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Any Which Wall

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Four kids, a mysterious wall, and a good helping of common magic!

If you had a magic wall that could take you to any place and any time, where would you go? Would you want to visit castles and desert islands? Would you want to meet famous wizards, terrible pirates, beautiful queens, and dastardly outlaws? If so, then you are just like Henry and Emma, and Roy and Susan—and you will probably like this story a lot. In fact, you might even wish something similar would happen to you!
In Any Which Wall, author Laurel Snyder proves that you don’t have to be an orphan, know a dragon, or even be a child to get a taste of magic. You just have to keep your mind open and willing to let it happen. And when you do find magic (like Henry, Emma, Roy, and Susan), you might be surprised that along with all the fun, you also find out new things about your friends, your family, and maybe even a little bit about who you really want to be.
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  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      June 1, 2009
      Gr 3-6-During an Iowa summer, two sets of sibling neighborsfirst-grader Emma and fifth-grader Henry, fifth-grader Roy and seventh-grader Susanare getting bored. Luckily, adventure looms in the shape of a huge wall in the middle of a cornfield. When the children discover that it is magic and figure out its rules and parameters, they are transported to Merlin's castle, the American frontier, the home of "the worst pirate in the world," modern-day New York City, and an ice-cream shop and a movie theater. This book begins with a quote from Edward Eager's "Seven-Day Magic" (Houghton, 1999) and, as in his fantasies, the charm of the story lies not just in the magic, but also in how four kids figure out how it works, what to do with it, and how to get along at the same time. That magic, like everything else, has consequences is made clear to the youngsters, especially when their adventures saddle them with a large, wounded, lovable, homeless dog to take care of. Snyder's fresh, down-to-earth voice is complemented by Pham's energetic illustrations, which seem at once retro and modern. Fantasy fans will enjoy this novel, but so will readers who like stories about ordinary kids."Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library"

      Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      May 15, 2009
      Grades 4-7 This title celebrates summer vacations of yore, when kids played outside and rode their bikes toward adventure. Susan, Roy, Henry, and Emma discover a magic wishing wall in the middle of a cornfield that can transport them to any place in any time, real or imaginary. As in her picture book Inside the Slidy Diner (2008), Snyder displays a knack for collaborating with an artistwho complements her offbeat sense of humor; here, Phams handful of black-and-white drawings recall scenes fromold-school dime-store novels. While the premise is rife with potential for grand adventures, the kids excursions through Camelot, New York, an old pioneer town, and an encounter with the worst pirate in the world feel like rushed pit stops on the road to a lesson about friendship; and the focus on common magic, the kind that is not loud and full of dragons, sometimes feels like a cop-out. Still, this breezy and fun tale is just the right sort of book for a rainy summer afternoon indoors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

    • The Horn Book

      July 1, 2009
      Four children stumble upon a magical wish-granting wall. After some trial and error, they figure out the wall's magic and begin their explorations. Throughout, an omniscient narrator instructs readers, reflecting this contemporary-set story's old-fashioned sensibility, also seen in Pham's black-and-white line art. Snyder acknowledges her debt to Edward Eager; fans of Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks books will also be pleased.

      (Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

    • The Horn Book

      May 1, 2009
      One summer day, sibling pairs Henry and Emma, Roy and Susan stumble upon a magical wish-granting wall. Faster than you can say "root beer float," the hot and sticky kids find themselves whisked to a diner for some cool treats. After a bit of trial and error, the friends figure out the wall's magic and begin their explorations. First stop is a visit with Merlin, who explains more of the rules and proclaims, "Magic transforms you." Not surprisingly, Merlin's message proves prophetic: little Emma, perceived as helpless, frees the older kids from a dungeon; brash Henry curbs his greed after tousling with an opportunistic (but scaredy-cat) pirate; introvert Roy takes decisive action in the Old West; and Susan, on the cusp of adolescence, regains her appreciation of play and wonder after reuniting with her best friend. Throughout, an omniscient (occasionally obtrusive) narrator instructs readers, reflecting this contemporary-set story's old-fashioned sensibility, also seen in Pham's black-and-white line art. Snyder acknowledges her debt to Edward Eager; fans of Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwick books will also be pleased. The tale's tame episodic exploits and pervasive sense of idyll gracefully reinforce the narrator's assertion that "fun does matter. It matters a lot."

      (Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.1
  • Lexile® Measure:810
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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