Comments on: Half Magic – Vintage Kidlit Summer Week #3

By: Julie Aamoth

Julie Aamoth — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 16:45:52 +0000

In reply to Anna Rose Johnson. Thanks for making that connection - just looked on wikipedia and the first thing it says is that he was a childhood fan of the Oz books!

By: Julie Aamoth

Julie Aamoth — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 16:42:54 +0000

I hope they brought you twice as much dinner as you asked for :-).

By: Faith Elizabeth Hough

Faith Elizabeth Hough — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 16:04:58 +0000

I first discovered Half Magic as an adult as well—and it was one of the rare books I read in one sitting! I picked it up off my mother-in-law’s [well-stocked] shelf when I was pregnant with my first daughter, and just speed read the whole thing. I recall dinner was brought to me—I am lucky to be part of an understanding family of readers. 😉

By: Anna Rose Johnson

Anna Rose Johnson — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:50:05 +0000

In reply to Julie Aamoth. Yes, Eager's books have a lot in common with Nesbit (and that was very much on purpose)! I wonder if he was inspired by the Oz books too?

By: Anna Rose Johnson

Anna Rose Johnson — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:49:24 +0000

In reply to Marilyn. Magical for sure!

By: Anna Rose Johnson

Anna Rose Johnson — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:49:01 +0000

In reply to Marion. So fun!

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 23:33:06 +0000

This Disney story is one of my favorites. Snow White has a magical mirror that lets the Queen see Snow White. She does not like it when the mirror answers her question of who is the fairest in the land. Snow White eats a poisoned apple courtesy of the Queen. After she is dead a prince comes along and with one kiss Snow White comes alive. The magic in this story had a happy ending.
Marilyn

By: Marion

Marion — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 23:26:14 +0000

I returned to my favorite Disney story Cinderella. Cinderella goes to the ball when six pumpkins turn into six horses and six mice become six coachmen this is mad magic..
Marion

By: Julie Aamoth

Julie Aamoth — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 18:29:46 +0000

I love Half Magic and the other Edward Eager books! Thyme Garden might be my second favorite. To me, Eager’s books seem most similar to Nesbit’s, and I enjoy those as well.

I have just been rereading “The Land of Oz,” following an urge I had to reread the whole series. I have always liked “Land” but it’s not one of my absolute favorites and I’d forgotten parts of the story. The humor in this book is particularly delightful, with puns and pranks and lampooning of social trends and some general silliness. I was always a bit sorry that Dorothy wasn’t in this book, but there are old favorite characters and new ones to meet. Baum does a particularly nice job of setting the magical environment early on, and the developments in this book are important for understanding the later books in the series. While I still think the next book in the series, “Ozma of Oz,” is the best of all, I wouldn’t skip reading “Land of Oz.”