''Fog Magic'' by

Julia L. Sauer Julia Sauer (April 8, 1891 – June 26, 1983) was an American writer of children's fiction and librarian. Two of her books, '' Fog Magic'' and '' The Light at Tern Rock'' were among the annual Newbery Medal runners-up. Both are set in Canada, w ...

is a children's

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

novel set in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

. It was a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist * Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), ...

recipient in 1944. ''Fog Magic'' tells the story of a young girl who, on foggy days, travels back in time to enter the past life of an abandoned village.

Lynd Ward Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...

illustrated the book, which was published by Viking.

Plot

The fantasy story centers on eleven-year-old Greta Addington. One child in every generation of Addingtons is able to experience the special magic of Blue Cove, Nova Scotia. In fair weather, ruined buildings are all Greta sees, but when the fog rolls in she can travel back in time to visit the village and its inhabitants. While there she has a friend to play with, and the people refer to her as coming "from over the mountain". Greta is especially eager to go there on her twelfth birthday, but she has to wait till night for it to become foggy. That night in Blue Cove her friends give her a kitten, and Greta leaves realizing she will never be able to return. The setting is based on the real life town of

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River *Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Hawk ...

, Nova Scotia and the former village of White's Cove where Sauer spent many summers.

Themes

''Fog Magic'' portrays the mingling of reality and imagination that Sauer considered important for children. According to ''Twentieth-Century Children's Writers'' the story shows that Sauer "cares about people, their inner fantasies and their outer behavior. The coexistence of fantasy and reality... is seen most clearly..."Chevalier, Tracy (editor), ''Twentieth-Century Children's Writers'', St. James Press, 1989, pp. 852; Sauer stated plainly that she values both realism and imagination in an article she wrote for the American Library Association called "Making the World Safe for the Janey Larkins". In it she said "The need for modern realism does not negate the need for the classics and imaginative literature. Both are important; both have their place." ''Fog Magic'' is also a

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

story detailing Greta's realization that she is growing up and will no longer be able to visit her friends in the town. Her passage into adulthood on her twelfth birthday is her passage into the "real" world, where the past and present are no longer mingled. As children's literature expert

May Hill Arbuthnot May Hill Arbuthnot (August 27, 1884 – October 2, 1969) was an American educator, editor, writer, and critic who devoted her career to the awareness and importance of children's literature. Her efforts expanded and enriched the selection of bo ...

said of the ending of ''Fog Magic'', "Maturity lies ahead and reality must be accepted".

Critical reception

Besides winning the Newbery Honor designation, ''Fog Magic'' was well received by critics. ''

Horn Book ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'' called it "A poignant and distinguished story". According to the ''Saturday Review'', "Miss Sauer's feeling for Nova Scotia and its people gives the past as well as the present warmth and humor and reality…" Sauer's ability to write thoughtfully about nature was also praised by '' Kirkus Reviews'' in a starred review, for "books of remarkable merit" wrote that "The magic of woods and sea are in the story, as well as a sympathetic and true understanding of the imaginative child's private world, which is never confused with reality, and which sheds a warmth over the rest of life." .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fog Magic American children's novels Children's fantasy novels Novels about time travel Newbery Honor-winning works Novels set in Nova Scotia 1943 American novels 1943 children's books Viking Press books

Plot

Themes

Critical reception

See also

References

External links