In an attempt to not make mega posts like the last two times, I’ll be devoting this journal series as one book per journal. I’ll do my best to make this a weekly post every Saturday, so you can look forward to hearing about books or series that I enjoy. So, without further ado, here is today’s novel.

Black and Blue Magic by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

It’s a book that I’ve alluded to in several posts and commissions I got, even if not all the details were correct. It’s because it’s one of my favorite books and one that not many people read. So I’ll give you the basic premise, though I’ll not explain everything.

It’s about a boy named Harry Houdini Marco and his summer, which looked as though it would be his dullest yet with his friends leaving the neighborhood. Of course, it doesn’t help that he is clumsy even for his age, often getting new bruises over old ones. But then, after meeting a mysterious salesman just as clumsy, Mr. Mazzeeck, he found that the possibilities of the summer really opened up.

Again, this is just a basic premise. It’s an urban fantasy, though without any existential threats. And while it’s a children’s book, it’s a surprisingly deep one, the kind that we should be having our kids reading. A story about possibilities, beliefs, and how good can burst out from a mistake. It’s a feel-good kind of story and, even though it was originally published in 1966, it has such a timeless feel to it.

If you want to read it for yourself, here are some links.

Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/y9e72cck
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/2p857vkk