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The Magic Pawnshop: A New Years Eve Fantasy
Written by Rachel Field, author of the Newberry Award-winning children’s book, Hitty, comes a fantastical tale of one girl’s journey into a magic pawnshop and the small adventures that lie within.
On a cold New Years’ Eve night, nine-year-old Prinda Bassett ventures out into the snow in hopes of finding a cure for her dreadfully ill Uncle Oliver. Heading straight to a pawnshop that had been an object of her curiosity, Prinda is excited by two placards in the window that read, “Broomsticks Our Specialty,” and “A Small Supply of Magic On Hand For Regular Customers,” in faint gold-lettering.
Going in, she is greeted by the kind witch Miss Minerva Mac Loon who agrees to make her cure—so long as she can manage the shop while Miss Minerva replenishes her magic. Accepting the terms of the agreement, Prinda takes charge as an assistant of the shop, unknowingly setting herself up for a fantastically eccentric New Years’ Eve.
On a cold New Years’ Eve night, nine-year-old Prinda Bassett ventures out into the snow in hopes of finding a cure for her dreadfully ill Uncle Oliver. Heading straight to a pawnshop that had been an object of her curiosity, Prinda is excited by two placards in the window that read, “Broomsticks Our Specialty,” and “A Small Supply of Magic On Hand For Regular Customers,” in faint gold-lettering.
Going in, she is greeted by the kind witch Miss Minerva Mac Loon who agrees to make her cure—so long as she can manage the shop while Miss Minerva replenishes her magic. Accepting the terms of the agreement, Prinda takes charge as an assistant of the shop, unknowingly setting herself up for a fantastically eccentric New Years’ Eve.
- GenresFantasy
114 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1926
45 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Field
104 books51 followersRachel Lyman Field was an American novelist, poet, and author of children's fiction. She is best known for her Newbery Medal–winning novel for young adults,
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
, published in 1929.
As a child Field contributed to the St. Nicholas Magazine and was educated at Radcliffe College. Her book, Prayer for a Child, was a recipient of the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations by Elizabeth Orton Jones. According to Ruth Hill Vigeurs in her introduction to Calico Bush , book of Rachel Field for children, published in 1931, Rachel Field was "fifteen when she first visited Maine and fell under the spell of its 'island-scattered coast'. Calico Bush still stands out as a near-perfect re-creation of people and place in a story of courage, understated and beautiful." Field was also a successful author of adult fiction, writing the bestsellers Time Out of Mind (1935), All This and Heaven Too (1938), and And Now Tomorrow (1942). She is also famous for her poem-turned-song "Something Told the Wild Geese". Field also wrote the English lyrics for the version of Franz Schubert's Ave Maria used in the Disney film Fantasia. Field married Arthur S. Pederson in 1935, with whom she collaborated in 1937 on To See Ourselves.
Field was a descendant of David Dudley Field. She died at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 1942 of pneumonia following an operation.
As a child Field contributed to the St. Nicholas Magazine and was educated at Radcliffe College. Her book, Prayer for a Child, was a recipient of the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations by Elizabeth Orton Jones. According to Ruth Hill Vigeurs in her introduction to Calico Bush , book of Rachel Field for children, published in 1931, Rachel Field was "fifteen when she first visited Maine and fell under the spell of its 'island-scattered coast'. Calico Bush still stands out as a near-perfect re-creation of people and place in a story of courage, understated and beautiful." Field was also a successful author of adult fiction, writing the bestsellers Time Out of Mind (1935), All This and Heaven Too (1938), and And Now Tomorrow (1942). She is also famous for her poem-turned-song "Something Told the Wild Geese". Field also wrote the English lyrics for the version of Franz Schubert's Ave Maria used in the Disney film Fantasia. Field married Arthur S. Pederson in 1935, with whom she collaborated in 1937 on To See Ourselves.
Field was a descendant of David Dudley Field. She died at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 1942 of pneumonia following an operation.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 31, 2018
Review of June, 2009
Sometimes when I go to a favorite used bookstore and don't find anything I really want I feel a strong obligation to buy something anyway, which is how I came by this book, from The Title Page in Bryn Mawr PA, which I visited recently for the first time in many years. I was so delighted to find it was still in business. The woman who owns it seemed quite old to me 20 years ago -- now she seems younger and livelier than I'd remembered. Clearly used book selling is a healthful enterprise. In any case, I decided to try this because I have fond memories of Rachel Field's Hitty, Her First Hundred Years. Judging by the illustrations this book seems to involve a young witch in training and is set in New York City, and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Later:
This book started out promisingly (it didn't hurt that it opened with a description of the Jefferson Market Tower in the snow -- I love that building), but unfortunately failed to hold its charm for me. The concept of a magical pawnshop is inherently intriguing, but Field hardly developed the idea at all, and the magical details that at first seemed charmingly whimsical started to seem random and slapdash. The story concerns Prinda, a girl who sneaks out of her aunt and uncle's home one New Years Eve looking for a miracle to cure the uncle who is gravely ill. Prinda finds the pawnshop where the proprietor unexpectedly puts her in charge of the shop before going off on her broom to replenish the shop's store of magic that is running very low (how or where this is to be accomplished is not explained). Up to this point I was captivated, but then the story turned out to be episodic chapters about the rather uninteresting romances of people who subsequently come into the shop. The book has its moments of charm (the shop has a resident maiden aunt who was pawned by her relatives who no longer had room for her in their apartment -- this sounds rather awful, but the aunt is actually happier as the shop's presiding domestic spirit), but it's not one I'll be rereading.
Sometimes when I go to a favorite used bookstore and don't find anything I really want I feel a strong obligation to buy something anyway, which is how I came by this book, from The Title Page in Bryn Mawr PA, which I visited recently for the first time in many years. I was so delighted to find it was still in business. The woman who owns it seemed quite old to me 20 years ago -- now she seems younger and livelier than I'd remembered. Clearly used book selling is a healthful enterprise. In any case, I decided to try this because I have fond memories of Rachel Field's Hitty, Her First Hundred Years. Judging by the illustrations this book seems to involve a young witch in training and is set in New York City, and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Later:
This book started out promisingly (it didn't hurt that it opened with a description of the Jefferson Market Tower in the snow -- I love that building), but unfortunately failed to hold its charm for me. The concept of a magical pawnshop is inherently intriguing, but Field hardly developed the idea at all, and the magical details that at first seemed charmingly whimsical started to seem random and slapdash. The story concerns Prinda, a girl who sneaks out of her aunt and uncle's home one New Years Eve looking for a miracle to cure the uncle who is gravely ill. Prinda finds the pawnshop where the proprietor unexpectedly puts her in charge of the shop before going off on her broom to replenish the shop's store of magic that is running very low (how or where this is to be accomplished is not explained). Up to this point I was captivated, but then the story turned out to be episodic chapters about the rather uninteresting romances of people who subsequently come into the shop. The book has its moments of charm (the shop has a resident maiden aunt who was pawned by her relatives who no longer had room for her in their apartment -- this sounds rather awful, but the aunt is actually happier as the shop's presiding domestic spirit), but it's not one I'll be rereading.
February 1, 2018
A fairy tale set right in my neighborhood? Yes, please! This endearing little gem takes place in the gaslight era on New Year's Eve, right under the Jefferson Market clock. The combination of Elizabeth MacKinstry's charmingly Art Deco illustrations and Rachel Fields' delightful story of magic and romance makes for picture-book alchemy.
January 3, 2022
I think that this book suffers from an identity crisis and I believe that may be why it has fallen into obscurity. For the first half of the book I kept wondering to myself why...why has this book been out of print for so long? It's lovely! And then it took a turn. It went from a "Harry Potter"-like story with magical gadgets that do magical things to.... a lovers quarrel and a series of matchmaking, all somehow healed by a 9-year old, yes, using magic but, not in such a believable way. I still liked it enough...but my 6-year old son was very bored. That is why I say it has a bit of an identity issue...the premise sets it up for being a story for young children (magic shop etc), but then it goes into relationship issues as I mentioned above, which I think would be more interesting for young adults. It was nice to read a story set on New Years Eve in New York City...
April 20, 2012
Some say pawnshops should be avoided because they're disreputable. Not this pawnshop. Are you looking for a spangly costume to wear to a fancy-dress ball for New Years Eve? You'll find it here. But you must have something of equal value to leave at the shop. It needn't be a gold watch or share of stock. How's your conscience been doing lately? Nice & shiny bright? Could you do without it for, say, the length of a fancy-dress ball? This book is enchanting & the "decorations" are heartrendingly sweet.
January 4, 2014
A great read-aloud on or around New Year's Eve for anyone who is nostalgiac for Greenwich Village in the 1920s, or who loves magical fairy tales!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews