Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

William can scarcely believe how his mother reacts when Papa walks out on them; she loads William and his four-year-old sister Elinor into the car and heads to the animal shelter for the pet his father would never allow, and they leave with not one but five animals ("Four dogs and a cat named Lula replaced my father"). Miraculously, Elinor can hear the animals talking, and soon William can converse with the pets, too. Meanwhile, in the human realm, their mother discovers she's pregnant and their father returns, and it's a difficult adjustment on all sides. This thoughtful tale is aptly titled; the story is not about acts of magic or seeking out magic but, rather, quietly waiting for and observing magic in the world. The talking animals are presented as an everyday occurrence, and the true magic of the story is the way the family recovers and moves forward from their separation. There is great appeal in stories of mundane magic, and the combination of a fanciful plot and likable, honest, straightforward characters makes this a solid cross-genre work with lots of [End Page 156] 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. Final illustrations not seen.