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Product Description
Review
“…Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones’s most outrageous plots to her readers’ hopes and fears…”
Publishers Weekly
Product Description
How do you get rid of unwelcome visitors? Three stories which show that magic might be the answer, but you should always be careful about what you wish for!
The Four Grannies
When Erg and Emily’s parents go away, they arrange for Granny to come and look after them. Unfortunately, they forget to say which granny, and all four turn up. Individually they’re manageable, but when ‘Strict’, ‘Worrier’, ‘Stingy’ and ‘Saint’ get together it’s a different matter – and when Erg tries to magic them away, the result is an awesome ‘Supergranny’!
Chair Person
One day Simon and Marcia’s parents decide to get rid of the old, striped armchair – next day Chair Person turns up, bad-tempered, demanding and with very bad manners. No one seems able to get the better of him, until Auntie Christa turns up too.
Who Got Rid of Angus Flint?
How do you get rid of a guest who picks you up by the hair, won't let you play the piano, watch television or shut the window? Candida and her family try everything – they poison his stew and litter the house with roller-skates in the hope that he will fall over them – but nothing works! Surely they can’t be stuck with him for ever?
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First Sentence
What happened to the old striped armchair was Auntie Christa's fault. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
What happened to the old striped armchair was Auntie Christa's fault. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Stopping for a Spell" will probably never be as well-known as Jones' better works, as the three stories are essentially large-print kid novellas. Nevertheless, they show Jones' particular brand of charm and cuteness, focusing on ordinary everyday things that become infused with magic -- and some very annoying houseguests.
In "Chair Person," the family has just decided to get rid of a hideous old chair when bustling Aunt Christa arrives with a used conjurer's set. Her experiments in magic have an unexpected effect when the chair transforms into Chair Person, who is clumsy, stupid, gluttonous, and who recites commercials constantly. How can Simon and Marcia deal with Chair Person?
"Four Grannies" draws on the attitudes of bossy elderly types. Erg and Emily have four grandmothers, two biological and two stepgrandmothers -- and all of them have ways of making the kids miserable. Erg just wants to be left alone to finish his prayer machine. But when one of the grannies gives him a a chopstick that happens to be magical, the prayer machine causes some unique mayhem...
"Who Got Rid of Angus Filch?" features Angus Filch, the houseguest of your nightmares. His wife threw him out, and now his old college buddy's family can see why: He's controlling, obnoxious, complains constantly, torments the dog, jeers at the furniture, watches raunchy TV shows, never pays, grabs the kids by their hair to punish them, and gets up in the middle of the night to set fire to his supposedly contaminated sheets. But the kids of the family receive unexpected help -- from some very angry furniture.
Diana Wynne Jones is in excellent form here; readers who don't like short stories may still like these. The characters are all delightfully realistic, from the reclusive wannabe inventor to the nightmarish grandmothers who don't want kids in the bathroom too long, lest they become "peculiar." All sorts of hilarious situations arise, such as Emily ("Four Grannies") becoming sickening pious, or Chair Person regaling a church group with the fate of the wildebeest.
As these are all earlier short stories of Jones', ranging from the mid-1970s to late 1980s, they aren't very detailed as some of her current books. But the same absurd, sparkling magic is very present. A delightful little read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Stop for this "Spell"
2 May 2004
Format:Hardcover
"Stopping for a Spell" will probably never be as well-known as Jones' better works, as the three stories are essentially large-print kid novellas. Nevertheless, they show Jones' particular brand of charm and cuteness, focusing on ordinary everyday things that become infused with magic -- and some very annoying houseguests.
In "Chair Person," the family has just decided to get rid of a hideous old chair when bustling Aunt Christa arrives with a used conjurer's set. Her experiments in magic have an unexpected effect when the chair transforms into Chair Person, who is clumsy, stupid, gluttonous, and who recites commercials constantly. How can Simon and Marcia deal with Chair Person?
"Four Grannies" draws on the attitudes of bossy elderly types. Erg and Emily have four grandmothers, two biological and two stepgrandmothers -- and all of them have ways of making the kids miserable. Erg just wants to be left alone to finish his prayer machine. But when one of the grannies gives him a a chopstick that happens to be magical, the prayer machine causes some unique mayhem...
"Who Got Rid of Angus Filch?" features Angus Filch, the houseguest of your nightmares. His wife threw him out, and now his old college buddy's family can see why: He's controlling, obnoxious, complains constantly, torments the dog, jeers at the furniture, watches raunchy TV shows, never pays, grabs the kids by their hair to punish them, and gets up in the middle of the night to set fire to his supposedly contaminated sheets. But the kids of the family receive unexpected help -- from some very angry furniture.
Diana Wynne Jones is in excellent form here; readers who don't like short stories may still like these. The characters are all delightfully realistic, from the reclusive wannabe inventor to the nightmarish grandmothers who don't want kids in the bathroom too long, lest they become "peculiar." All sorts of hilarious situations arise, such as Emily ("Four Grannies") becoming sickening pious, or Chair Person regaling a church group with the fate of the wildebeest.
As these are all earlier short stories of Jones', ranging from the mid-1970s to late 1980s, they aren't very detailed as some of her current books. But the same absurd, sparkling magic is very present. A delightful little read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A Spell of Domestic Crises
13 May 2004
Format:Hardcover
Stopping for a Spell is a collection of three fantasy stories, all involving annoying visitors of one kind or another. When the adults in the family are ineffectual, the children spring to the rescue.
In Chair Person, Aunt Crista accidentally causes the old striped armchair in front of the television to come alive. Unfortunately, it is a selfish, greedy boor and overstuffed to boot.
In The Three Grannies, an invention grants prayers, but requires careful wording. A thoughtless request creates the SuperGranny, but a clumsy foot saves the day.
In Who Got Rid of Angus Flint?, another selfish, greedy boor moves into the house and says unkind things about the furniture. It doesn't pay to get a baby grand irritated.
These three stories depict strange and uncomfortable happenings in the home. They will give you a new perspective on your own troubles. But don't read them before bed if you are prone to bad dreams!
Recommended for the younger Jones fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of domestic crises aggravated (or solved) with a little magic.
-Arthur W. Jordin
In Chair Person, Aunt Crista accidentally causes the old striped armchair in front of the television to come alive. Unfortunately, it is a selfish, greedy boor and overstuffed to boot.
In The Three Grannies, an invention grants prayers, but requires careful wording. A thoughtless request creates the SuperGranny, but a clumsy foot saves the day.
In Who Got Rid of Angus Flint?, another selfish, greedy boor moves into the house and says unkind things about the furniture. It doesn't pay to get a baby grand irritated.
These three stories depict strange and uncomfortable happenings in the home. They will give you a new perspective on your own troubles. But don't read them before bed if you are prone to bad dreams!
Recommended for the younger Jones fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of domestic crises aggravated (or solved) with a little magic.
-Arthur W. Jordin
10 of 15 people found the following review helpful
chronicles of Chrestomanci 1
23 Jan 2002
Format:Paperback
Great book i spent lots of nights reading late into the night and im not a person who likes reading!
My favorite book all time!!!
My favorite book all time!!!
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