Black and Blue Magic (1966)

A fun read in sixth grade. ( )

With a clumsy protagonist named "Harry Houdini Marco," you know this is one of Snyder's rare forays into comic storytelling. The results are fun, if not exactly the sort of thing she's best at writing.

The plot is comparable to one of the more humor-driven episodes of "The Twilight Zone" that would have been broadcast just a few years earlier: boy has flaw, boy meets supernatural being, boy gets magical gift, magical gift helps boy overcome flaw. None of it is particularly suspenseful, and nothing in the book will come as much of a surprise; it is, however, very readable. Harry himself is an easy character to like, and Mr. Mazzeeck is a great little guardian angel-style guide. The story only starts to drag once Harry is regularly utilizing his magic wings to go on nighttime jaunts; that section becomes repetitive and relies a little too much on the juxtaposition of heroic and humorous incident, which isn't really Snyder's strong suit.

Otherwise, "Black and Blue Magic" is a very pleasant story for pre-teens, perhaps for readers who would find a more "serious" supernatural treatment (as is more typical of Snyder) too frightening. ( )

Although it's probably been 35 - 40 years since I last read this book I still remember details of the story. A physically awkward boy is given a bottle of magic ointment that causes him to sprout temporary wings. He practices learning to fly, makes a warm outfit from some curtains (since the wings interfere with shirts and sweaters), is mistaken for an angel, and gradually runs out of the ointment. The last time he uses it, there is only enough left to make one big feather which he saves as a memento. The flying exercise has left his upper body a lot stronger so now he's not so awkward. ( )