Waiting for the Magic
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
People may drift apart, but love can hold them together. A touching tale of pets and family told in the “venerable spare and moving style” of Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan, author of Sarah, Plain and Tall (Booklist).
When William’s father leaves, his mother promptly goes out and adds four dogs and a cat to their lives. William’s sure that nothing can fill the hole left by his father, but the new additions to the family are determined to help. With his sister, Elinor, and his mother, William will learn that “family” can come in all shapes and sizes, because sometimes we find love through magic, and sometimes that magic is all around us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Newbery Medalist MacLachlan tackles the familiar yet always heart-wrenching subject of parental separation in her venerable spare and moving style. "It was early on a Saturday summer morning when my mother and father stopped arguing and Papa walked away," begins William, a fourth-grader who is quietly shaken and angry at his father's departure. He is astounded when his mother, engulfed by emotion, immediately drives him and his four-year-old sister, Elinor, to the pound, where they bring home all four dogs they find, plus a cat. The characters are individualistic, believable, and likable, and the impulsive acquisition and heartwarming presence of the animals suggest an affecting work of realistic fiction. MacLachlan moves it into fantasy, however, by creating voices wise ones for each of the dogs, which Elinor can immediately hear; the others must open themselves to the possibility of magic before they come to hear the dogs, as well. While the talking animals initially feel like a contrivance, they bring an amusing and uplifting tenderness to this story of a family working to trust again readers facing similar turmoil will wish they had such a source of support. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8 12.
