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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Love From Your Friend, Hannah

When Hannah’s assigned pen pal turn out to be disappointing, she decides to upgrade to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and guess what?  The President writes back!  This story, told in letters, is about a regular girl dealing with the challenges of life in upstate New York during the Great Depression, when a lot of people are poor and out of work.  Hannah’s gumption is reminiscent of Charlie’s unconquerable hope that he will, in the end, find that golden ticket.

Author: Mindy Warshaw Skolsky
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  Girl
Part of a series:  yes

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Clementine

No matter how hard Clementine tries to do the right thing, she always seems to get in trouble.  She’s a regular kid like Charlie, but without Charlie’s luck.  She has lots of creative ideas, though, and so may grow up to be someone like Mr. Wonka, always inventing!

Author: Sara Pennypacker
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  Girl
Part of a series:  yes

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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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Henry Huggins

If you like how great things happen to a regular kid like Charlie, you might like the fun things that happen to Henry Huggins.  The only magic in this book is the kind that can take place in real life, but that’s all the more special because it’s the kind that can happen to you or me!

Author: Beverly Cleary
Ages: 9 – 12
Main character(s):  Boy
Part of a series: yes

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