Many children go through a phase where they wonder if things like psychic abilities really exist and what it would be like to have them. Books like these fire the imagination about the powers and potential of the human mind!
The books on this list include people with the ability to tell the future, to communicate with other people with their minds, to see ghosts (especially if other people around them can’t see the ghosts), to travel through time or space (when others can’t and when the ability comes from the individual, not an object that they use or a force outside themselves), to move objects through mental power (telekinesis), or to alter the nature of reality with their thoughts. I distinguish people with psychic abilities or ESP from people using magic because the abilities seems to be inherent in the individuals (perhaps something that they’re born with, almost like being born with artistic ability) and not something that they learn by using magic spells or some outside object or force. Sometimes, the psychic abilities have a scientific explanation in stories (such as abilities that seem to be inherited in families) or can even hint that the person might be something other than a normal human (such as books when a child discovers that they are actually from another planet).
Real Psychic Abilities
These are books where the characters have “real” psychic abilities in the context of the story. Below, I also have a list of books that discuss fake psychics/mediums. Although any of these books could be considered in the fantasy or science fiction genre, I’ve decided to sort them here by the other genres they could also fit to show how they’re different from each other.
General Fiction
And This is Laura (1977)
Laura worries that she’ll always be boring and ordinary compared to her siblings, but she has an usual talent that nobody realizes. She is psychic. By Ellen Conford.
Scary
Down a Dark Hall (1974)
A young adult gothic horror novel about girls at a haunted boarding school who channel the spirits of famous people to complete their unfinished works. By Lois Duncan.
There is also a movie version of this book from 2018.
Series
Blossom Culp and her friend Alexander are both psychic and have supernatural adventures in their small town during the early 1900s. By Richard Peck.
Mystery
Double Trouble (1987)
A set of twins, separated by the deaths of their parents and moving to new guardians, practice astral projection and other psychic skills and solve the mystery of a creepy teacher. By Barthe DeClements and Christopher Greimes.
The Magic Nation Thing (2005)
Abby has psychic abilities, and she uses them to solve mysteries and help her mother, who is a private investigator. By Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
The Treasure of Kilvarra (1974)
A couple of American children visiting Ireland seek a hidden treasure with the help of a gypsy boy and learn a little about Irish history and legend. By Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton.
Series
Kathy is a twelve-year-old girl who can see ghosts and sometimes gets visions through the drawings she makes. By Norma Lehr.
The Stanleys are a blended family, and the children solve mysteries, sometimes with a spooky theme. There is both a fake psychic and a real one in the first book in the series, The Headless Cupid. By Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
Ryan and Chris Taylor are a pair of thirteen-year-old fraternal twins who solve mysteries. They can sense each other’s thoughts. By Adam Mills. 1988-1989.
Fantasy
Series
In the far distant future, humans have evolved to the point that the things they imagine can change the nature of reality itself. By Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman. 1994-1999.
Historical Fantasy
Series
This is a very loose trilogy that takes place mainly in Canada, at a place called Hawthorn Bay on Lake Ontario, at various periods in history. It’s partly an historical series and partly fantasy because some of it involves fantasy elements like ESP and time travel. Time travel particularly applies to the first book the series, The Root Cellar. By Janet Lunn.
Science Fiction
Escape to Witch Mountain (1968)
Two children with a mysterious past and unusual powers of ESP seek the place where they belong and discover that they are from another planet.
Fake Psychics
These are books where there are fake psychics or mediums. I even have a few non-fiction books that talk about the tricks that fake psychics and mediums use in real life to convince people of their powers. I was always fascinated by magic tricks as a child, and fake psychics and mediums use many of the same physical and psychological tricks that stage magicians use.
Mystery
The Talking Table Mystery (1977)
A pair of friends discover a strange table in the basement of an aunt that once belonged to a medium who gave seances at the house. Now, someone is trying to get the diaries that were left with the table.
Non-Fiction
Ghosts, Witches, and Things Like That (1984)
Children’s book about Halloween and folklore and related games, crafts, recipes, and poems.
How to Haunt a House for Halloween
This book was written by a magician to provide tips for setting up a haunted house for a party, either in your house with friends or in a more public setting, like a school, camp, or church party or carnival.
Resources
A list of children’s books about people with psychic abilities on Goodreads.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 