A Matter-of-Fact Magic Book: The Trouble with Magic (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

Chew, Ruth

ISBN 10: 0449813819 ISBN 13: 9780449813812

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2014

Synopsis

When Barbara and Rick Benton find a wizard named Harrison Peabody in an old bottle, they quickly discover that magic isn't as simple as it looks. But even tricky magic is better than no magic, and soon the Bentons are flying around Prospect Park with a large black umbrella and befriending a sea serpent in the lake. How can they keep Harrison a secret, though, when he's living in their attic?

Delightful stories that deal with matter-of-fact magic, Ruth Chew's books have been engaging young readers for over 40 years. Now a new generation can discover the timelessness of these marvelous tales.

About this title

About the Author

Working as a fashion artist, she started writing stories about witches for the youngest of her five children. The first of these, The Wednesday Witch, was a big hit, and her new career was born. Ruth Chew went on to write 29 tales of magic and fantasy that have enchanted generations of readers.RUTH CHEW was born in Minneapolis and studied at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C.

From Booklist

When Barbara and her brother open an old bottle they have purchased at a Brooklyn supermarket, a wizard emerges genielike and enormous, before shrinking to become a genial man holding a black umbrella. The children hide the rather hapless wizard in their attic and protect him. After he introduces them to his friend George, a sea serpent in Prospect Park Lake, the adventures begin. While the colorful, new jacket art will draw readers, Chew’s shadowy graphite drawings work their own magic throughout the book. First published in 1976, this amiable fantasy is like many of Chew’s books in that it weaves magical adventures into everyday life. Satisfying fare for kids who enjoy gentle fantasies, the book will also suit younger children reading above grade level. Look for this edition along with several reprints of Chew’s other stand-alone titles that have been unavailable for some time, including No Such Thing as a Witch (2013), What the Witch Left (2013), and Magic in the Park (2014). Grades 3-5. --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0449813819
• ISBN 13: 9780449813812
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 144