Read Aloud Thursday–Half Magic by Edward Eager

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I have seen Half Magic by Edward Eager on many favorite books lists (including this one), so when I saw a slipcased set of Eager’s books, I bought it.  Our last chapter book was Rascal, which was a difficult but enjoyable story, so I was ready for something that was a little easier on the brain.  Now that I’ve read Half Magic, I’m not sure that it was a whole lot easier to read aloud, but it is more lighthearted in tone and more suspenseful, and we all enjoyed it.   

In a nutshell, this is the plot:  four siblings find in their possession a magic coin that will grant half of any wish they make.  Mischief and mayhem ensue.  All is well in the end, and they even (spoiler alert!) get an understanding stepfather out of it.  As the story progresses, each sibling takes a turn making a wish, and they are (mostly) careful to wish for twice what they actually want (for example, if they wish to go home, they wish to go twice as far as home).  In the course of their wishing they meet Sir Lancelot, they cause a stampede at a movie theater, and one of them even gets to experience not being herself (er, halfway, that is).  Of course, they can’t help but make off-the-cuff wishes at times, too, and these are the ones that get them into the most trouble.  (Question:  how many times have I wished for something without thinking about the consequences?  It’s something to think about.)  The story includes a hint of romance involving their widowed mother, too, which I think is a nice touch.  The children in the story are a little bit cheeky, but not too much.  As I noted before, I enjoyed the story, but I wasn’t enthralled with it.  Perhaps I expected too much from it after seeing it on so many lists.  The chapters in this book are long, which is one thing that made it a difficult read-aloud; we read in small spurts while I’m nursing the baby or as we’re finishing up a meal, etc.  I do think the girls liked it, and Lulu even read ahead in it a bit once when I stopped at a particularly suspenseful part.  The most notable thing I remember from the story is Eager’s multiple references to the author E. Nesbit.  In fact, the biographical sketch at the end of our book says this: 

In each of [Eager’s] books he carefully acknowledges his indebtedness to E. Nesbit, whom he considered the best children’s writer of all time–“so that any child who likes my books and doesn’t know hers may be led back to the master of us all.”

I’ve never read anything by Nesbit, but the girls have listened to the audio version of The Railway Children over and over and over and over, and we have Five Children and It on a shelf somewhere. I think we need to read it soon.  I’ve read that the book Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder pays homage to Eager and Half Magic.  Has anyone read it?  I’m sure it’s worth investigating.  I know we’ll eventually get back to the other “Tales of Magic” in our Eager set, too.   While Half Magic isn’t the best book I’ve read, it is clever, and I like clever a lot. 

For a change, we’re reading Magical Melons, a collection of Caddie Woodlawn short stories by Carol Ryrie Brink, next.  (Am I the only one who didn’t know this book exists?  I found it on the shelf at the library!)  I’m curious to find out why these melons are magical; for some reason I can’t quite envision where these stories might go, given what I know about Caddie Woodlawn.  I’ll be sure to tell you all about it when we’re through.  🙂

What are you enjoying with your children these days?  Leave a link or just tell me about it in the comments.

Have a terrific Read Aloud Thursday!

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22 Comments

  1. This week I highlighted two fun, read-alouds that are sure to engage young listeners. Both have a patterned, repetitive text.

    Where is Catkin? is an interactive search-n-find book. It is about a mischievous cat prowling around his backyard habitat.
    http://books4learning.blogspot.com/2011/05/picture-book-where-is-catkin-by-janet.html

    Trashy Town is about the important job of the garbage man. Its catchy, rhythmic text will have children “reading” along.
    http://books4learning.blogspot.com/2011/05/picture-book-trashy-town-andrea.html

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  6. I have read “Half Magic”, and a few other of the Edward Eager stories…I agree with your assessment of them entirely. I also was intrigued by his references to E. Nesbit. I have yet to read anything by her yet, though.
    I have never heard of “Magical Melons”! My oldest daughter read “Caddie Woodlawn” recently and truly loved it, so I need to look for this other book…thanks 🙂
    Here’s my link for this week: learning ALL the time!! Read-Aloud Thursday: New Picture Books With a Nature Theme

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  10. Haven’t read “Malf Magic” yet and last year I tried reading Nesbit’s “The Enchanted Castle” to my daughter but she wasn’t interested. I liked “Any Which Wall.” It’s a good summer read, but haven’t read it to my daughter. I think I’ll let her read it herself when she’s older. It’s set in the MidWest and so we can identify with the setting since we have cornfields surrounding us all summer long.

    Here’s our picture book contribution today: Perfect Square by Michael Hall
    http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com/2011/05/perfect-square-by-michael-hall-book.html

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  11. I loved the Edward Eager books as a child and read them all to my oldest this year. He loved them too. We’ve also read quite a few of the Nesbit books, which I liked but not as much as Eager. I will definitely have to try the Any Which Wall book, that looks great! I’d never heard of it so thanks for the link.

    I wrote about one of my favorite authors/books for toddlers, Leslie Patricelli. http://supratentorial.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/read-aloud-thursday-leslie-patricelli/

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  13. Thanks for the great review! I have the Eager books at home and am looking forward to reading them for the first time with my twins.

    The twins will be four-year old in two months.

    What do you think, is the book suitable for their age? We have been reading chapter books aloud for the past several months.

    Thanks!

    Read Aloud Dad

    Reply

    • Amy

      Read Aloud Dad,
      My girls are just 7 and 5, but I really think Half Magic might be a stretch for most 4 year olds. Maybe if you’re really good at voices (I bet you are!), they might enjoy it–or if they listened to the audiobook. Anyone else want to chime in here? Would Half Magic be a good read aloud for 4 year olds?

      Reply

  16. Magic by the Lake (sequel to Half Magic) is much funnier. I have read several E. Nesbit and have enjoyed some more than others. Nesbit’s The Book of Dragons has an amazing story called “The Fiery Dragon” which is one of the most beautiful pictures of sacrificial love that I’ve ever seen.

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