by Edward Eager
Ill. by N.M. Bodecker
I read Half Magic as a kid and loved it. When I had my own kids and would read to them at night, I found my husband's childhood paperback copy at his parents' house. Half Magic is a story about four bored siblings who find a coin-like talisman that grants them half of whatever wish they happen to make when holding it. For instance, when they wish they were home, they are suddenly half-way home. The kids find a way around the half-magic and controlling their wishes and have a marvelous time.
Part of why I liked this book was for the line art by N. M. Bodecker. I always feel a little bad for those paperbacks from the 1960's and '70's. The paper was so cheap and turned brittle, but the cover art and internal art was still cool. So I decided to preserve a couple of old paperbacks, at least for a little longer, by turning them into hard covers.
Since I found three of the other books from Eager's Magic series at the Friends of the Rochester Public Library Bookstore that were library bound discards (thank you, Friends!), I wanted hubby's paperback to (kind of) match.
