the singer and poet and author patti smith brought me to this book. this was one of her favorite childhood books. it was written in 1954, a year before i was born, intriguing me further. it was refreshing to read a children's book devoid of modern bells and whistles. there is magic in this book, in the form of an ancient coin but the other magic is one of kids being kids and how they navigate the rather ordinary world of adults, their community and their far from ordinary imaginations. there are plenty of politically incorrect moments in this book, as another reviewer wrote about, but that isn't the reason to read this. read this book to be transported back to a childhood where kids are kids.

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