Half-Magic

Edward Eager was born in and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. A Harvard graduate, Eager was a lifelong fan of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing children's books when he couldn’t find stories he wanted to read to his own son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his debt to E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's author of all time. 


Half Magic is the first book of the Tales of Magic series. In the book, we meet Katharine, Mark, Jane and Martha, who have found a magic coin-like talisman. The problem is that it only grants half of any wish made by its bearer — a wish to be on a desert island sends them to the Sahara desert, and their mother ends up halfway home when she wishes to return home during a dull visit to her relatives. That "half magic" is a challenge, sometimes comical, until the children learn to double their wishes.