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Julia Redfern #4
Julia's Magic
A broken perfume bottle and the threat of losing their home cause a crisis in the Redfern family that shakes Julia's belief in magic.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
40 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Cameron
28 books52 followersEleanor Frances Butler Cameron (1912 - 1996) was a Canadian children's author who spent most of her life in California. Born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1912, her family then moved to South Charleston, Ohio when she was 3 years old. Her father farmed and her mother ran a hotel. After three years, they moved to Berkeley, California. Her parents divorced a few years later. At 16, she moved with her mother and stepfather to Los Angeles. She credits her English mother's love of story telling for her inspiration to write and make up stories.
She attended UCLA and the Art Center School of Los Angeles. In 1930, she started working at the Los Angeles Public Library and later worked as a research librarian for the Los Angeles Board of Education and two different advertising companies. She married Ian Cameron, a printmaker and publisher, in 1934 and the couple had a son, David, in 1944.
Her first book came out in 1950, based on her experience as a librarian. It was well received by critics, but didn't sell well. She did not start writing children's books until her son asked him to write one starring him as a character. this resulted in her popular series The Mushroom Planet.
With the success of the Mushroom Planet books, Cameron focused on writing for children. Between 1959 and 1988 she produced 12 additional children's novels, including The Court of the Stone Children (1973) and the semi-autobiographical five book Julia Redfern series (1971–1988). She won the National Book Award for Court of the Stone Children in 1973, and was a runner up for To The Green Mountains in 1979.
In addition to her fiction work, Cameron wrote two books of criticism and reflection on children's literature. The first, The Green and Burning Tree, was released in 1969 and led an increased profile for Cameron in the world of children's literature. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s Cameron worked as a traveling speaker and contributor to publications such as The Horn Book Magazine, Wilson Library Bulletin, and Children's Literature in Education. She was also a member of the founding editorial board for the children's magazine Cricket, which debuted in 1973. In 1972 she and Roald Dahl exchanged barbs across three issues of The Horn Book, a magazine devoted to critical discussions of children's and young adult fiction. Her second book of essays, The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books, came out in 1993. It is her final published book.
From late 1967 until her death Cameron made her home in Pebble Beach, California. She died in hospice in Monterey, California on October 11, 1996 at the age of 84.[
She attended UCLA and the Art Center School of Los Angeles. In 1930, she started working at the Los Angeles Public Library and later worked as a research librarian for the Los Angeles Board of Education and two different advertising companies. She married Ian Cameron, a printmaker and publisher, in 1934 and the couple had a son, David, in 1944.
Her first book came out in 1950, based on her experience as a librarian. It was well received by critics, but didn't sell well. She did not start writing children's books until her son asked him to write one starring him as a character. this resulted in her popular series The Mushroom Planet.
With the success of the Mushroom Planet books, Cameron focused on writing for children. Between 1959 and 1988 she produced 12 additional children's novels, including The Court of the Stone Children (1973) and the semi-autobiographical five book Julia Redfern series (1971–1988). She won the National Book Award for Court of the Stone Children in 1973, and was a runner up for To The Green Mountains in 1979.
In addition to her fiction work, Cameron wrote two books of criticism and reflection on children's literature. The first, The Green and Burning Tree, was released in 1969 and led an increased profile for Cameron in the world of children's literature. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s Cameron worked as a traveling speaker and contributor to publications such as The Horn Book Magazine, Wilson Library Bulletin, and Children's Literature in Education. She was also a member of the founding editorial board for the children's magazine Cricket, which debuted in 1973. In 1972 she and Roald Dahl exchanged barbs across three issues of The Horn Book, a magazine devoted to critical discussions of children's and young adult fiction. Her second book of essays, The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books, came out in 1993. It is her final published book.
From late 1967 until her death Cameron made her home in Pebble Beach, California. She died in hospice in Monterey, California on October 11, 1996 at the age of 84.[
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 9, 2022
Gabriela Guerrero 4/8/22
A mi si me gusto este libro. El libro habla de la familia de una niña y sus problemas. Me gusto como era Julia. Julia tal vez tenía como seis o siete años y ella tiene un espíritu tan aventurera y eso era lo que me gusto mas de Julia. Me dio pena el papá de Julia porque él estaba tan estresado de la casa. El no queria perder su casa por que tenia tanto memorias de su familia. Pero si yo fuera una terapeuta yo le diría a él que la casa no es más que una casa. Que él siempre va a tener esas memorias de su familia en su corazón, que su casa no es la cosa hace su mundo completo. Es el amor que él tiene por su familia que hace su vida completa. También me dio mucha pena por Alex porque ella no hizo nada y su hermana le echo la culpa por algo que hizo su hija, y yo no creo que era necesario a botar Alex de su casa sobre una botella de perfume.
A mi si me gusto este libro. El libro habla de la familia de una niña y sus problemas. Me gusto como era Julia. Julia tal vez tenía como seis o siete años y ella tiene un espíritu tan aventurera y eso era lo que me gusto mas de Julia. Me dio pena el papá de Julia porque él estaba tan estresado de la casa. El no queria perder su casa por que tenia tanto memorias de su familia. Pero si yo fuera una terapeuta yo le diría a él que la casa no es más que una casa. Que él siempre va a tener esas memorias de su familia en su corazón, que su casa no es la cosa hace su mundo completo. Es el amor que él tiene por su familia que hace su vida completa. También me dio mucha pena por Alex porque ella no hizo nada y su hermana le echo la culpa por algo que hizo su hija, y yo no creo que era necesario a botar Alex de su casa sobre una botella de perfume.
February 5, 2022
This book should actually be read first. To read the Julia Redfern books chronologically, the order is:
Julia's Magic
That Julia Redfern
Julia and the Hand of G-d
A Room Made of Windows
The Private Worlds of Julia Redfern
I really liked this one. Julia and the other characters behaved in believable ways (other than Greg, who is consistently portrayed in a way that rings false, acting about ten years older than his age in all the books before "A Room Made of Windows"). Julia's adventures in this book were interesting and varied. I will feel fine handing this book off to the next generation to read.
Julia's Magic
That Julia Redfern
Julia and the Hand of G-d
A Room Made of Windows
The Private Worlds of Julia Redfern
I really liked this one. Julia and the other characters behaved in believable ways (other than Greg, who is consistently portrayed in a way that rings false, acting about ten years older than his age in all the books before "A Room Made of Windows"). Julia's adventures in this book were interesting and varied. I will feel fine handing this book off to the next generation to read.
November 11, 2014
One of my favorite childhood books.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews