Half Magic

Rating:
Summary: Not to be missed ...an Eager classic
Review: I read this book at 10, 12, 17, 21, 35, 51..you get the idea... Like all of Eager's books, this one can be read by all ages; there are golden nuggets to be found for all ages. A quirky, fun, and nostalgic trip to the 1920's as viewed by 4 astute, literate, and engaging children, who could well serve as role models for their ages. If you have children from 7 to 99, you owe it to yourself and to them to introduce them to this, and the rest of the Eager books!

Rating:
Summary: Its a joy, even for adults
Review: I first read Half Magic in 1954, when it was a Weekly Reader selection. It is the book which turned me on to reading. I have purchased it for all my grandchildren, and hope it works the same magic for them as it did for me.

Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: I love all of Edward Eager's books and loved them. Then because he said Edith Nesbit was "the master" of all children's authors, I read all of her books, too and loved THEM. They're all books that are magical and yet real. (Rose, 11 years old)

Rating:
Summary: The best book known to man!
Review: I first read this book when I was 10, after I read a review of it in Zillions Magazine. Now I'm 13, I've checked the library's copy out at least 6 times, have 2 copies of my own (one original, one paperback), read most of Eager's books at least 3 times, and own most of them,too, but Half Magic is still my favorite. The story is exciting, funny, and a little complicated the first time around. My favorite part is when Jane wishes she were in another family, and she becomes Iphegenia, the little comfort. I love the pictures, too. I draw my own comic strip, and the illustrations are such an inspiration! Thank You!!!:)

Rating:
Summary: A great book for the whole family.
Review: A beautifully enchanted book. If you do not read it you will miss put on a chance of a life time. Eagar has struk gold once again. It is a warm inncoent, and wise book. Half Magic both touched my heart and pulled at my mind. It brings music to my ears. A must for the whole family.

Rating:
Summary: Great and Silly Book
Review: This book was one of my favorites when I was about 9, I suppose. I had forgotten the title until (20 years later) I came across it in a bookstore. Of course, I bought it and reread it. It's such an engaging story, and I was happy to see the original illustrations (my favorite is their mother on horseback in the circus). It's wonderful when something you loved as a child can still entertain you as an adult.

Rating:
Summary: This truly is one of Eager's poorist work!
Review: The book made absoulutely no sense! I hated it! Mark, katherine, Martha and Jane were poorly chosen characters that obviously didn't know what the were doing. And the ending about the little girl and the baby didn't make any sense. I DON'T RECOMEND THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: A truly magic book
Review: Like all the other reviewers, I too read this book when I was 9 or 10 and then worked my way through the other 6 titles. I loved them all so very much that I read them again and again. Before I had reached my teens, they were like old and very dear friends. However, here in the UK, they've been out of print for quite some time and it looked as if my hope of owning my own set was never to be. As a librarian, I've frequently come across very old and battered copies of Half Magic in several Children's Libraries but about 10 years ago, I had the best piece of luck. I was working in a (nameless) library in Central London and came across a complete set in a store room as part of an out-of-print collection. I avidly fell upon them all and renewed old aquaintances with the children I'd thought of as my friends. When that collection was broken up for sale/pulping, I was given the 7 Edward Eager books for my own. Since then, I've read them to my own children. They are more than stories, they are part of me. Edward Eager had a huge gift; in a few words, he could paint a detailed picture with warmth, humour and clarity. His children are real and believable. The situations are zany and so funny and the magic that underpins everything is the same magic that lives in the readers' hearts and minds for ever. What a nice man he must have been. I wish I'd known him.

Rating:
Summary: A jumping-off point for years of fantasy enjoyment
Review: I first read this book at the age of 10. I am now 45 and have not changed my opinion that it is one of the most delightful books for children ever written. It involves four fatherless children and a magic charm, which brings many forms of magic to enrich and improve their lives. The story is written with humor and enormous imagination. I couldn't wait to get back to the library to read all the other Edward Eager books it had. Noting that Mr. Eager always gave credit to Edith Nesbit as his inspiration, I also read all the Edith Nesbit books available. I have continued to re-read them throughout my life; I have read them to my kids, and intend to read them to my grandkids. The Bodecker drawings carry the stories beautifully. I now work at a public library and recommend Half Magic to any child who wants stories about real children and magic, because this book opened such a magical dimension to my own reading life.

Rating:
Summary: Magical Books
Review: When I was in fifth grade (nearly 30 years ago!), I fortuitously stumbled across Edward Eager's "Magic" books (Half Magic, Magic By the Lake, Magic or Not?, etc.). I eagerly - forgive the pun - read them all, and I remember how sad I felt when I realized I had come to the end of the series. I think what I enjoyed most about these books was that the characters were "real" children who had honest-to-goodness magic come into their lives. Finding a magic coin or a talking turtle seemed possible after reading these books, and for a long time afterwards I kept hoping that I might someday be as fortunate as the children in these books. In college, I discovered a copy of "Knight's Castle" in a used book sale, and I immediately went back to my dorm room and reread it in one sitting. While I was teaching fourth grade, "Half Magic" became available through the paperback book club; I bought a copy for myself and heartily recommended it to my students. I read many books as a child, but Eager's books, along with the Chronicles of Narnia and E. Nesbit's books about magic were my favorites. I enjoyed reading the comments of other readers (both young and old) who enjoyed these stories, and I am glad that these books are still finding an audience.