I’m not frighteningly original in my choices for favorite fantasy series either as a kid, teen or now. I do have a habit of reading and rereading my favorites in order to spend time with the characters. But I think that this rereading taught me a lot about plotting, creating characters and inserting the clues that whisper.
Old Favorites:
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Lord of the Rings
The Dark is Rising
The Harper Hall Trilogy
Engdahl’s Enchantress from the Stars
The Chronicles of Prydain
Edward Eager’s books/so alike in style that they really count
The Interlocking L’Engle books
Newer Fantasy
The Attlolia books
The Hollow Kingdom
Tiffany Aching (Disc World for juveniles)
Harry Potter (especially the first three)
Kristin Wolden Nitz 