Four children find a coin that grants wishes, but it only grants half the wish. Adventure and hilarity ensue.
The plot of Half Magic might strike you, as it did me, like the sort of thing that E. Nesbit might write, and that is no accident. In the book’s opening chapter, Edward Eager gives E. Nesbit’s books a cheerful salute, then goes on to tell a story that borrows from the best parts of her work while introducing its own original charm.
Eager’s characters are as warm, quirky, and fallible as Nesbit’s Bastable or railway children, but they feel less like carbon copies than like well-crafted, energetic homages to her characters. The narrator’s voice and the enchanting plot also tip their hats toward Nesbit, and upon finishing the book, I found myself with two very compatible desires: I wanted to read more Nesbit, and I wanted more Eager as well.
I love all of that about Half Magic. But the best part is this: while reading Half Magic, I found it hard to get through more than a few pages at a time because I could not stop laughing out loud. The last book to affect me this way was T.H. White’s The Once and Future King (also affectionately mentioned in Half Magic), but Eager’s book featured more comedy in a shorter span of time, so I was left holding my breath through certain passages, in the hope that I might make it just a little further before my eyes watered so much as to make the text illegible. Then I collapsed, caught my breath, and began again.
I do not want to wait to share this book with my family. But I will. I’ll save it for a few years: I think the girls will laugh a little harder at the jokes then, but the wait may kill me. We’ll see.
Half Magic
Edward Eager (1954)
Sarah says:
My eight-year-old LOVES Half Magic. My favorite second grade experience this year was reading it aloud to her class: when Carrie the cat starts “talking,” the kids were rolling. No metaphor: actually rolling in laughter on the rug. We give it as a present to just about everyone. The good news is that the rest Eager’s books are also delightful. Especially the overlap between Magic by the Lake and Time Garden – but you’ll have to discover that one yourself!
May 16, 2015 — 6:44 pm
Théa says:
I may have bought it on your recommendation–did you mention it on Read Aloud Revival? I couldn’t remember which episode brought it to my attention, but I came across a copy in a used bookstore shortly after hearing about it on RAR, and, well, you know the rest 🙂 I’m glad to know that the rest of the series is good, too! I’ll have to track them down 🙂
May 18, 2015 — 6:05 am
Théa says:
And Carrie the cat! My word. It was Morgan le Fay that did me in 🙂
May 18, 2015 — 6:06 am