WELL-WISHERS (Tales of Magic, 6) Paperback – August 30, 2016

Everything about Edward Eager's books borders on perfect. His use of words is so descriptive and evocative. His plots and characters are accessible at any age. His books age remarkably well. And the ambiguity - is it, in the words for the preceding book, Magic or Not? - engages the reader and unifies the story throughout.He particularly excels at dialog. His characters are so witty! Current generations could do far worse than to copy their speech.The vocabulary can be challenging, so unless younger readers are the kind to google words or ask for definitions, it might be best for adults to read it aloud to them. Confession: I wouldn't mind reading it aloud to a couple kids, but the truth is that I bought it to reread myself!

Edward Eager's books are well written, magical and educational. I discovered these books this year, 2012, as a result of my 8 year old son's interest in magic books. Amazon pointed me to these and we now own all seven of the series - they are well worth it. Published in the 1950's they remain interesting and imaginative.

My son (8) loves the whole series of Eager's 'magic' books. Every chapter ends with him saying, "Next chapter!" and we have had one rainy day that let us have the excuse to read a whole book in one sitting, with him hanging on every word and full of excitement about what was happening. The true measure is that even after we have finished a story, he keeps talking about the characters and the events and imagining what it would be like to find 'magic' in his everyday world, too.

Although I've loved all of Eager's magic tales since I was in 4th grade, I have been a little surprised to realize as an adult reader that I actually like the two modeled on E. Nesbit's Wouldbegoods/New Treasure Seekers, this one and its prequel, _Magic or Not?_ best of the seven stories. Without the flashy magic misadventures, I find that it's the characters and the social milieu that I love the best, well that and the way that the stories work out in their setting.

Just for personal pleasure, I wanted to reread books I had enjoyed as a child and pass them on to my grandchildren.

[...]The Well-Wishers is the second part of the previous Tales of Magic book, Magic or Not?, which includes the same children we have come to adore! James, Kip, Laura, Lydia, and Gordy are back with new adventures!I thought it was interesting how this book was written. It reminds me a lot of the first book in which each child has their own chapter in the book and explains all about their adventure. I really like that it was in first-person because I feel like that gives a more personal feel to the novel. You really get to know more about the characters and I felt like part of their group.There is so much more to learn about each of the characters in this book. They are much more developed and we begin to see signs of them starting to "grow-up" and wanting to leave magic behind. So sad! I don't feel like I should tell you more about them because you should discover that for yourself, but it is important to know that they are growing as characters. It is sad to spend two books with them and learn to love them so much only to see them go. I don't believe they are around in the final Tales of Magic book. Anyway, the characters are great!I like the plot , but it is closely related to the previous book, but with different adventures. The children want to help people in the neighborhood and use the wishing well as a means to do so; however, they are never certain whether it really is magic or just a bunch of coincidences. I actually found the first adventure with Gordy to be the most interesting, but they were all entertaining. I also like how there are several lessons to be learned in this novel that are important for children to know. The one thing I wasn't too sure about was right at the end in about the last chapter when we see James start to mature a little and find an interest in girls. There wasn't anything too inappropriate about it, which was good, but if you are a parent and don't like anything like that then this book can be easily skipped.So, I really like this book, but just like the previous one, it is not my favorite just because nothing really magical actually happens to make it... well more magical. I did like that it was a little different though, especially in a series with as many books as this one it helps to change it up a little. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves this series or adores fantasy books. It is also a great book for children!

I gave this book, as well as the rest of the series by Edward Eager, to my 8-year old niece for Christmas. After opening her presents, she immediately started reading the book and had read 3/4 of the book before they went home that evening. She said it was "Awesome!" and she really enjoyed reading it. I'd say this series would be well recommended.

I purchased this one specifically, because of the cover picture. And what I recieved was the other cover picture offered...bummed about it but it's not the end of the world. Still a quality book.