Half Magic ANNOTATION
Faced with a dull summer in the city, Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha suddenly find themselves involved in a series of extraordinary adventures after Jane discovers an ordinary-looking coin that seems to grant wishes.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
It all Begins with a strange coin on a sun-warmed sidewalk. Jane finds the coin, and because she and her siblings are having the worst, most dreadfully boring summer ever, she idly wishes something exciting would happen. And something does: Her wish is granted. Or not quite. Only half of her wish comes true. It turns out that the coin grants wishes -- but only by half, so that you must wish for twice as much as you want. Wishing for two times some things is a cinch, but other doubled wishes only cause twice as much trouble. What is half of twice a talking cat? Or to be half-again twice not-here? And how do you double your most heartfelt wish, the one you care about so much that it has to be perfect? Edward Eager's Half Magic has enchanted legions of readers for fifty years. This collectible, one-of-a-kind volume features the original art by N. M. Bodecker and a new introduction by award-winning author Jack Gantos, making it the definitive edition of this enduring classic.
FROM THE CRITICS
Billboard
The actors do a fine job...[T]his is a fine flight of fancy for children and their parents.
Publishers Weekly
Fans of Half Magic by Edward Eager, illus. by N.M. Bodecker, can rejoin Jane, Mark, Katharine and Martha and their magical wish-granting coin in celebration of a half-century of Half Magic. This 50th-anniversary edition features a special green ribbon place-marker that matches the enchanting green-ink drawings. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Carolyn Mott Ford
In the years before adventurous television shows and the excitement of video games, colorful adventures required a vivid imagination. This story is set in such a time when a long, hot summer stretches before Jane, her sisters Katharine and Martha and her brother Mark. When Jane finds an old coin engraved with strange symbols, she and her siblings don't realize that it is a magic talisman. Strange events begin to take place and they find that their wishes for excitement are granted, but the wishes come half true, resulting in chaos. The children practice until they have the knack for making each wish double what they actually want. They have grand adventures, which include meeting Sir Launcelot and Merlin while traveling through time. A wish closest to Jane's heart comes true before they decide it is time to pass the coin along to someone else. This old-fashioned story will be enjoyed by today's young readers. Kids have always loved magic and make-believe and this book gives them a chance to experience both. 1999 (orig.
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4-Jane finds a magic charm which grants half of any wish, and her brother and sisters take turns making double wishes, leading to strange happenings-which leads Jane to make a last wish. By Edward Eager. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile - Marty Crisp
HALF MAGIC has been a childhood favorite for 50 years, with its absorbing tale of four children--Jane, Mark, Katharine and Martha--who discover a magic coin that grants wishes by halves. Wishing a cat could talk will net you a feline who "fitzsputters" out a few words. Wishing you could be whisked away to a desert island is likely to land you in the middle of the Sahara. Unfortunately, narrator Lee Dreamer has a bland voice that provides no support for the eager, young voices of the children in the cast. Gently funny, HALF MAGIC is a wonderful fantasy, but this well-intentioned production doesn't do it justice. When I read it as a tyke, it sounded better in my head. M.C. c AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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