he's never seen before. A store with all sorts of magical things. A store with a grouchy old storekeeper who very reluctantly sells Jeremy the most amazing thing he's ever seen - a real, live, softly glowing dragon's egg.

But as cool as a dragon's egg is, imagine how neat it will be when it hatches! Dragons are just so much... trouble???

----

PS: If you enjoy Jeremy's adventure, there are lots of other books associated with the very magic shop for you to explore.

Gypsy Rizka by Lloyd Alexander

Rizka lives on her own in a vardo, or gypsy wagon, outside the town of Greater Dunista. She's skinny as a smoked herring, generous with all she has (which in truth is nothing at all), and can whistle every birdsong she's ever heard. She wears a pair of homeless breeches she rescued; boots cracked and split, hardly a memory of their former selves; and an old army coat so outnumbered by patches the original garment surrendered. She lives by her wits (and those being very quick wits, she makes rather a good living) and she unofficially manages the entire town.

After all, someone has to keep Chief Councilor Sharpnack too occupied to think of ways to increase his power or make trouble for Rizka herself. Then there's Mayor Pumpa and Merchant Podskalny, who are forever quarreling; someone has to keep their squabbles from causing trouble for the rest of the town. And if it weren't for Rizka, at least two beautiful romances in the little town would be doomed before they even began.

It's a good thing she has the able assistance of her big mustard-colored cat, Petzel; her apprentice, Sofiya; and the amiable town blacksmith, Big Franco. Dealing with General Hatvan's need for intelligence or soothing the effects of the Zipple - a yearly soft, cajoling breeze with uncomfortable effects - could easily become too big of a job for one person, even one so clever as Rizka herself.

And besides, Rizka won't stay there forever: she's half gypsy, after all. When the chiriklos birds return, so will the gypsies - and Rizka's father. And then Rizka will be able to spend the rest of her life with her true family.