Half Magic

by Edward Eager

Book Overview

Book one in the series called "truly magic in a reader's hands" by Jack Gantos, Newbery Medal winner for Dead End in Norvelt.It all begins with a strange coin on a sun-warmed sidewalk. Jane finds the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152020683
• ISBN13: 9780152020682
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

Not what was advertised

I’m glad to have the book but I specifically ordered a hardcover that was listed in very good condition. I received a paperback in what I would say is good condition at best (several bent pages, writing on the pages) and the cover art is not the same as the one I chose.

Okay, we need to get some things straight...

HALF MAGIC IS THE BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK OF ALL TIME. I will explain why later, but first, we need to get some facts striaght. One of the reviewers said that the story was set in 1975. VERY WRONG. Half Magic takes place in the early/middle 1920s, because it said that Barbara La Marr was starring in movie called Sandra, which I believe came out in 1924. And I'm pretty sure about this, because I am also a movie buff and I love silent movies, though my favorite is a musical called the Broadway Melody of 1936. So that's stuff I wanted say about the time of the book. Now, why Half Magic is such a good book: 1. Because it's got a SUPERB plot. 4 siblings Jane, the oldest, Mark, the second, then 9 year-old Katherine and the whiner of the 4, Martha, the youngest. One day Jane finds a coin that grants half of your wishes, and thay have wonderful adventures with it. There's even a moral, but not so evident that it will make you not want to read it. 2: Because Edward Eager is such a great writer. The way he writes, you know that he REALLY UNDERSTANDS KIDS, and the book is written in such a easy, understanding and wonderful way that you find yourself agreeing with him and the 4 kids. Now, take Beverly Cleary. She's a great writer too, but really not as good. EDWARD EAGER WROTE HALF MAGIC WAAAY BEFORE BEVERLY CLEARY WROTE HER CHILDRENS' BOOKS, AND HIS, ARE NOT SO OLD-FASHIONED TO TIMES OF NOW,BUT HERS ARE HOPELESSLY OUTDATED! They are sooo behind the times that no kid can possibly connect with her characters, but his characters, from the EARLY 1920s, ARE MORE UP TO DATE THAN RAMONA AND BEATICE FORM HER SAD NOVELS! I really reccomend getting the hardcovr, of this book, becuase Half Magic is something you'll want to read over and over again, and treasure. I love this book just as much as I love my mom. Truly an amazing story.

Need to get ONE more thing straight...

Sorry. I'm the kid who wote the other review on November 29th, 2006. This book does not take place in London. It takes place in America in 1924, in Toledo, Ohio. This book is a timeless classic for the young and old, not just middle readers. I'd reccomend it to my grandmother, as well as my 4-year old cousin. If you like Half Magic read Magic by the Lake, for more advetures with Jane, Mark, Katherine, and Martha.

Still magic after all these years

I first read Half Magic when I was seven, courtesy of the El Segundo Public Library, and twenty years later, I still love it. My abiding love of children's literature probably began right here, in a book that has everything - plot, humor, intelligence, and fabulous characters.Half Magic obeys the rules of great magic books that are carefully delineated by the main characters in the first chapter. (See what I mean about intelligence and wit?) The magic has its own rules, which they must discover. They thwart the magic. Then the magic thwarts them. If it's a formula, it's one Edward Eager developed, and it works - you don't want to stop reading, from King Arthur's court to a highly magical ending. (And I have no intention of telling you where that is.)Even though the plot is exceptional, it's the characters that truly make the book. The four children are clearly *people* - it's easy to imagine meeting them on the street or in a park - and not merely characters on a page. And even though the book is set in the 1930s, and was written in the 1950s, the kids still resonate. We all know, or were, Martha - "Martha was the youngest, and very difficult." Likewise with Jane and Katherine. "Katherine *would* keep boasting about what a comfort she was, and how docile, until Jane declared she would utter a piercing shriek and fall over dead if she heard another word about it." This first book in Eager's loosely-intertwined series is a masterpiece of children's literature. Children and adults alike will love Half Magic. Start here - and remember, to read one is to want them all.(NB: the quotes used here came from my memory - I checked them before I submitted the review, of course - and normally my memory is not the best. That should tell you something about the strength of this book, or at least the impression it made on me.)

Wonderful text!

I couldn't put the book down! I liked it so much I am doing a book report on it. It was an exciting story about magic and the kids' adventures were fun. It was as good as Harry Potter stories. I am interested in buying more of Edward Eager's books.