Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Yep, I think that's the one (The Magic City)! I don't specifically remember the image on the cover, but the plot rings a vague kind of bell (and the entry on Wikipedia about it sounds even more familiar). Thanks, you have no idea how long this has been bugging me! :)
Perhaps Nesbit's The Magic City: "When young Philip Haldane builds a play city out of odds and ends, the fantastic creation comes to life, and he and new stepsister Lucy are magically transported into it. Now they must try to save the Magic City by fulfilling an ancient prophecy--despite a ...
On Basilisk Station - David Weber The Magic City - Edith Nesbit Mossflower - Brian Jacques The Emerald City of OZ - L. Frank Baum The Place of Lions - Eric Campbell
