Half Magic (Tales of Magic)

Life is rather dull over summer break for Jane, Mark, Katherine and Martha, four siblings whose father has been long deceased and whose mother works constantly. To make matters worse, they have an overbearing nanny, and all of their schoolmates are off having summer adventures at camps or on vacations, which the children can only dream about. And so life seems to stretch on endlessly without incident. Or it did until Jane found a shiny coin on a sidewalk and rashly wished that only SOMETHING might happen, if only a fire. And it does, although not how Jane envisioned it. To the sibling's great surprise, a child's playhouse catches ablaze up the street. Luckily no one is hurt and from then on the children realize they have a magic talisman and the answer to their summer doldrums in hand. However, after finding themselves in a blazing desert after wishing to be on a desert island, they find the coin grants wishes in a very peculiar manner and that is by halves! Thereafter the children must be careful to wish for twice as much as they want. And more than that, they must be careful what they wish for in the first place. It's easy to make a mess of a wish when excitement or tempers take over, however, and the four children's escapades are fraught with hilarity and sticky situations that they must work together to overcome. Softcover, 203 pages. Written by Edward Eager.