Magic in the Park

Matter-of-Fact Magic

by Ruth Chew

Visiting Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Jennifer meets Michael, and together they discover a magic hollow tree and a secret underground world

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Magic, Young Adult, Humor

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Ruth Chew is the author of a number of popular books for young readers, including Secondhand Magic and The Wednesday Witch. She was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Washington, D.C. She studied art at the Corcoran School of Art and worked as a fashion artist. She was the mother of five children.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of Ruth Chew's books have been gathered together in an umbrella series called "Matter-of-Fact Magic" and that is an appropriate description of her style. The fourth graders of this book encounter a magic tree, just accept it for what it is, have a few mild adventures because of it, and then just shrug when things come to an end. And the book does just end instead of coming to a conclusion or having a point.

Meh.

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncritical kids bond over strange happenings (tress move, the earth opens and cages them in frozen grass, a 'bird man' speaks of the park as if he's been there for centuries) in their park (in Brooklyn, I think it's Prospect Park). During their investigations, they get turned into birds, etc...

My 4 year-old brought this home from the factory he works in. It's a 30-year old soft-back, and I don't know who gave it to him, but it's a great read. Really great sentences. I tried to find out more about her, but like her work, Ruth Chew seems an enigma.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty twisty story for Ruth Chew, I’m impressed! Probably my favorite by her so far! I loved the storyline and the connection between the bird man and the magic tree. Fun story!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Chew's Secret Tree House was one of my childhood favorites, so when I saw a section of Ruth Chew books at one of my local library branches, I knew I had to get this for bedtime reading. I found it to be quite entertaining even as an adult. The book was written in the 1970s, and, sadly, the scenario in the book could never work in a modern book. 2 kids in New York spend time playing in the park (without their parents) and befriend a strange man who feeds the birds. They discover a magic tree that seems to move different places in the park and a mysterious island. One day, they find a way to get inside the tree, and a very curious and magical thing happens. Definitely a fun read. I'm glad to have found a Ruth Chew collection. I'll be checking more of these out in the future.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved these books when I was in 1st-2nd grade. I remember checking out every one, several times, from the school library --before there was any hoopla about witches and children (and I went to a Catholic school!) I loved them so much that I was devastated when I found they were out of print, so I tracked down as many used copies as I could about 4 years ago.

[Leah Agirlandaboy]

This was one of my very favorite books as a kid, and I’ve read it several times with my own kids too. Classic middle-grade magical realism.

[Veronica The Demigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I just started reading this book a while ago and I just finished in a day! It is a short book but it was good I think that anyone who likes magic and mysteries is sure to like this book just like I did!!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Chew wrote a whole bunch of these books. They're not a series with recurring characters or a serial with a through-line, but they're all about kids mostly living in Brooklyn in the 60's who have magical adventures. She also did the illustrations. The books are absolutely charming and so imaginative. They really make you want to go to Prospect Park!!

[Heather Powell Browne]

I read this book as a kid (in my voracious devouring of every Scholastic chapter book I could get a hold of in the library of John Muir Elementary), and I have spent decades vaguely remembering the magic of this one, the talking birds that take two children into a tree, their glossy black feathers — but I could never find the book again. UNTIL THE INTERNET, and the excellent book sleuth community on Instagram at the wonderful @myoldbooks account, this was the one mystery book I thought I’d never find again. Thank you so much for the wonderful book-lovers and the person who runs the account helping people find THAT BOOK. What a marvelous world. This was as whimsical of a magical adventure as I remembered it to be.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Magic in the Park is an odd bird. I've read Ruth Chew before -- I seem to be drawn to her covers (vintage fantastical children's books!), but I'm never much impressed with the books. A child may enjoy this, but I don't think it holds up as an adult reader. The magic is strange and unexplained and inconsistent, the meant-to-be-meaningful moments are dull and the plot is barely there.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting find of an older book headed towards kids starting chapter books. The mild level of peril from the multiple times getting stuck in underground situations, asking with the old man with the birds provided some level of interest. Overall, it was not a standout book, but decent.

[Bibliotekar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first chapter book I can remember reading as a child. And still it makes me wish for a childhood in a Brooklyn townhouse in the 1970's - with the freedom to explore and... apparently... transform into a pigeon.

[Laronda Blessing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Ruth Chew's books as a young reader and enjoyed reading this story as well. Jennifer moves to Brooklyn and befriends Mike. They meet a bird man in Prospect park and discover the secret of a magic tree. Chew does magical adventures well.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two kids find a magical tree in a park. I enjoyed the appearance of the Green Man.

[Madame Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun Brooklyn adventure.

[Wendy Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would have been a great series for me many years ago, but the style and language really date it. I doubt that it would have a ton of kid appeal these days.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in my neighborhood!!!

[Caroline Kubale · Rating 4 out of 5]

1972 3rd grade book

[Lisa Bushey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I remember reading. I was 6 or 7 years old. Obviously it was a memorable book for me to call it to mind these many years later.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magic in the Park is a quick fantasy read. Jennifer, our heroine, has just moved to Brooklyn. At first, she is so focused on what she's missing, that she is more than a little bitter. However, after discovering nearby Prospect Park and meeting a new friend, a prone-to-falling-in-the-lake lad named Mike, she embraces her new life. It isn't just that Mike is great fun all on his own. It is, in part, that these two discover things together and keep secrets. They discover that Prospect Park is more than a little magical. They both happen to notice that there is one tree in particular, an old tree, a seemingly hollow tree, that MOVES around the park. You never know where you'll find it next. And some days...it's not there at all. On those days, the children see a friendly old man who feeds the birds. Birds are important in this one.

Magic in the Park is fantasy adventure. Mike and Jennifer are curious, of course. All children in fantasy novels seem to be extra curious, this helps them stumble into various adventures I suppose.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

For many reasons, fourth-grader Jennifer hates her new home in Brooklyn. That is until she explores Prospect Park and meets an old gentleman with an affinity for animals, especially birds. She also discovers a magical tree that seems to move around the park and has an inviting hole that beckons and excites her. With her newfound friend, Mike, also a fourth grader, they begin investigating and become participants in the magic of the park, the tree and nature. This sweet story is clearly from another time when danger and magic were not all that worrisome. Most sensible youngsters today would know that going to park alone and striking up a conversation with a strange old gentleman would be no-nos and could lead to some dangerous consequences. Young trusting readers might enjoy this “historical” fantasy; more sophisticated ones might be put off by the implausibility of its premise. Order if you have an audience for this reprint.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED the Ruth Chew books when I was younger! I read them all over and over again - and probably still have my original paperback copies. So I was happy to hear that Random House is reissuing them after all these years. In this title, Jennifer isn't happy about her family's move to the city. Everything is too busy and crowded, and there's no grass. Luckily however, there is a big park a few blocks from her new apartment. Jennifer walks down to explore, and meets a kind old man who is feeding the ducks and the birds. He gives her a peanut for one of the squirrels, and when she turns around, he's gone. Strangely enough, almost every time that Jenny visits the park from then on, the bird man is there. And even more strange, a hollow old tree that Jenny and her friend try to climb is sometimes there and sometimes not. And it changes locations too! There is definitely magic in this park - and Jenny and Mike are in for the adventure of a lifetime as they discover it!

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovers of witches, magic and urban fantasy will enjoy this book. I loved The Witch's Buttons as a kid, and this had a similar type of plot: two kids get into trouble with magic; it's scary (but not really) - which is how the Chew-ian universe operates. Everything is scary (but not really). 45 years old, fourth grade girls could go the park in city new to them all by themselves; I'm not sure that would still happen - other than that, I think the book ages really well. Jennifer and Mike, a boy and girl, are friends, which I liked; they also aren't typical boys and girls (other than Mike's appetite).

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very fun children's book. Ruth Chew is famous for her magical stories, usually involving witchcraft and magic.

Here she works her magic without witches but explores the magic of a park. I guess I'm sentimental about this particular park because I lived near it when I was living in Brooklyn, New York.

Prospect Park was indeed a magical park, a miniature Central Park, and in this story two children, Mike and Jenny venture into an Alice in Wonderland type Looking-Glass world.

It's very fast-paced and involves a lot of twists and turns that will leave the reader turning the page to find out what happens next.

There is something magical about Magic in the Park that I think children will love and adults will love to read as well. It's a total read-me-out-loud type of book.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed this book much more as a kid than I have rereading it now. Throughout the book the two main characters are thrown into situations over which they have no control, and which would be overwhelming if some random thing didn't happen to save them. This is not a friendly, happy magic.

The dedication to the book is to someone "who is afraid of the park", and quite honestly reading this I can understand why! Too often these children got out of their predications in the nick of time, with the threat of being eaten, being suffocated, and being trapped in another form.

Not a keeper.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another book by Ruth Chew about magic and kids with very little parental supervision. Where were the parents of these kids?

This one, I think, takes place over summer vacation, or maybe just a week off school, when the kids are free but the parents have to work. I believe a lot of the action takes place at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. (I may be wrong about that, but if not, do parents let their kids run around Brooklyn unsupervised? Maybe my parents were just REALLY overprotective, but I didn't get to run around in Scott, Louisiana.)

[Susann · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I hate Brooklyn! Why did we have to move here?"

With an opening like that and with almost the entire story taking place in Prospect Park, I thought this would be a sure winner for me, but meh. I enjoyed seeing the Park circa 1972, and loved the mother's nonchalant reaction when Jennifer comes home and announces that she met "a funny old man" who gave her a nut.

But the magical events and the secret of the funny old man seemed a little ho-hum and flat.

Bought at the Windsor Terrace used bookstore that smells like cat urine.

[Elfeeza Ehsan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's the most boring book I've read. The characters and magic were flat. The story moved so slowly that I fell asleep a few times while I read the book. The writer was not able to grab my attention at all. Majority of the time I had no idea what the point of the story was. There was a lot of telling as opposed to showing what happened. The book was just painful to read. 1 star. Not recommending this to my students.

[Emily Vander Ark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored the Ruth Chew books that I had when I was little. Magic in the Park and the Hidden Cave were such fantastic stories that brought magic into the real world for me, and they were short enough that I could read them both in one night, which I did many, many times. =)