Rating: 
Summary: A good place to start with Eager
Review: ...This is a simple little tale of a group of children who discover a little bit of magic in an old toy soldier. In Eager's work, magic has fairly strict rules (in _Half-Magic_, the charm granted any wish--but only in halves), and here the rules work as a kind of companion to the idea that magic can only work if you continue to believe in it (that is, if you start to think of the creatures you are interacting with simply as dolls, they revert to being dolls again). The plot achieves its urgency through a possible problem in the family, but, with a little help, everything can be solved. A little more moralistic and straight-forward than some of his others, but well worth reading--especially if you've never tried Eager before.
Rating:
Summary: Fun book
Review: Cute story, good characters and excellent writing. This is a book that will hold the attention of most readers - young and old.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best children's books ever written!
Review: I first read Eager's books as a child and I have been reading them on and off for the last twenty-five years (I keep a complete collection in my bedroom and I read them whenever I want a good laugh). Eager writes on two levels--there is something in this (and all of his books) for both children and adults. As a kid, I loved Roger, Ann, Eliza and Jack because they aren't perfect and because they have their own squabbles and flaws. As an adult, I find them refreshing in their honesty---Eliza, especially, always lets you know how she feels! The story is wonderful and begins with the scenario of all great children's books (missing or distracted parents). Roger and Ann's father requires emergency surgery and the family travels east to Baltimore for the operation. A visit to Aunt Katherine's is to be dreaded b/c of cousins Jack and Eliza (as Ann puts it "Jack and Eliza---help!). Jack is camera-obsessed while Eliza was the bossiest nine year old on the block before she moved to Baltimore. But...a magical gift from Uncle Mark brings the cousins together. A castle complete with all the characters from Ivanhoe comes magically alive every three nights and Jack, Eliza, Ann and Roger are soon embarked on a variety of quests. Somehow tho' nothing seems to work out quite as Roger, Jack, Eliza and Ann plan---Ivanhoe is nearly captured when Roger spills the beans about his hidden presence in the castle, an attempt to modernize 'ye merrie England' results in Ivanhoe's experimenting with space travel and so on. Gradually, Roger realizes that he needs to perform a great deed if he is to help his father recover and he, Ann, Jack and Eliza draw on their own inner strengths to perform the necessary quest and save chivalry for ever. Don't miss out on this book! Half Magic, Magic By the Lake (which deal with Roger and Ann's mom and her siblings) and The Time Garden (which features Jack, Eliza, Ann and Roger) are among the best children's books written this century. I won't compare them to the Harry Potter books (equally great!) but I will say that if you loved Harry Potter, you will love Edward Eager.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Adventure!
Review: I first read this book when I was a child. Recently, I have reread it as I have introduced it to my nieces and it still holds up to being among the best books I have ever read. Somehow the books I have read as an adult have not sparked my imagination nearly as much as this book. This book truly is a magical adventure that one can never tire of.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as Half-Magic
Review: I've read all books by Eager from the Magic Box set, and I would rate them in this order (from best to worst):
1)Half-Magic
2)The Time Garden
3)Magic by the Lake
4)Knight's Castle Knight's Castle was confusing and not as funny as it tried to be. It is about 4 children that live in the story of Ivanhoe and Robin Hood at night. However, there were some good moments between Roger and his sister Ann.
If I were a child between 9-12, I think I would have loved all of them. However, Eager's books are not as modern as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, and won't be enjoyed as much by adults.
Rating:
Summary: A classic "sleeper" of children's lit
Review: My oldest sister introduced me to Eager's book when I was 10 and she was 26. Now I'm 32 and I'm hoping to reintroduce this and other Eager books to the children in my family. Knight's Castle is the perfect bedtime read-out-loud kind of book and will make any child believe magic could happen to them.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter's cousins
Review: Potter, Schmotter! As much as we loved the Harry Potter books, and my daughters and I devoured them, I knew they would love Edward Eager's books just as much, if not more. Believably real children, believable magic, everyday situations that turn out to be anything but, Edward Eager wrote about it all forty years ago. My older sister introduced me to Half Magic when I was about 8, and after reading the whole collection, I re-read them again in high school. Knight's Castle was always my favorite, for all the reasons mentioned by the other reviews, but also because it dealt with the very real situation of children who have more and children who have less, and how we all get along. I wonder, what is Edward Eager doing now? Does anyone know?
Rating:
Summary: The interesting book
Review: The book is interesting and funny. It's all about four children, two of whom must go to their cousin's house because it is close to the hospital where their dad will be treated. Suddenly, one the children's toys comes to life and starts talking. He tells them about a magic world and offers them a wish. They want their father to be well, but for that to happen, they have to earn the wish by living in the toy's world - in the time of Robin Hood!
As the children play in the world, they end up messing up history. They even play baseball with the Saxons.
This was a funny book. There were so many funny parts, that I don't have a favorite
Rating:
Summary: Knights Castle
Review: The Knight's Castle is a fabulous book for many reasons. One becuase it is a fantasy book which takes you through the Middle Ages. In this book there are two kids and there cousins. And there Dad or Uncle you could say, is suffering from a disease. And they are offered a wish, and they wish that there Dad or Uncle would get better. They have to earn there wish by going back in time of the time of Ivanhoe and Robin Hood and Ivanhoe, and completing a mission.
Rating:
Summary: A unique fantasy
Review: This was my first Edward Eager book, and it was not my last. It's a part of Eager's ongoing, sometimes intertwined fantasy serieses starring flawed yet admirable characters. Note: There's a bit of an in-joke in one bit of dialogue, concerning the kids' mothers from a previous book of Eager's, but it won't confuse you if you've so much as read the back of the other books. Roger and his sister's father needs surgery, and his frightened kids are taken along to stay with their cousins, bossy Eliza and camera-obsessed Jack. The thing that cheers frightened Roger up is a toy castle his aunt gives him, and his vast army of toy soldiers. But the oldest of them all tells Roger that he must EARN his wishes... Soon Roger and his relatives (parents excluded) are tossed into the medieval world of Robin Hood and Ivanhoe, a world that can be altered by what is set around the toys, such as wastepaper baskets and dollhouses. The ending is still a bit confusing (I'm not entirely certain what's going on) but the book overall has far more intricacy and imagination than Harry Potter or Which Witch or anything like that. Especially since Eager wrote this decades ago, when children's fantasy was much more scarce. The kids are all totally believable and enjoyable, and the various knights and ladies either make you cheer or boo, depending on whether they're despicable or not.. Utter not the words of power: "Lead soldiers!"
| 
