The wishing well is all used up, its magic drained, its enchantment gone dry. Or has it? In a reckless moment, Gordy threatens the old well, telling it to get going with its magic or else! and suddenly he and his friends are plunged into just the sort of adventures they’d longed for. But is it really the well’s magic that transforms troublemaker Dicky LeBaron from ne’er-do-well to hero? Or keeps Appledore’s orchard in bloom? Or sends James on a daring rescue of a damsel in distress? Does i...

Here are the further adventures of Martha, Jane, Mark, and Katharine from Half-Magic. Their summer vacation is enlivened by an entire magic lake, channelled through a talking, and somewhat grumpy, box turtle. They are stranded on a desert island, visit Ali-Baba's cave, and end up rescued by some children we will see in the next book.

Edward Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. A Harvard graduate, Eager was a lifelong fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he couldn’t find stories he wanted to read to his own son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his debt to E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's author of all time. The Time Garden is the fourth book of the Tales of Magic series. In this book, Eliza, Jack, Roger, and Ann find thyme planed in an h...

Edward Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. A Harvard graduate, Eager was a lifelong fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he couldn’t find stories he wanted to read to his own son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his debt to E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's author of all time. Magic or Not? is the fifth book of the Tales of Magic series. Here, we meet  Laura, James, and their wonderful new neighbors, K...

Edward Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. A Harvard graduate, Eager was a lifelong fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he couldn’t find stories he wanted to read to his own son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his debt to E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's author of all time. Half Magic is the first book of the Tales of Magic series. In the book, we meet Katharine, Mark, Jane and Martha, who have found a m...

A dull summer is improved when Katharine, Mark, Jane and Martha find a magical coin-like talisman. The catch is that it grants half of any wish made by its bearer—a wish to be on a desert island sends them to the Sahara desert, and their mother ends up halfway home when she wishes to return home during a dull visit to her relatives. That "half magic" is a challenge, sometimes comical, until the children learn to double their wishes.

Edward Eager writes the essential books about four children having a magical adventure. This one has a classic concept and brilliant working out. – Sondra Eklund The plot, as American Writers for Children, 1900-1960 puts it is that, “four siblings find a magic talisman that grants their wishes, but only by halves. They engage in a variety of wild and funny adventures as each makes a wish, carefully worded to allow for the feature of half fulfillment. But when Jane wishes ina...

The seventh and concluding volume in the series called "truly magic in a reader's hands" by Jack Gantos, Newbery Medal winner for Dead End in Norvelt.All books are magic, but some are more magical than others.When Susan opens a strange library book, she discovers it is about her and her friends, leading up to the moment when she opened the book. Beyond that, the pages are blank . . . waiting for the children to wish the book full of adventures....

Edward Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. A Harvard graduate, Eager was a lifelong fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he couldn’t find stories he wanted to read to his own son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his debt to E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's author of all time.Magic by the Lake is the third book of the Tales of Magic series. The book continues the adventures of Martha, Jane, Mark and Kathari...

Book five in the series called "truly magic in a reader's hands" by Jack Gantos, Newbery Medal winner for Dead End in Norvelt.When is magic not magic?Laura is a girl who goes out of her way to find adventure. So when her family moves to a house with a well in the yard—a wishing well, according to Lydia, Laura’s opinionated new neighbor—Laura is all too willing to make a wish and see what happens. Plenty happens. Thanks to the well, Laura and her new friends help save Miss I...

Edward Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. A Harvard graduate, Eager was a lifelong fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he couldn’t find stories he wanted to read to his own son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his debt to E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's author of all time. The Well-Wishers is the sixth book of the Tales of Magic series. The children return to the magic well from Magic or Not for another...

Laura, James, and their wonderful new neighbors, Kip and Lydia, wish up some summer adventures when the well in their new yard is more than they imagined. Although all of Eager's other novels for children depict what are clearly adventures in supernatural magic, Magic or Not and its sequel The Well-Wishers are different in tone from his other books, because all of the "magical" events in these two novels are described ambiguously, with clues to permit possible n...