The Magic of the Glits

Magic of the Glits #1

by C.S. Adler

Out of sympathy for orphaned eight-year-old Lynette who is dumped at his family's seaside cottage, twelve-year-old Jeremy invents the Glits. These magical creatures make wishes come true. Searching for them helps heal Lynette who then finds herself a new home.

Winner of the Golden Kite Award and the William Allen White Award.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

C.S. (Carole) Adler moved to Tucson, Arizona, after spending most of her life in upstate New York. She was an English teacher at Niskayuna Middle School for nearly a decade. She is a passionate tennis player, grandmother, and nature lover, and has been a full-time writer since the publication of her first book,The Magic of the Glits, in 1979. That book won both the William Allen White Award and the Golden Kite Award.

Her bookThe Shell Lady’s Daughter was chosen by the A.L.A. as a best young adult book of l983. With Westie and the Tin Man won the Children’s Book Award of the Child Study Committee in l986, and that committee has commended many of Adler’s books. Split Sisters in l987 and Ghost Brother in 1991 were I.R.A. Children’s Choices selections. One Sister Too Many was on the 1991 Young Adults’ Choices list. Always and Forever Friends and Eddie’s Blue Winged Dragon were on a 1991 I.R.A. 99 Favorite Paperbacks list.

Many of her books have been on state lists and have also been published in Japan, Germany, England, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and France.

Reviews

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, this is not what most people would rate as a five-star book. Okay, it's not even what I would usually rate as a five-star book. The writing is good, the story is touching, the ending is well wrapped up with a tiny hint at a possible sequel (which I found, and it is near the top of my To Be Read)--but nothing about it was earth-shattering. Still I loved it. Somehow my heart won over my sense of literary distinction. So there it is.

Maybe it was the characterization that I loved. Adler does not have to describe her characters. One or two telling events introduces them, and the story confirms or revises first impressions until by the end of the book you feel like you know them--they are so human, you are sure you've met them before in real life, and after you've read the book you look for them among your acquaintances.

I detest any phrase that resembles "It was pretty good for a first-time novelist." It sounds like an insult even when it is meant as a compliment. It's a good book, or it is not. I would not have guessed that Glits was C. S. Adler's first novel, but apparently it was, and as much as I enjoyed it, I look forward to hunting down the rest of her work.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The magic of the Glits by Adler_ C. S_ (Carole S.)
Jeremy summer at Cape Cod-he has a cast on his broken leg and he has to babysit the 7 yo girl-Lynette.
He invents the game, the glitz to keep her busy. They do spend time at the beach, just not near the water because her mother had drowned.
After the cast he picks up hanging out with his male friends playing ball, etc. He brings her with him...
He helps her get over her fears and he needs to have some more responsibility. Her father wants to put her in an orphanage and then she wishes on the glits that she felt.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grades 4+. 12-year-old Jeremy's summer on Cape Cod is already ruined because of the cast on his leg, when he is stuck taking care of 7-year-old Lynette, who's mother has just drowned. Jeremy invents the Glits, magical creatures who can grant wishes, to help Lynette overcome her fears. Adler's first novel.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I freakin' loved Goodbye, Pink Pig and think it a superior book to this one, but I couldn't find it here. I read both of these as a pre-teen and thought the stories were both really beautiful and sad. Don't know what I'd think if I read them today, but I'm going off the memory.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading/re-reading all of the children's/young adult's books on my shelf and I don't think I've ever read this one before. It was actually pretty good.

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books!

[Scarlette Pike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go Adler! What a pure and poignant story! *SPOILERS* Little Lynette is so powerful and strong, and really only needed a friend in Jeremy, didn't she? She didn't need him to figure things out for her, she had a plan and had already taken steps to execute it! Kids really are much more resilient than they're usually given credit for.

Now Jeremy's home life I have a lot of questions about... His parents are neglectful, unsupportive and, at times, blatantly shaming. How GORGEOUS that Jeremy makes up the Glits for Lynette but is stuck chasing them because he can only see them if he's good?! WOW... Adler you've got a tight grip on the study of shame and how it comes up unconsciously and not-so-subtly in all of us! WOW that was a cool ride. I'd recommend that to anyone.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/... is likely the cover of the edition I read, from a university library. I think it more accurate.

This is a quiet character-driven book. There's no actual magic, not even any question that there might be. Glits are real in the same way that Virginia was told Santa is real. I would not have liked this story at all when I was a child as I would not be able to connect with any of the characters even a tiny bit. I will still give it three stars though, because I can now see, as an adult, what Adler was doing, and thoughts about it will stay with me awhile.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet book with a lovely ending. A short book, quick read but with depth. Great characters.

[Kate Kluegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throwback.

[Trudy Monk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glit; is not a fairy.

The basis is about two youths guided to get along. A 7 year old girl and a older boy. With the girl's parents not caring about her and one is dead. A good remorseful melachany story themed with death and empathy.

The stupid boy learns a thing called compassion, talking to a 7 yr old girl. and how to build many sand castles. Pretty alright story for kids. Not too long.

[Jaime Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting on New Year’s Day 2025, and here I am on the very last day of the year, finally writing a review—because this book has kept crossing my mind. The story stayed with me for its gentle portrayal of characters living through loss and the quiet, small ways people show up for one another.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeremy finds out he is going to be babysitting all summer for a younger girl who has recently lost her mother in a drowning accident. Jeremy creates the Glits as a way of cheering the girl up