Waiting for the Magic

Waiting for the Magic

By Patricia MacLachlan

MacLachlan, Patricia, and Amy June Bates. Waiting for the magic. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012.

William and Elinor become upset when their father takes off.  They don't know if and when he will be back.  Mom decides to take them to the animal shelter and ends up getting all the animals, four dogs and a cat.  No one wanted to leave one of the animals behind.  Elinor talks to the animals and dresses up Lula, the cat.  All four dogs, Bryn, Bitty, Neo, and Grace, protect the family.  Elinor can hear the animals talk and keeps telling her brother William that magic is real.  When Dad comes home, it takes the entire family working together to forgive and move on while waiting for the magic.  

MacLachlan tells a fun story of how animals can talk and everything will be OK if you just believe in the magic.  Bates' illustrations bring all of the characters to life giving the reader a vision of what each animal and character may look like.  Each of the animals has its own personality that is conveyed through the various conversations each of them has with Elinor or themselves.  This is a story of a family coming together to beat all odds and find the magic.

"Newbery Medalist MacLachlan tackles the familiar yet always heart-wrenching subject of parental separation in her venerable spare and moving style.... The characters are individualistic, believable, and likable, and the impulsive acquisition and heartwarming presence of the animals suggest an affecting work of realistic fiction."

--Publishers Weekly

"MacLachlan writes with simplicity and limpid clarity, acknowledging strong emotions evoked by the father’s departure and depicting the events that follow with sensitivity and bits of humor."--Booklist  

"The spare prose, in William’s authentic voice, conveys pathos and humor; the boy’s cautious observations and Papa’s earnest explanations are offset by Elinor’s droll one-liners and the dogs’ succinct comments. Deft characterization adds richness and depth to a deceptively simple narrative, and appealing charcoal pencil illustrations throughout reflect the action."--SLJ, starred review

"The combination of a fanciful plot and likable, honest, straightforward characters makes this a solid cross-genre work with lots of appeal. The animal voices add further interest, as the pets observe the emotions of the humans around them, particularly William, before the people are even aware of their own feelings. While this will obviously draw in fans of animal tales, it will also attract fans of realism willing to stretch."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books