Wrong Way Around Magic (A Little Apple Paperback) by Ruth Chew

Matter-of-Fact Magic

by Ruth Chew

Chip and his sister, Wilma, look through a pair of field glasses the wrong way and are magically transported back to eleventh-century China. By the author of The Trouble with Magic. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Ruth Chew is the author of a number of popular books for young readers, including Secondhand Magic and The Wednesday Witch. She was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Washington, D.C. She studied art at the Corcoran School of Art and worked as a fashion artist. She was the mother of five children.

Reviews

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less predictable than her usual format. A nice little story.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

While waiting for dinner, Chip and Wilma entertain themselves with a pair of binoculars. When Chip and Wilma each look in one binocular lens the wrong way around, in other words big to small, the picture appears far away just as it should. Then, it gets closer and closer until they find themselves in a dark tunnel. They realize that the tunnels are the eyepieces of the binoculars. Chip and Wilma try the process again in hopes of going home but it doesn't work. They end up in China where they are befriended by a boy named Ying. Ying takes them home to his family where they are given food and shelter. When the elders learn that Ying's family is harboring strangers, they discipline them by exiling Ying. The elders fear that a curse will come upon the village unless Ying leaves and takes Chip and Wilma with him. As the children travel to the Capital City, they meet Moy the fisherman. The children save him and his fishing birds from robbers. So, in the Capital City, Moy returns the favor by introducing Chip and Wilma to a man who can help them get home.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another one of Ruth Chew's later (published 1993) books that is quite a stretch.

The only magic is that which gets the protagonist kids from their home to some unnamed spot in Asia. That magic is never explained. Why are the "field glasses" (I thought they were called "binoculars") magic? Where did they even come from? Why do they suddenly just appear in the spare room with all the junk in the kids' house? Many, many holes in this story.

The writing is good and if you can suspend disbelief and just go with the flow of the American kids being mysteriously transported to some Asia of the past, the rest of the story is ok too. (You should also ignore the fact that none of the Asian folks seem distressed by these white kids dressed in strange clothes suddenly running around in their midst.)

I like it better when Ruth Chew writes about kids meeting a witch and having several encounters with magic. I don't like it so much when she has kids magically transported to some other culture in the past.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book to read.