I had one more thought--have you read George Macdonald? (The Princess and Curdie, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind) Those might be just about right.
Oh, and I recommend these all the time, but we love them so--James Thurber's kids' books (The Thirteen Clocks, The White Deer, The Wonderful O)--and Thackeray's Xmas Pantomimes (especially The Rose and the Ring--terrific battling in that one!) The really lovely thing about all of these (in this paragraph, I mean) is that they were meant to be read aloud in the first place--you will so enjoy the music of the language.
peace
mm
