Customer Reviews

Tales Of Magic Box Set

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Long before Harry Potter, there was a set of equally wonderful books about magic that had a profound impact on my childhood. I think I must have read these thoroughly imaginative and wonderful books hundreds of times each...snuggled under the covers with my purloined cookies and a flashlight.

Beginning with "Half Magic," which takes place in the 20s, these books are timeless. They are stories about intelligent, thoughtful children who come across something magic (in "Half Magic," it's a nickel-like coin; in "The Thyme Garden," it's a magical toad) and go on to have incredibly fanciful adventures. The joy of the books is that the children react, not with wide-eyed wonder, but with a great deal of skepticism. They quickly find out that they must learn the rules of the magic to make it work properly, and that is no easy thing. Along the way, they need to adopt a form of teamwork and discipline--especially when fighting dragons ("Knight's Castle")!

The children in these books, both those of the 1920s and those of "modern life" (probably the 50s, when the books were written) are highly literate. As a child, I loved the bon mots from "Little Women," "Ivanhoe," and "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." Will today's computerized kids get the inferences? And if they don't, will they want to find out more about these classics?

All I know is that even today I can vividly remember the scene where the kids, stuck inside a summer cabin on a hot, rainy day, make hot cocoa and pack winter provisions as they sit around a bucket of water waiting to be transported to the South Pole ("Magic by the Lake"). I still love these books, and am thrilled that they are still available.

A must for bookish children; a must for parents who yearn for a simpler time.

If the popularity of Harry Potter is bringing old fantasy titles to life, I say bravo, especially if it means new readers are about to discover the books of Edward Eager. I read them first when I was eight or nine and now, over thirty years later, I still revisit the marvelous adventures of these two sets of children. Jane, Mark, Catherine and Martha let us in on the world of the 1920's as they embark on one hilarious magical adventure after another. Time Garden and Knight's Castle deal with another set of children during 1940's wartime. One of the most wonderful things about this series is discovering the connection between the two sets of kids, which all culminates on a South Seas Island in two different books. Like the Potter series, Eager's books charm with their mixture of modern life and ancient magical powers. I can't recommend them highly enough, and I'm going to purchase the boxed set for my niece for Christmas so that I can read them with her!

Every word Edward Eager wrote was magical - I started with "Half Magic" when I was eight, and the enchantment drove me to read every book he ever wrote, AND every book he ever referred to in his books! He opened worlds to me, the brilliant classical magic stories of Edith Nesbit, "Ivanhoe," "Little Women" and many, many others. Edward Eager made me a reader, then a lit student, then a librarian, and more than 40 years after discovering "Half Magic," he is still my very favorite writer. If you have children and grandchildren who like to hear you read to them, you won't be sorry you invested in Edward Eager.

i gave this book only 3 1/2 stars because it jumped around. it is a great fairtale without the fairys. it had adventure and danger also, friends and family. i think you will have a great time reading this clasic book. you may even beable to relate to the characters. have fun reading.

Knight's Castle was the first Edward Eager book I read and after that I could not get enough of them. Thirty years later they still make me laugh out loud and marvel at how surprising they are.

The element of surprise is the key, and what I've always felt Harry Potter lacked. Eager's kids are regular kids--just like the reader and her or his friends--who stumble across some thing or other that turns out to be magic. The children can control the magic thing, but first have to figure out exactly what it is, how to make it work for them, and what the catch is because there is always a catch. In the meantime all sorts of goofy stuff is going on all around them and they've got to corral the magic if they want it to do something special, which they always do.

Most of the books feature an age-range of characters, and a good balance of girls and boys. Eager's kids are always readers(which is why such fabulous things happen to them!) and which is fun for children who are readers themselves.

Any kid with a sense of humor and a yen for surprises will love these books.

I loved these books! Among other things, the kids in them actually READ. They encounter magic with a healthy scepticism I can relate to, and embrace it with the enthusiasm I know I'd share if I had their experiences. I'm so glad all four are included together here--it's really important to read them all, since the *best* part is when you arrive at the same point from two different perspectives in two different books...

YAY!!!

My brothers, ages seven and nine, have just discovered Edward Eager's marvelous books this summer. They have been tearing through everything they can find. Eager's novels have instant appeal; these are stories about normal kids who discover extraordinary magic in ordinary places. The magic always comes with sensible rules, and the dangerous parts in the stories are just scary enough for a bit of a thrill.

Eager has packed his books with allusions to other pieces of literature: the Arabian Nights, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and, of course, E. Nesbit. This is fun for adults, but also gives kids the initiative to broaden their on literary scope.

These are very refreshing little books: as charming as the omnipresent Harry Potter series (which my brothers also relish, of course), without being so self-serious. It should be noted that because these were written half a century ago, there is some racial stereotyping going on (cannibalistic islanders who go "ooga-booga eatum children!", a rather insensitive caricature of a fellow by the name of "Achmed the Arab"). It may be necessary to explain to children that this aspect of the book is disrespectful, etc.

This collection is a good place to start, although it does not include my personal favorite, Seven Day Magic, which I highly recommend you buy along with this set. You'll want to read them all!

At the time i'm writing this review, Amazon is offering a package deal of this box set and the author's "Seven Day Magic" for a savings over the prices seperately. Friends, that is a *deal* -- these books are a classic semi-series, and "Seven Day Magic" is what might be called "meta-fantasy", in one sequence of which its protagonists (who live in a world where "Half Magic" is fiction)dip back into the "Half Magic" universe.

These are among the great children's fantasies -- well- and wittily-written, with respect for the minds and sensibiklities of the audience, and some very pointed commentaries on the sorts of books all too many adults think that children *want* to read.

I read "Half Magic" the year after it first came out, almost half-a-century ago (i was in third grade) and absolutely loved it then and still do.

These are *almost* the best American Children's fantasy (most of Robin McKinley's books are more YA than children's), and can be appreciated by any age, as well.

The only thing you might consider reading *before* these books, maybe would be the "Taran" books of Lloyd Alexander (q.v.)

And after these, Alexander's "Westmark" books, as well.

I read "Half Magic" first when I was about 7 and I still love it! (I'm 13 now). I like "Magic By the Lake", and "Time Garden" best. I like how some of the books are about the parents and some about their kids. The best part is... but you'll have to read them for yourselves!

This is a wonderful collection. Fun for kids and adults alike. I read it in the 50's, and it has really stood the test of time. I am buying it again for nieces and nephews who can enjoy it today!