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From: ccrrick@ucdavis.UUCP (Rick Heli)
Newsgroups: net.books,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Trying to remember a book title
Message-ID: <221@ucdavis.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 3-Nov-85 18:47:03 EST
Article-I.D.: ucdavis.221
Posted: Sun Nov  3 18:47:03 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 5-Nov-85 08:42:20 EST
References: <274@infinet.UUCP>
Organization: University of California, Davis
Lines: 31
Xref: linus net.books:2403 net.sf-lovers:9861

> {}
> 
> When I was in the third grade (about 24 years ago) I read a book that
> sort of got me started on science fiction/fantasy.  It involved some
> kids who found an old coin which granted them wishes... sort of.
> The coin was so old that they had to wish for everything twice to
> get a complete wish, otherwise they only got half of what they
> wished for.
> 
> I only remember brief scenes beyond that.  I think I remember
> that they went back in time and met Merlin at King Arthur's Court
> and he considered taking the coin away from them until they talked
> him out of it. I remember that they tried to modify the behavior of
> their mother (who was giving them a hard time) to make her less
> strict and were not pleased with the outcome.  Eventually the coin
> stopped working for them and they passed it along to someone else.
> 
> I would really like to find this book again.  It invoked a sense
> of wonder in me that I have not forgotten.
> 

Half Magic by Edward Eager.  He also wrote sequels called
Knight's Castle (the best in my opinion) in which the children of
the protagonists in Half Magic relive Ivanhoe, Magic by the Lake
which featured the same characters as in Half Magic and 2 or 3
other books with similar features.  These books are wonderful and
I do my best to introduce them to all young children of my
acquaintance.
-- 
					--rick heli
					(... ucbvax!ucdavis!ccrrick)