Half Magic (17 page)

"I wonder," said Jane.

Mark and Katharine didn't say anything, but they were wondering, too.

But it was a long time before the four children knew the answer.

Edward Eager
(1911–1964) worked primarily as a playwright and lyricist. It wasn't until 1951, while searching for books to read to his young son, Fritz, that he began writing children's stories. In each of his 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."

Look for more of Edward Eager's tales of magic in Odyssey Classics editions

KNIGHT'S CASTLE

$6.99 (978-0-15-202073-6)

The toy soldier appears to be simply an old lead knight ... until someone wishes long and hard enough to call the soldier to life—and to transport four children to the heroic time of knights and castles and sorcery.

MAGIC BY THE LAKE

$6.99 (978-0-15-202076-7)

What do you do with a lakeful of magic? If you're like the kids from
Half Magic,
you use the magic not only for fun, but—with the help of a talking turtle—to help save your stepfather's ailing bookstore.

THE TIME GARDEN

$6.99 (978-0-15-202070-5)

In the thyme garden, traveling into the past is easy. What's
hard
is keeping out of trouble. The cousins from
Knight's Castle
find themselves caught up in one adventure after another when they are given all the time in the world.

MAGIC OR NOT
?

$6.99 (978-0-15-202080-4)

A wishing well sets Laura, James, and two neighbors on a series of adventures. But are their wishes coming true because of the magic of the well? Or because of something else?

THE WELL-WISHERS

$6.99 (978-0-15-202072-9)

Just when the children from
Magic or Not?
think the well is all magicked out, an annoying schoolmate—in a reckless moment—tells the well to get going with its magic
or else
! No one is prepared for what happens next....

SEVEN-DAY MAGIC

$6.99 (978-0-15-202078-1)

It looks like an ordinary book, but when the five children open it, the story is about themselves! The rest of the book is shut tight—until the children wish for adventures and help the story finish itself.