Four bored siblings find a coin that grants wishes, but only half of each one, with wonderfully confusing results
Wishes by halves
It is a long, dull summer for Jane, Mark, Katharine and Martha. Their mother works all day, the housekeeper is grumpy and nothing exciting ever happens. Then Jane finds what looks like an ordinary nickel on the pavement. It turns out to be magic, but in a tricky way: it grants exactly half of whatever you wish for. A wish to be on a desert island leaves them on half of one, in the middle of a desert.
Who will enjoy it
Fans of E. Nesbit, readers who enjoy funny magic adventures, and families looking for a classic read-aloud about siblings.
What you will get
A witty classic about four siblings and a coin that grants only half of each wish, full of clever logic puzzles, comic disasters and warm family feeling.
Half Magic Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Magic coin · Siblings · Wishes gone wrong
Length
208 pages · ≈ 6 h
More about this book
The fun lies in the rules. The children quickly learn that to get what they want, they must wish for twice as much, and working out the wording of each wish becomes a game the reader can play too. Their adventures take them to the age of knights, into a jousting tournament and across the desert, with each child getting a turn and each wish going wrong in its own funny way.
Eager openly admired E. Nesbit's magic stories, and his children even read and discuss her books. Like Nesbit, he gives his young characters sharp, distinct voices: bossy Jane, thoughtful Mark, impulsive Katharine and little Martha, the youngest and most easily outraged. A gentle subplot about their widowed mother finding happiness gives the ending real warmth.
A few period attitudes in some editions date the book, and the plot is episodic. But the humour and the clever magic hold up very well, and it begins a lovely series. N. M. Bodecker's lively line drawings add to the charm, and the book's playful logic makes it a great introduction to fantasy for readers who are not yet ready for longer epics. About 208 pages in the Harcourt paperback.
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