Customer Reviews

Half Magic: Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition

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Siblings Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha don't suspect anything out of the ordinary when Jane finds a nickel on the sidewalk and takes it home. After all, money is money. However, Jane soon realizes that the nickel isn't really a nickel, but rather a strange coin. A magical coin. For when Jane, who along with her brother and sisters, is having the most boring summer ever makes a wish, half of it is granted. It is soon found out that the mysterious coin grants wishes, but only by halves, so you have to wish for twice as much as you really want. While many of the wishes turn out just fine, some of them have caused nothing but trouble, in both the children's lives, as well as the lives of many people in present time and history, and it's the fault of the strange coin itself.

Edward Eager has created an enjoyable fantasy novel that is sure to please the middle readers both of today, and yesterday. Filled with four characters who all hold their own quirks, and possess sassy tongues, as well as vivid imaginations, who will easily be loved by readers young and old. And let's not forget the enchanting green and white illustrations littered throughout the novel, that will capture the imaginations of all. HALF-MAGIC is an absolute must have!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

These days, when so many of us are reading the Harry Potter books, it may be good to remember some of the more classic fantasy tales of a couple of generations ago. Yes, one could try "Peter Pan" and all the Oz books, but there were a bunch of other books such as this one which I think were excellent as well.

I think that "Half Magic" is about right for kids around eight or so. The language is about right for children (the toughest line for a really young reader might be "whence do you hail?"). And it is simply a charming little book. We get to read about a talking cat, visits to faraway places, and maybe best of all, a person who is not exactly all there.

I highly recommend this book. Of course, it's supposed to be only for kids. We grownups are supposed to be way past reading this sort of thing. And if we did read it, we probably wouldn't admit it. But some kids will still recommend this book to their grandmothers, and I think they're right to do so.

I first read "Half Magic" in elementary school and I have read it 4 or 5 times, since. It is a funny, exciting, literate, book that is good for all ages. Toddlers will miss a lot of what it has to say, but get the adventure.
Four children find a magic charm that grants wishes by halves. Fun and adventure happens when they use the charm and when they forget its secret. Their lives and the lives of those they love are made much better. When the book is finished, the reader smiles and wishes there were more. There are more books in the series, but this one is the best.

Half-Magic with the lovely cover from the original is a find. You SHOULD buy this book in hard-back, because you'll read it over. I just read the ex-library copy I snagged a few years ago and had a lovely few days. Because so much of the book is based on the children's characters, it holds up over time. Yes, the cars are funny and they are able to have a long afternoon of fun on a few coins (because it's set in the 1920s to 1930s).

It is lovely about the kids adoring the library books they read during the summer. They are on the way home from the library when one of them finds the odd looking coin on the sidewalk.

Half-Magic is funny. The Mom is visiting relatives, bored out of her MIND, and wishes she were home. She ends up on the road. Then she begins to think that she is losing her mind--which comes back at the end when the kids tell her about the magic they've been experiencing.

The kids are real kids. They fight. They make mistakes. They are loyal. Well, one of them wishes she belonged to a different family, and that doesn't work out. The half-talking cat is hilarious.

There is a scene set in Arthur's kingdom where Lancelot gets taken down. You've gotta love it.

Great American Fantasy writer. This and Knight's Castle are my favorites. Magic By the Lake is also good--with a talking magic turtle that might be the "first" in this series. Time Garden and Seven-Day Magic were in the series, but I've only read them as an adult. I read HM and KC several times as a kid, and read them again about every five years or so. So I have one in hard-back.

Buy this or buy the boxed set for any kid or adult who likes fantasy and humor. They are accessible and there are not the elaborate alternate worlds, just enough magic to illuminate our own very real world.

The most treasured book from my childhood. Reading this at age 7 started me on a lifelong journey with science fiction and fantasy. Reading this unlocked my mind like opening the door of a caged bird and letting her fly free. Gentle and smart with an early/mid 20th century sensibility, the story is timeless fantasy. Share with all of the children in your life.

I'm 35 now and have had the original 50's version of this book since the third grade--it's been one of my most treasured possessions ever since. The story is delightful and the illustrations wonderfully unique. I picked up a recent boxed set of this and Eager's other books (softcover), but was highly disappointed with the third rate revised covers from a frankly hack artist. In any case, this anniversary edition restores the original, unparalleled cover. Get this book, you won't be disappointed. I can't wait to share this new edition with my daughters (the original can stay on the shelf). Harry who?

I first read Half Magic when I was about seven years old. It was the first book I read "all by myself" and I was thunderstruck. It's a wonderfully literary and literate story of four siblings who find a magic charm that works by halves. (If, for example, you wish to be on a desert island, you might end up in the desert.) They have to figure out the "rules" as they go along, and they learn lessons along the way. The author, Edward Eager, is obviously a big fan of E. Nesbit, and acknowledges his debt to her in this and other books. Mr. Eager never "talks down" to his young readers, and I think this allows the book to stand up well for those of us who re-read it as adults. I would certainly recommend this for childen who are ready to "really read" and the adults willing to let them.
I must also say that I love the illustrations, too, and I much prefer the cover of the hardback edition to that of the paperback.

I first read this book as a small child. I am now in my 50's, and while there have been so many wonderful books created for children (including the excellent Potter series), I really feel that Half Magic stands as the best of them all. This is a delightful book, often quite funny, often almost heartbreaking in its poignant rendering of the joyful entry of magic into the lives of four somewhat unhappy children - and ultimately very wise in its message of human love as the most powerful magic of all. The book suceeds on various levels, and is now as much fun to read to children and grandchildren as it was to discover it in childhood. If I could have only one children's book in my collection, it would be this one.

I remember this book as being my favorite as a child. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to have such magical powers and great adventures. This was my first experience at finding the beauty of the school library, I eagerly would approach the shelf where it was located each week just to see what would happen next. Many years later I came across the 50th edition and had to buy it. I shared it with my grandchildren! Can you believe it, Grandchildren! Watching them read through it brought me back to those days of my childhood as I exchanged thoughts and feelings hidden for so very many years. Every child should have the opportunity to experience this beautiful story. If you missed it when you were young, borrow it for yourself and sit back and enjoy the adventure. It is a true joy!

This has been in my memory as my favorite book from childhood and I'm now 65! I re-read it so many times until I had a visitor from Mexico and I wanted to share something really special with her. I gave her my beloved copy of Half Magic and thought I'd never see it again. Now that I have four grand children to whom I love giving books, I looked up this book on a whim. I expected Amazon to say it was long out of print and could only be purchased in a rare bookstore for hundreds of dollars. What to my surprise to find it not only still exists, but they've published an anniversary edition with the same cover I had as a child! Now my 8 year old grand children will have the same joy in reading this timeless wonderful story that I did. I hope it becomes their favorite too. Some great things from the past just can't be improved upon.