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Stopping for a Spell
 
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Stopping for a Spell [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by Diana Wynne Jones (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 162 pages
  • Publisher: CollinsVoyager; New edition edition (1 Jul 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007130406
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007130405
  • Product Dimensions: 19 x 14.6 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 731,519 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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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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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Stop for a spell, 18 Jan 2006
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
"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.

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