Books with title The magic chalk

Miri is the only single child in the middle of a family with two sets of twins--older brothers and younger sisters. When the family moves to an old farmhouse Miri accidentally travels back in time to 1935 only to discover Molly, a girl in need of a real family to call her own. A very satisfying classic-in-the-making, with spine-tingling moments, this is a delightful family-friendly middle grade time-slip novel.

Philip Haldane and his sister lived in a little red-roofed house in a little red-roofed town. They had a little garden and a little balcony, and a little stable with a little pony in it—and a little cart for the pony to draw; a little canary hung in a little cage in the little bow-window, and the neat little servant kept everything as bright and clean as a little new pin. Philip had no one but his sister, and she had no one but Philip. Their parents were dead, and Helen, who was twenty years older than Philip and was really his half-sister, was all the mother he had ever known. And he had never envied other boys their mothers, because Helen was so kind and clever and dear. She gave up almost all her time to him; she taught him all the lessons he learned; she played with him, inventing the most wonderful new games and adventures. So that every morning when Philip woke he knew that he was waking to a new day of joyous and interesting happenings. And this went on till Philip was ten years old, and he had no least shadow of a doubt that it would go on for ever. The beginning of the change came one day when he and Helen had gone for a picnic to the wood where the waterfall was, and as they were driving back behind the stout old pony, who was so good and quiet that Philip was allowed to drive it. They were coming up the last lane before the turning where their house was, and Helen said: 'To-morrow we'll weed the aster bed and have tea in the garden.'

This is a story for children aged 4 to 14. I wrote it when well beyond my 14th year and, despite being aged now, I would like someone, particularly a child, to read it to me. Maybe you would too if there is something left in you, as there is in all of us, that grew before you were 14. This is a story of imagination and fantasy; of kingdoms far away and long ago; of bloody deeds and horrible gnomes; of enemies who become friends and then become enemies again; of a Prince who worries a lot and saves his people; of castles and drawbridges and of boastful young warriors. Children do not need to get away to relax and have fun. The world is so new to them and their spirits are so active, present-minded and curious that they unconsciously love living in the here and now, which may not be the real here and now if such exists. So, if you are a parent with a child and have a child in you, read this story to both children, go to strange places and have fun.

The Magic City is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, first published in 1910. It initially appeared as a serial in The Strand Magazine, with illustrations by Spencer Pryse. After Philip's older sister and sole family member Helen marries, he goes off to live with his new step sister Lucy. He has trouble adjusting at first, thrown into a world different from his previous life and abandoned by his sister while she is on her honeymoon. To entertain himself he builds a giant model city from things around the house: game pieces, books, blocks, bowls, etc. Then through some magic he finds himself inside the city, and it is alive with the people he has populated it with.