M is for Magic [Import] [Paperback]

NEIL GAIMAN (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747595682
• ISBN-13: 978-0747595687
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,298,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magic time, September 22, 2007

By 

Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (College Park, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: M Is for Magic (Audio CD)

Neil Gaiman, the author of the novel Stardust (which was made into a great film with Robert De Niro and Claire Danes) and the Sandman stories /graphic novels from DC Comics, is a natural storyteller. He is also a noted children author with a special talent to talk to children and adults with the sense of wonder of a child. He also has a children's audio collection of his picture books.

Now to this current audio collection, these are sort of stories you would hear when you were ten and around a summer campfire. The narrative talent of Gaiman draws the listener in and keeps you in. You don't care if these tales are for children, young adults or adults, he makes all these PG type stories great.

What makes this collection great is good storytelling. Like Ray Bradbury's S is for Space, which he notes in his audio forward, Gaiman uses simple ideas and meshes them into mini horror or thriller tales . . . and keeps you interested!

It is worth your time to get this collection for your family. When you do, get one for the adults and one for the kids

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Title, Even With Recycled Material, August 8, 2007

By 

Kenneth Holm (Kenosha, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M Is for Magic (Hardcover)

What a lot of people seem to miss when complaining about this book is that it was assembled for younger readers. This book was made in the style of Ray Bradbury's R Is For Rocket. It's primary function is to introduce younger readers to Gaiman's work. All the stories here I would feel comfortable with my children reading, while most of the titles from Fragile Things, I might hesitate. This book does contain some repeat stories, some hard-to-find material, and some new stories, as well. Read this book to get a sneak peek at Neil's new book, The Graveyard Book. All in all, a wonderful book, and I'm thankful for it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 20, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M Is for Magic (Hardcover)

M IS FOR MAGIC is a collection of eleven short stories. This book was geared for elementary/middle school but I thought that I couldn't read many of the stories aloud in my classroom because some of the themes are pretty adult.

I liked many of the stories, especially THE WITCH'S HEADSTONE. This was a story about a real boy who was living in a graveyard and being raised by ghosts. He decides to do a very kind thing for a ghost who didn't get a gravestone and the story follows the adventure that goes with that decision.

I also enjoyed THE CASE OF FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS. It was a detective story set with nursery rhyme characters. The detective needs to solve the mystery of who killed Humpty Dumpty. It is told with attitude and is very funny.

There are also stories that are scary or just plain creepy. The story about the jack-in-the-box just gave me chills. So if you want to read some good, strange stories that only take about an hour to read, check this book out.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison