Edward Eager | Author | LibraryThing

About the Author

Edward Eager (1911-1964) worked primarily as a playwright and lyricist. It wasn't until 1951, while searching for books to read to his young son, that he began writing children's stories. In each of his books, he carefully acknowledges his indebtedness to E. Nesbit, whom he considered the best show more children's writer of all time -- "so that any child who likes my books and doesn't know hers may be led back to the master of us all" show less

Includes the names: Edward Eager, Eager Edward, Edwards Eager

Image credit: GoodReads

Series

Tales of Magic

Works by Edward Eager

Popular Recent

Half Magic (1954) 4,436 copies, 90 reviews

Magic by the Lake (1957) 1,649 copies, 23 reviews

Knight's Castle (1956) 1,633 copies, 21 reviews

The Time Garden (1958) 1,297 copies, 16 reviews

Seven-Day Magic (1962) 1,266 copies, 15 reviews

Magic or Not? (1959) 939 copies, 12 reviews

The Well-Wishers (1960) 891 copies, 7 reviews

Edward Eager's Tales of Magic (2000) 90 copies

Edward Eager's Magic Tales (1999) 58 copies

Mouse Manor (1952) 15 copies

Playing Possum (1955) 2 copies

The Adventures of Marco Polo (Original 1956 Television Cast) 1 copy

Seven-Day Magic (Books for Young Readers) by Eager, Edward published by Harcourt, Brace & World Paperback 1 copy

The Time Garden by Eager, Edward, Bodecker, N. M. (1999) Paperback 1 copy

Red Head (1951) 1 copy

The Railway Children / Five Children and It / Half Magic 1 copy

The Phantom Tollbooth / The Egypt Game / Half Magic 1 copy

Half Magic / Magic by the Lake / Knight's Castle / Magic or Not? / The Well-Wishers / Seven-Day Magic 1 copy

Half Magic / Five Children and It / The Egypt Game 1 copy

Work Explorer

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Common Knowledge

Legal name: Eager, Edward McMaken
Birthdate: 1911-06-20
Date of death: 1964-10-23
Gender: male
Nationality: USA (birth)
Birthplace: Toledo, Ohio, USA
Place of death: Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Cause of death: lung cancer
Places of residence: Toledo, Ohio, USA
New York, New York, USA
New Canaan, Connecticut, USA
Education: Harvard University
Occupations: playwright
novelist
lyricist
children's book author
Short biography: Began writing children's books after searching for books to read to his son. His popular "magic" stories are heavily influenced by the works of E. Nesbit.

Members

Reviews

Half Magic: Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition by Edward Eager

Four children wish on a Half Magic coin that gets their mother Alison half-way home, rescued by Mr Smith. Mark's wish zaps them to a desert without island, where half-talking cat Carrie gabbles to a camel. Romantic Katherine battles Launcelot. Eldest Jane rejects siblings for another family. Stubborn youngest, Martha, causes a riot downtown.

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LynneQuan | 89 other reviews | Dec 12, 2024 |

The Time Garden by Edward Eager

Whoops, nope. Got to the point of savage Indians, checked reviews, and found references to cannibals and other stuff I don't care to read about. Some stories just don't age well.

December 2021

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Cheryl_in_CC_NV | 15 other reviews | Oct 18, 2024 |

Tales of Magic: Seven-Day Magic (#7) by Edward Eager

All books are magic, but some are more magical than others.

When Susan opens a strange library book, she discovers it is about her and her friends, leading up to the moment when she opened the book. Beyond that, the pages are blank . . . waiting for the children to wish the book full of adventures.

Fredericka asks for wizards and beasties, and a dragon carries her off. Susan journeys to the world of "Half Magic", and finds that mixing magic creates trouble--far too much to deal with before the book is due back at the library. Will their adventure end happily ever after?… (more)

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PlumfieldCH | 14 other reviews | Sep 6, 2024 |

Half Magic by Edward Eager

A good read to your sick kid book. Spent the last couple of days reading this aloud to my son. It isn’t a five, but is a good children’s book that is light and fun. All the characteristics are here, humor, family love, growth of characters, and even a wedding.

1