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Tales of Magic #1-7
Edward Eager's Tales of Magic
7 trade size paperback books in box.
Half Magic
Knight's Castle
Magic by the Lake
The Time Garden
Magic or Not?
The Well-Wishers
Seven-Day Magic
Half Magic
Knight's Castle
Magic by the Lake
The Time Garden
Magic or Not?
The Well-Wishers
Seven-Day Magic
Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
About the author
Edward Eager
31 books326 followersEager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio and attended Harvard University, class of 1935. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he lived for 14 years before moving to Connecticut. He married Jane Eberly in 1938 and they had a son, Fritz.
Eager was a childhood fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he could not find stories he wanted to read to his own young 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.
A well-known lyricist and playwright, Eager died on October 23, 1964 in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of fifty-three.
Eager was a childhood fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he could not find stories he wanted to read to his own young 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.
A well-known lyricist and playwright, Eager died on October 23, 1964 in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of fifty-three.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 16, 2014
Have been reading this set to little kids all year (2013/2014). They have loved them. Quite long chapters, we read approx. one chp. per day, and even the smallest one makes sure he stays within earshot.
Stars reflect how much my kids love love love them, not necessarily how wonderful I think they are. On average I'd rate the series probably a 4 so far (again, probably not in adult terms, although they are fun). Pretty good books. Well-written. Pithy. Will be following up with Nesbit, of course (which I haven't read with my younger set yet).
Great read-alouds.
Half-Magic, read, 2013, 5 stars
Magic by the Lake, read, 2013, 4 stars
The Knights Castle, read, 2014, 4 stars
Time Garden, read, 2014, 5 stars
Seven-Day Magic, 5 Stars, read, 2014, so far my favorite! So fun! My little kids wiggle in delight as I read! Very imaginative. Favorite part so far... Small Fredericka has been captured by a great red dragon and is being flown by him out of our world into his.
Magic or Not?, 5 stars, author went in a slightly different direction with this and the next book, kids "make" their own magic and it's really rather nice.
The Well-Wishers, 5 stars. Finally finished. Kids loved it.
Series well worth reading for fun with only a bit of moralizing (and that not heavy-handed by any means and well-done so kids don't feel preached-at).
--
"Where am I? she murmured.
"In magic realms, of course," said the dragon, "and faery lands forlorn. That was what you wished for, wasn't it?"
Fredericka jumped (as well as she could in the dragon's grasp). She hadn't expected an answer. Then she took courage. If the dragon could talk, it was probably a superior type, perhaps even a friendly one. "How do wishes work, exactly?" she said. "I've always wanted to know."
"I don't know how they work for you," said the dragon, "but for us magic things they're sort of doorways into the real world. We'll always get in if we can. Only there aren't many doors left. You must have found one of the last."
"Oh," said Fredericka. She thought for a minute. "But if you wanted to get into our world, why didn't you stay there?"
"What's even better," said the dragon, "is to steal somebody out of your world into ours. The door works both ways. You've heard of fairies kidnapping children. It's the same with dragons. Only different."
Fredericka cleared her throat. "Different in what way?" she asked cautiously. "Where are you taking me?"
"To my lair, of course," said the dragon.
"Why?" said Fredericka.
The dragon appeared embarrassed. "For the usual purpose," it said finally. "Let's not talk about it."
"You mean. . . .?" said Fredericka.
"You know," said the dragon.
"Oh," said Fredericka, in a small voice.
There was a pause.
"Why?" said Fredericka. "Why are you so mean?"
"Made that way," said the dragon, shrugging its wings (and causing a rather bumpy downdraft).
"Have you ever thought," suggested Fredericka, "of going on a vegetable diet? Trees might be tasty."
The dragon shook its head. "Meat," it said, "is meat and drink to me. Of course I prefer princess, but it's almost gone off the market lately. Damsel generally does as well. Or maiden. I've never tried small girl before, but it should be tender, from the feel." And it gripped her tighter in its steely claws.
--
Chapter 7, "Keeping It?" got a little bizarre for the little kids as they didn't get any of the literary references during the adventures of "Barnaby the Wanderer" but I was highly delighted. Especially when the children (who are looking for Barnaby in his favorite books) go into "Dickens" because that's what Barnaby was currently reading.
Excerpt.
"It was quite a change from the island's tropic glare (they had just been in Robinson Crusoe) to Christmas Eve in old London. The children's breath smoked on the chilly air, and a few snowflakes fell. Chimes rang and carol-singers sang carols.
"'Humbug!' muttered an old gentleman, emerging from his office. But 'Merry Christmas!' said almost everyone to everyone else.
"A ragged boy who was sweeping the street crossing didn't seem merry at all, however, and Abbie, touched by his poor and friendless looks, pressed her only nickel into his hand, hoping he could late exchange it for coinage of the realm at the nearest bank.
"'Move on,' said a passing policeman.
"The boy moved on, and Abbie ran to join the others, who were looking in at a window of one of the houses.
"Inside the window a poor but happy family was finishing its Christmas pudding and drawing round the hearth, where chestnuts sputtered and cracked, while the father of the family poured holiday drinks from a jug.
"'God bless us everyone,' said the crippled son of the family, raising his custard cup (without a handle).
"But Barnaby was not among those at Tiny Tim's Christmas dinner.
"Inside the Old Curiosity Shop across the street, where the four children ran to look next, Little Nell and her grandfather were hopefully packing for their long, wandering journey into the country.
"But Barnaby was not among the other curiosities in the shop.
"'This is no good,' said John. 'That Dickens wrote about seventy books, didn't he? We'll never find the right one anyway.'"
Just a delight.
---
Magic or Not?
The Well Wishers
Stars reflect how much my kids love love love them, not necessarily how wonderful I think they are. On average I'd rate the series probably a 4 so far (again, probably not in adult terms, although they are fun). Pretty good books. Well-written. Pithy. Will be following up with Nesbit, of course (which I haven't read with my younger set yet).
Great read-alouds.
Half-Magic, read, 2013, 5 stars
Magic by the Lake, read, 2013, 4 stars
The Knights Castle, read, 2014, 4 stars
Time Garden, read, 2014, 5 stars
Seven-Day Magic, 5 Stars, read, 2014, so far my favorite! So fun! My little kids wiggle in delight as I read! Very imaginative. Favorite part so far... Small Fredericka has been captured by a great red dragon and is being flown by him out of our world into his.
Magic or Not?, 5 stars, author went in a slightly different direction with this and the next book, kids "make" their own magic and it's really rather nice.
The Well-Wishers, 5 stars. Finally finished. Kids loved it.
Series well worth reading for fun with only a bit of moralizing (and that not heavy-handed by any means and well-done so kids don't feel preached-at).
--
"Where am I? she murmured.
"In magic realms, of course," said the dragon, "and faery lands forlorn. That was what you wished for, wasn't it?"
Fredericka jumped (as well as she could in the dragon's grasp). She hadn't expected an answer. Then she took courage. If the dragon could talk, it was probably a superior type, perhaps even a friendly one. "How do wishes work, exactly?" she said. "I've always wanted to know."
"I don't know how they work for you," said the dragon, "but for us magic things they're sort of doorways into the real world. We'll always get in if we can. Only there aren't many doors left. You must have found one of the last."
"Oh," said Fredericka. She thought for a minute. "But if you wanted to get into our world, why didn't you stay there?"
"What's even better," said the dragon, "is to steal somebody out of your world into ours. The door works both ways. You've heard of fairies kidnapping children. It's the same with dragons. Only different."
Fredericka cleared her throat. "Different in what way?" she asked cautiously. "Where are you taking me?"
"To my lair, of course," said the dragon.
"Why?" said Fredericka.
The dragon appeared embarrassed. "For the usual purpose," it said finally. "Let's not talk about it."
"You mean. . . .?" said Fredericka.
"You know," said the dragon.
"Oh," said Fredericka, in a small voice.
There was a pause.
"Why?" said Fredericka. "Why are you so mean?"
"Made that way," said the dragon, shrugging its wings (and causing a rather bumpy downdraft).
"Have you ever thought," suggested Fredericka, "of going on a vegetable diet? Trees might be tasty."
The dragon shook its head. "Meat," it said, "is meat and drink to me. Of course I prefer princess, but it's almost gone off the market lately. Damsel generally does as well. Or maiden. I've never tried small girl before, but it should be tender, from the feel." And it gripped her tighter in its steely claws.
--
Chapter 7, "Keeping It?" got a little bizarre for the little kids as they didn't get any of the literary references during the adventures of "Barnaby the Wanderer" but I was highly delighted. Especially when the children (who are looking for Barnaby in his favorite books) go into "Dickens" because that's what Barnaby was currently reading.
Excerpt.
"It was quite a change from the island's tropic glare (they had just been in Robinson Crusoe) to Christmas Eve in old London. The children's breath smoked on the chilly air, and a few snowflakes fell. Chimes rang and carol-singers sang carols.
"'Humbug!' muttered an old gentleman, emerging from his office. But 'Merry Christmas!' said almost everyone to everyone else.
"A ragged boy who was sweeping the street crossing didn't seem merry at all, however, and Abbie, touched by his poor and friendless looks, pressed her only nickel into his hand, hoping he could late exchange it for coinage of the realm at the nearest bank.
"'Move on,' said a passing policeman.
"The boy moved on, and Abbie ran to join the others, who were looking in at a window of one of the houses.
"Inside the window a poor but happy family was finishing its Christmas pudding and drawing round the hearth, where chestnuts sputtered and cracked, while the father of the family poured holiday drinks from a jug.
"'God bless us everyone,' said the crippled son of the family, raising his custard cup (without a handle).
"But Barnaby was not among those at Tiny Tim's Christmas dinner.
"Inside the Old Curiosity Shop across the street, where the four children ran to look next, Little Nell and her grandfather were hopefully packing for their long, wandering journey into the country.
"But Barnaby was not among the other curiosities in the shop.
"'This is no good,' said John. 'That Dickens wrote about seventy books, didn't he? We'll never find the right one anyway.'"
Just a delight.
---
Magic or Not?
The Well Wishers
November 26, 2012
Some of the best older fantasy books around, these books altimatly got me into E Nesbit. (That was Eager's desire too.) All of the seven are superb, but Magic or Not? and the Well-Wishers weren't my favorite and I'm slow to read those two again.
April 20, 2013
Wonderful series.
February 4, 2010
I loved these books, and read them multiple times in my childhood.
June 16, 2021
I have such great love for this series of books. As a child, I felt the kids in Edward Eager’s books were recognizable and real in a way the characters in many other books of magic were not. Of course, the illustrations suggest the 1920s and 1950s in the stories following Jane, Katherine, Mark, and Martha, and then their own children later. But to me, reading in the 1970s, the kids felt real and understandable. I loved E. Nesbit, but those children did not live in my world. Jane, Katherine, et al did—even if clothes and cars looked different than those I knew.
I also loved the callbacks to E. Nesbit in the books. I had already read Five Children and It, but the constant reminders of Nesbit encouraged me to dig deeper, and I discovered the Bastables. I was thrilled, years later, to discover that my own child found the Bastables just as funny as I did, though born in the oughts.
One of the best things about Eager’s books of magic is how believable they are. Many magical adventures involve a Chosen One, or travel to different worlds. In Eager’s books, magic can happen just walking down the street. Today it is very popular to play with tropes, but Eager was writing from 1954-1962. Still, he took the familiar outline of the magical story and had a great deal of fun playing with it. The children in the books are familiar with the tropes, they are well read and understand how magic is supposed to work..and yet, they still make mistakes.
How often does the reader think, “I wouldn’t be so silly. if I had a chance at magic, I know just what I’d do…” The books are delightfully funny as the children start from this point..and still wind up making mistake after mistake.
I loved the interplay between generations. There are two books about the original children, Jane, Katherine, Mark, and Martha. There are also two books about the children of, I believe, Katherine and Martha. I always wanted to know more about what my parents’ childhood was like, and I loved the parts of the stories where the children were able to meet their own parents as children.
I also loved Seven Day Magic, where a different group of children discover a magical book at the library that has been on a bottom shelf, soaking in magic for years. There is a part of me that is still searching for that book in every bookstore and library.
I come back to this series every so often, and it never fails to delight me. My own son loved them, too, particularly the Chickadee Tidbits song.
Sadly, Edward Eager died fairly young. I truly believe if he had lived a little longer and written more, his books would be as famous as the giants in the field. Love these books.
I also loved the callbacks to E. Nesbit in the books. I had already read Five Children and It, but the constant reminders of Nesbit encouraged me to dig deeper, and I discovered the Bastables. I was thrilled, years later, to discover that my own child found the Bastables just as funny as I did, though born in the oughts.
One of the best things about Eager’s books of magic is how believable they are. Many magical adventures involve a Chosen One, or travel to different worlds. In Eager’s books, magic can happen just walking down the street. Today it is very popular to play with tropes, but Eager was writing from 1954-1962. Still, he took the familiar outline of the magical story and had a great deal of fun playing with it. The children in the books are familiar with the tropes, they are well read and understand how magic is supposed to work..and yet, they still make mistakes.
How often does the reader think, “I wouldn’t be so silly. if I had a chance at magic, I know just what I’d do…” The books are delightfully funny as the children start from this point..and still wind up making mistake after mistake.
I loved the interplay between generations. There are two books about the original children, Jane, Katherine, Mark, and Martha. There are also two books about the children of, I believe, Katherine and Martha. I always wanted to know more about what my parents’ childhood was like, and I loved the parts of the stories where the children were able to meet their own parents as children.
I also loved Seven Day Magic, where a different group of children discover a magical book at the library that has been on a bottom shelf, soaking in magic for years. There is a part of me that is still searching for that book in every bookstore and library.
I come back to this series every so often, and it never fails to delight me. My own son loved them, too, particularly the Chickadee Tidbits song.
Sadly, Edward Eager died fairly young. I truly believe if he had lived a little longer and written more, his books would be as famous as the giants in the field. Love these books.
October 11, 2021
Each volume of the series offered a similar adventure, wherein girls and boys experience time travel, teleportation, or other nominally impossible things. The young reader or the child listening to the tale has vicarious access to a range of feelings. As a grandparent reading to a geographically-distant 6 year old, online once a week, over several months, it was quite satisfactory.
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September 5, 2019FAVORITE CLASSIC CHILDREN'S BOOKS
November 6, 2010
These 7 books by Edward Eager were my absolute favorites growing up. I checked them out from the library time and time again. I still read them occasionally. They are timeless classics about ordinary children thrown into extraordinary situations. Lots of wonderful references to history and children's literature. Of the seven, Half Magic, The Thyme Garden and Knight's Castle are my very favorites!
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September 4, 2015I CAN ACTUALLY THINK OF FAR MOAR CHILDREN'S BOOKS IL THAN ~*~TEEN BOOKS~*~, AND IT'S NOT JUST THE NOSTALGIA.
EDWARD EAGER! :D I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THOSE BOOKS IN YEARS.
I THINK I READ A BUNCH OF THEM, BUT I MOASTLY REMEMBER THE ONE WHERE THEY WERE TRAPPED IN A TOY CASTLE OR SOMETHING AND ALL THEIR TOYS CAME TO LIFE AND WERE KIND OF EVIL, AND THE ONE WITH THE TIME/THYME GARDEN AND THE CRANKY TOAD.
&EDWARD EAGER;
EDWARD EAGER! :D I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THOSE BOOKS IN YEARS.
I THINK I READ A BUNCH OF THEM, BUT I MOASTLY REMEMBER THE ONE WHERE THEY WERE TRAPPED IN A TOY CASTLE OR SOMETHING AND ALL THEIR TOYS CAME TO LIFE AND WERE KIND OF EVIL, AND THE ONE WITH THE TIME/THYME GARDEN AND THE CRANKY TOAD.
&EDWARD EAGER;
May 20, 2012
"Half Magic" was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I remember my mom reading it to me and my sister when we were little. I hadn't read the other Edward Eager books until just recently, but I still enjoyed them. They're wonderful children's books - full of magic and adventure.
February 27, 2013
The first book is by far my favorite in the series, although the rest I liked as well. The humerous half-wishes and the challenge the kids have overcoming them is a story that I will always treasure.
June 12, 2010
Great children's series. The kids are smart and literate, without being annoyingly precocious. Some of the books are stronger than others, but that's to be expected in series of seven volumes.
March 20, 2014
Definitely a set I will add to our family library. Loved these as a child. Fond memories.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews