Half Magic

Siblings Katherine, Mark, Jane and Martha are resigned to a boring summer when they find a magical amulet that grants wishes.  Amazing, right?  Yes, it is, until they find out that it only grants half wishes.  (If you wish to be on a desert island, you end up in a desert.)  As the kids figure out how to manage the magic, they have to keep their mother from feeling like she’s going crazy.  Is the cat talking to her, for example?  If you like stories about magic happening to regular kids like yourself and Charlie Bucket, you might like Half Magic and its sequels.

Author: Edward Eager
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  family
Part of a series: yes

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Five Children And It

Did you ever hear of a sand fairy?  Neither has Cyril, Anthea, Robert or Jane who discover one on their school holiday in a quarry.  The grumpy sand fairy grants them wishes, but the wishes never turn out quite how the kids want. If this sounds a little like Edward Eager’s Half Magic (another fun book about magic happening to regular kids), you’re right!  Eager was influenced by Nesbit (and so was famous author C.S. Lewis).  Five Children and It is similar to Charlie And The Chocolate Factory in the way that magical things happen to regular kids, although Cyril, Anthea, Robert and Jane don’t have Charlie’s amazing luck.

Author: E. Nesbit
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  family
Part of a series: yes

Five Children And It is a free ebook you can download from Gutenberg.org

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The Railway Children

Siblings Roberta, Phyllis and Peter create their own “magic” when they move from London to the countryside.  Their home is near the railway station and, like Charlie, they have to deal with poverty.  Also like Charlie, they meet some very special people who help them solve the challenges they face.

Author: E. Nesbit
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  family
Part of a series: no

The Railway Children is a free ebook you can download from Gutenberg.org

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The Moffats

Another story about regular kids and the kind of  adventures and fun that happen as part of everyday life.  The Moffats are four kids who have lived in the same house their whole lives but now have to move.  If you like the Moffats as much as Charlie, there are several books in the series.

Author: Eleanor Estes
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  family
Part of a series:  yes

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