8 of the best queens in fiction

Cloudland

Children's books are full of varied and colourful portrayals of queens: some wield Evil Powers, while others save the day in interesting ways. Nearly all are characters you'll find hard to forget.


So whether you want to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's reign, powerful female role models, or just simply age and wisdom, take a look at our top fictional queens below.

  • Queen Munch and Queen Nibble

    Author: Carol Ann Duffy Illustrator: Lydia Monks
    Publisher: Two Hoots
    Interest age: 5-9
    Reading age: 7-9

    This is a story of a queen who loves to eat and one who does not - but at its heart, it's more a celebration of difference and finding something in common between people. Sweet, funny and enticing, with vivid imagery from the Poet Laureate.

  • The Snow Queen

    Author: Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator: P J Lynch
    Publisher: Andersen Press
    Interest age: 6+
    Reading age: 7+

    Lynch's vivid yet ethereal illustrations capture the balance between the wondrous and the recognisable in this powerful story about the redemptive nature of love and the passing of time.

  • A Throne of Swans

    Author: Katharine & Elizabeth Corr
    Publisher: Hot Key Books
    Interest age: 12-14
    Reading age: 12+

    If you love Melinda Salisbury’s royal politics and treacherous courts, you’ll love this brilliant Game of Thrones-esque fantasy. Tons of intrigue, mystery, family drama, glamorous gowns and hidden swords.

  • The Princess Diaries

    Author: Meg Cabot
    Publisher: Macmillan Children's books
    Interest age: 12+
    Reading age: 11+

    Mia hides her real feelings as she takes care of her disastrously disorganised mother, until her absent father drops a bombshell: She is actually Princess Amelia of Genovia.

  • Red Queen

    Author: Victoria Aveyard
    Publisher: Orion
    Interest age: 13+
    Reading age: 11+

    Mare is snatched from her simple Red life and dragged into the luxurious world of the Silvers. Will she stay true to her Red heritage or adopt the Silver lifestyle?

  • Cloudland

    Author: John Burningham
    Publisher: Random House
    Interest age: 4+
    Reading age: 7+

    On the way home from a day spent high in the mountains, Albert trips and falls off into the clouds. His parents are very sad. Fortunately the Cloud Children come to his rescue...

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

    Author: C S Lewis
    Publisher: HarperCollins
    Interest age: 9+
    Reading age: 9+

    When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - step through a wardrobe door in the strange country house where they are staying, they find themselves in the land of Narnia.

  • Ellie's Magical Bakery: A Royal Tea for Royalty

    Author: Ellie Simmonds Illustrator: Kimberley Scott
    Publisher: Red Fox
    Interest age: 6+
    Reading age: 6+

    This is the fourth in the Ellie's Magical Bakery series. Ellie tries to win a trip to London by magically helping her relatives to succeed in a baking competition in order to swim in the Olympic Park Pool.